In this Hotel Hell episode, Gordon Ramsay visits Landoll's Mohican Castle in Loudonville, Ohio.
Landoll's Mohican Castle is owned by Jim and Martha Landoll.
They sold their profitable printing business to build the castle on a 1000 acre private estate.
Jimmy promised himself that if he ever made money he would build a castle.
He built the castle at a cost of $6 million.
Martha assumed they would retire after selling their business but Jim decided to build a castle.
In 2008, the restaurant burnt to the ground and unfortunately, the insurance has lapsed about four days to the incident.
This led to a strain in their relationship due to the stress of the situation.
They separated and divorced within a year.
Jim retired from the business and now the running of the castle is all on Martha’s shoulders.
Desk Clerk Crystal and Jimmy’s wife Shayla say how hardworking Martha is.
There is not a day that she doesn’t work at the castle from sunup until sundown.
Crystal says Jimmy is the manager in name alone and he is just a cook on the property.
Nobody takes him seriously as they don’t have a reason to.
She reveals that neither Marta or Jimmy have had any training or experience in running a hotel prior to the castle.
Gordon arrives at the castle and is in awe at the grounds of the castle.
He enters the hotel and he’s greeted by Crystal and notices the gift shop beside the front desk which he finds odd.
He notices that the entrance is very dusty and that the TV is very old.
He enters the events hall and finds out the events are run by Melody, who has had no formal training in events planning.
He questions how that works and Crystal isn’t sure either how to works.
Gordon decides to check the grounds out and he notices an ugly looking t-rex statue outside.
He climbs on of the towers to see the view and finds several dead flies and cigarette ends.
Gordon meets Martha in front outside the castle.
Martha tells him that the property they paid 6 million dollars for is now only worth 2 million dollars now.
He tells Martha about the dirty and disgusting place as that he even sees cigarette butts up in the tower.
Martha tells Gordon that Jimmy started working there a year ago and that he runs the kitchen.
Martha also helps Jimmy out in the kitchen as she also does the ordering of produce for the kitchen.
Gordon is surprised at this but Martha says she is used to doing it.
Gordon tells Martha that to understand more about the place and its issues, he wants them to host the wedding of a couple in a couple of days.
There are going to be 100 guests arriving for the wedding.
Roxanne and Eric, the couple to be wed, meet with Gordon and together they enter the event hall.
They all meet with Melody and Gordon finds out they normally offer a buffet.
They also don’t do tastings because of the setup in the kitchen.
Gordon decides that they are going to do a tasting of the food.
The bride notices that the linen doesn't match and that chairs are stained.
Jimmy comes in and meets Gordon and the couple.
Gordon asks Jimmy why he isn’t wearing his chef jacket and Jimmy says he wears it only when he delivers food.
Jimmy admits that he has never cooked a filet mignon and other dishes on the menu but if it was ordered he would google how to cook it.
Gordon then asks Jimmy to prepare a selection of dishes.
He cooks a chicken dish caked in cheese, under cooked slimy salmon and an overcooked filet mignon.
Gordon assures the couple that it will improve as they feel discouraged and he feels the pressure to not let them down.
Gordon comes down to observe a dinner service, he meets Sous Chef Grant and Marta is in the kitchen to help.
He enters the kitchen and notices that they cook the fish and meat on the same hot plate.
There is confusion about where the dishes are to go as the tickets have no table numbers on.
When the servers do take the food they often take it to the wrong tables.
Two customers have ordered the same dish but the dishes look completely different.
Some customers are left waiting as the service is slow.
Gordon describes the kitchen as dysfunctional.
Gordon meets with the staff after the dinner service and expresses his disappointment.
He tells Jimmy that he has no authority even though he is the general manager.
Gordon meets personally with Martha and tells her that he needs Jimmy to step up.
He needs take control of the place but the reason he has been slacking off is because he knows Martha is going to do it all for him.
He then asks Martha to write Jimmy a letter on what she needs from him going forward.
Gordon orders a room service breakfast package for the bride and groom but it is terrible and is uncooked.
Gordon puts together his own package to show them what they should be offering.
The next day, Gordon meets Martha who has written the letter he asked her to write the day before.
Jimmy joins them and the letter is read out by Martha.
Marta reveals that she wrote the letter at 5am before she slept.
The letter outlines her stresses and pressures from the castle and reduces him to tears.
Martha leaves and Gordon speaks to Jimmy privately and tells him to commit more to the place.
It is the day before the wedding and Gordon and his team gave the function room a makeover.
Jimmy confesses that it is what they have always needed and Martha hugs Gordon joyfully.
Gordon shows them the new menu that they will be serving at functions.
He reveals that he has arranged for them a consultant chef, Keisha, to help them in hiring a new head chef.
It’s wedding day and Jimmy is put in charge of managing the event and Grant is put in charge of the kitchen.
The wedding begins but he DJ doesn't know how to pronounce their surname but he asks how they would like to be introduced.
The bride is impressed with the presentation and taste of the food.
But the staff are clearing plates from tables before everyone is finished.
Gordon insists the staff do the work and Marta does nothing but relax.
The bride and groom brand their wedding perfect, phenomenal and the guests love the food.
Gordon tells Martha after the ceremony that all he wants from her is to just oversee the place and look after herself.
Gordon tells Jimmy that he needs to step up and not to be scared of change.
He asked Jimmy to promise him he would stay on track and he assured him he would.
What Happened Next at Landoll's Mohican Castle?
Since Gordons visit, they have steadily increased bookings.
The kitchen has been reorganised and they have hired a new head chef.
Jimmy has stepped up as General Manager and Marta has been able to take a step back.
Jimmy has lost 65lb since filming and has been on a three day intensive course to improve his management skills.
The Yelp reviews and the Trip Advisor reviews are both excellent.
The hotel now holds over 100 weddings a year.
They have continued to make renovations to the property and in 2018 built a new block of hotel rooms.
This new addition includes 14 new suites in what has been named The Stables.
Planning a visit to the hotel? Check out their website for further information.
Landoll's Mohican Castle aired on July 26 2016, the episode was filmed in December 2015 and is Hotel Hell season 3 episode 8.
Read About More Hotel Hells
Previous episode - Beachfront Inn & Inlet
Went here last weekend and was disappointed! The room we had was worn and dirty. I have pictures that show the poor condition. Not worth the price. The food was also not good. It would’ve been OK food if it was half the price that they had on the menu. Normal diner food. Not Chef worthy exclusive food!
ReplyDeleteThe place is absolutely great.. Please do visit this place.. Good food and a very polite staff.
ReplyDeleteJust returned from a fabulous stay. Dinner and accommodations were first class.
ReplyDeleteWe stayed recently in Gordon's room and it was gorgeous and the food was excellent
ReplyDeleteNo mention of the fact they've started hosting ghost tours. The "ghost" images on the website are not very compelling. But whatever bring people in I guess.
ReplyDeleteJust hosted a wedding there last week and the experience was GREAT! Great job by the entire staff, thank you Jess!
ReplyDeleteEasily the most gorgeous grounds and buildings in the entire series and one of the few places I was really rooting for. I'm glad to see they are still open and doing reasonably well!
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