Hotel Hell - Season 1 Episode 4 - Recap - Keating Hotel

In the fourth episode of Hotel Hell Season 1, “Keating Hotel,” Gordon Ramsay pays a visit to Keating Hotel—which is located in San Diego, CA. The owner of the hotel, Eddie Kaen, used to be a ferrari dealer. Most of the furniture in this hotel are built out of ferrari parts, and the majority of the walls are painted bright red. The Keating Hotel basically resembles a nightclub.

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If you missed Episode 3, you can read my recap here.

Eddie Kaen and the general manager—Sandra Vivas—desperately need some proper guidance as to how they should be running this hotel. The Keating Hotel—which is located in Southern California—includes 35 bedrooms and a restaurant. Just like the owners of Juniper Hill Inn and the Cambridge Hotel, Eddie doesn’t have any prior hospitality experience.

Tour of Keating Hotel:

The ferrari hotel is “all style, but no substance.” The exterior of the hotel looks like a nightclub, and the interior resembles a hospital/sterile environment. I’ve compiled a small checklist for Keating Hotel: 

• Exterior/Front Entrance: Moderate - There were red ropes and a red carpet at the front entrance of the hotel. There was also a dog named Smudge, sitting on the red carpet.
• Interior: Poor - The walls were painted bright red. The hotel didn’t look inviting.
• Laundry Room: Very Poor - They were using domestic washing machines (which are usually suited for a family of 2-7 people). They were also unable to iron & press the bedsheets because they were lacking the proper laundry equipment.
• Guest Rooms: Poor - The majority of the furniture was built out of Ferrari parts. The bathtub (which did not consist of a shower head) was placed in the common area—not inside the bathroom.

The guests spent $759 for ONE evening at the Keating Hotel. That is a ridiculous price.

Ramsay Orders Room Service:

The Keating Hotel doesn’t serve lunch at their restaurant, so Gordon Ramsay had to order room service. He ordered chicken parmesan, pizza, and soup, but the food came in To-Go boxes and plastic containers. This surprised Ramsay because he was paying $759/night to stay at the hotel. The chicken parmesan sliders tasted dreadful, and the pizza & soup tasted awful as well.

Ramsay called the owner of the hotel, Eddie, into his suite. Eddie confirmed that the To-Go boxes and plastic containers were, in fact, his idea. When Eddie disagreed with Ramsay, Ramsay described Eddie as a “baby that just had his lollipop stolen.”

Eddie also mentioned that he doesn’t even stay at the hotel. If the owner doesn’t even stay at his own hotel, that should show the guests how bad of a condition the hotel is in.

The Staff get a Wake-Up Call:

Gordon Ramsay invited guests (who have recently stayed at the hotel within the past 24-48 hours) to reveal their true feelings about the hotel. The guests mentioned that the bedsheets haven’t been ironed, that there was hair in the bed, and that there was also sand in the bed.

The photos on the walls were of low quality and the jacuzzi didn’t even have water inside of it. The guests also said that the pizza wasn’t even freshly baked....it was microwaved.

The Keating Hotel has more complaints than the total number of guests.

Sandra Vivas, the General Manager, Shows Ramsay the Laundry Room:

The General Manager of the Keating Hotel, Sandra Vivas, gave Ramsay a tour of the laundry room. I was very surprised to see domestic laundry machines (which are usually suited for private homes and families... not for a hospitality business). They also lack the necessary equipment to iron & press the bedsheets. Thus, they leave the bedsheets wrinkled up. It’s unfortunate that the guests pay nearly $800/night to stay in a less-than-mediocre hotel.

Ramsay Dines at the Hotel Restaurant for Dinner:

Gordon Ramsay ordered a ‘Chocolate, Strawberry Bacon Pizza.’ It was a very unappetizing sight to see. Ramsay mentioned that this particular pizza looked like “someone had wiped their a** with it.” .... Thanks for the gross image, Rams./(sarc.). Thereafter, Ramsay wanted to speak with the executive chef, Brian Rutherford. Overwhelmed with having to follow Eddie Kaen’s orders, and struck with dehydration... Brian collapsed. The staff called 911, and Brian was taken into an ambulance. The medics stated that his collapse was due to anxiety & dehydration.

Ramsay’s Interior Designers Re-Decorate the Keating Hotel:

Gordon Ramsay’s team of interior designers gave the Keating Hotel a make-over. Before the make-over took place, the walls were bright red. The walls are now white.... this makes the hotel appear more inviting. The bedrooms have now been modernized—they no longer consist of ferrari parts. The parts have been replaced with real couches and armchairs.

The guests now have a choice between taking a bath or a shower. Ramsay’s interior designers have added shower heads to the bathtub. Prior to this make-over, the guests were only able to take baths because the bathtubs didn’t include shower heads.

2/3 of the restaurant’s menu has been removed. The menu no longer looks like a novel... it is now only a few pages long. Most importantly, the ‘Chocolate, Strawberry Bacon Pizza’ no longer exists.

Room Service is much improved. They no longer use To-Go boxes and plastic containers to serve food. They now use real silverware and fancy plates. They’ve also reduced the price of the bedrooms.

Brian, the executive chef, no longer has to wear a red coat & apron. Chef Ramsay handed him a white coat & apron.

I’m happy for the staff at the Keating Hotel! The next time that I visit San Diego, CA... I just might check out the hotel.

The next episode airs Monday, 9/3, at 8pm ET on FOX. Tune in then!