In this Hotel Hell episode, Gordon Ramsay visits Lakeview Hotel in Chelan, Washington.
Lakeview Hotel is an adults only hotel, restaurant and ice cream parlour situated on Lake Chelan, owned by Brent and Afni MacDonald.
They are losing $30,000 a month and there has been turmoil locally due to bush fires.
Gordon arrives at the hotel and waits for the advertised valet parking but Brent offers to park Gordons car.
Gordon arrives at the hotel and on entering the hotel he finds more dust and cobwebs everywhere.
Brent tells them they have been closed whilst he went on holiday to Mexico for 3 weeks and they offer no samples in the ice cream parlour.
Gordon is taken up to his room, the best room in the hotel but there is no remote control to the air conditioning and the filter is cleaned twice a year.
Gordon orders the soup of the day, BC Bacon Burger, Turkey Patty and the "soon to be famous" teriyaki burger.
The minestrone soup tastes bought in, the burger is thin and bland, the turkey melt comes with a broth that is salty and bitter and the soon to be famous burger is caked in cheese.
Gordon discovers that the owners have a teenage daughter but children aren't allowed to stay at the hotel.
Gordon asks about why there is no local wine on the menu and Brent tells him they all own restaurants so they are the competition.
Gordon witnesses an evening service, the guests are given a list of items on the menu that aren't available.
They aren't impressed with the food they do receive, they expect fresh food and are surprised to hear it is frozen.
Brent says there is no such thing as a fresh burger and you cannot get a fresh burger in the area.
Gordon goes to a competitors restaurant and orders a fresh burger which he brings back to show Brent.
Gordon asks Brent why he fired his son, it appears he had an alcohol problem and thought it would help.
Gordon tells Brent about his brothers drug addiction and that he has never given up on him.
Gordon enters the hotel rooms along with a uv light, the pillows duvets and sheets are covered in fluids.
Brent says the sheets were washed a week ago, Gordon tells them to stop lying but they are adamant.
Gordon speaks to Afni and she opens up to Gordon. Gordon talks to Brent about his son and he says the relationship broke down after his previous wife remarried.
He didn't go to his daughters wedding as he wasn't invited and he has grandchildren he doesn't see.
Gordon has gathered the locals and they tell Gordon the staff don't have good things to say about the restaurant.
One local's friend was a server, who saw Afni scrape food into the bin, take it out and wipe it before giving it back to the server.
The lack of free samples is a problem and they are perceived to have not offered any help during the fires.
The town depend on each other to survive without tourists, wants them to do well and to welcome them into the community.
Gordons team have cleared out the cobwebs and dust, revamped the rooms and transformed the ice cream parlour.
Gordon has bought in a sommelier, they will be serving local wines and the menu has also been revamped.
The guests love the new rooms, food, ice cream samples and also the wines on offer.
Brent has decided to stick with adults only in the hotel against Gordon's advice as he believes children will be noisy and ruin the rooms.
What Happened Next at Lakeview Hotel?
After filming, Brent reverted back to his old ways and distanced himself from the locals and the reputation is as bad as ever.
Many staff have left or been fired and the owner claims that parts of the episode were staged.
They haven't followed all of Gordon's advice, they changed the menu as they say the new items on there weren't selling and renamed the restaurant.
Brent has since admitted that his behaviour on the show was all an act because he knew they wanted drama.
Lakeview Hotel is still open and Trip Advisor reviews are mostly positive and Yelp reviews are mixed.
In 2019/2020, the rating of Google reviews declined dramatically with many complaints about Brents behaviour towards customers.
Lakeview Hotel closed in 2021.
Lakeview Hotel aired on June 21 2016, the episode was filmed in November 2015 and is Hotel Hell season 3 episode 5.
Read About More Hotel Hells
Next episode - Brick Hotel
Previous episode - Town's Inn
"Brent has since admitted that his behaviour on the show was all an act because he knew they wanted drama."
ReplyDeleteHe didn't admit anything, he's simply trying to make excuses for making a buffoon of himself in front of millions of viewers.
Maybe that's why his children aren't speaking to him and won't let him see the grandkids, because he's a stubborn, foolish dirty old man who can't admit when he's in the wrong and a control freak. I too cry BS on the "his behavior was all an act" he's just trying to save face and not admit fault, again.
ReplyDeleteThe sad thing is Gordon tried his best to help and now it's only a matter of time before that arrogant owner goes bust and dies a sad lonely old man
ReplyDeletestopped for an ice cream this Labour Day weekend (2017), small serving for the price and good thing I had cash as they wanted $1 to use debit/credit!! never seen that before.... anyhow, the ice cream parlour was dusty, cobwebs everywhere. Washrooms off ice cream parlour are disgusting and if that is any indication I would not eat in restaurant. Can this place not hire a janitor to clean? wonder what the health inspector would think??
ReplyDeleteI'm actually MORE interested in staying here knowing it's kid free. I'm from Seattle and Lake Chelan is lovely, I may have to book a trip soon 💜
ReplyDeleteYou really shouldn't. I stayed here once last month. It's deplorable. And the food's as horrible as the show. I stayed there for one night. Worst mistake ever.
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