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S03.E03: Town's Inn Part 1

OnceSane

By OnceSane
in Hotel Hell [V]

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OnceSane

OnceSane

Gordon Ramsay visits Harper's Ferry, WV, where he meets an inn owner who runs his establishment more like a second-hand store, hoarding personal items throughout the premises.  He quickly discovers some of the worst practices he's ever seen.

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TDT

TDT

10 hours ago, BogoGog24 said:

Dear god this is going to be 2 parts? 

Already going to guess that the first part will end on a "cliffhanger"..

  • Love 1
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Evil Queen

Evil Queen

(edited)
1 hour ago, spiderpig said:

Can't wait for this latest train wreck.  The woman (owner? manager?) they showed in the preview looked like she came straight out of Game of Thrones.

LOL I was telling my husband she looked like a witch. Sort of reminded me of the one in the Disney cartoon Brave. 

Edited by Evil Queen
  • Love 7
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BogoGog24

BogoGog24

LMAO I watched a couple of preview clips on Fox's website and 

Spoiler

Gordon ends up peeling parts of their wall off LOL! This is going to be bad. The owner also had the same problem as the Vienna Inn lady about wanting to keep her clothes in the guest's closet. 

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MelissaMinion

MelissaMinion

Well, Karan just broke the Internet. I tried to look at the Town's Inn website, and I got:

Service Unavailable

The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later.

It's freaking me out that she never raises her voice above the "Kindergarten Teacher Whisper"...

  • Love 9
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MelissaMinion

MelissaMinion

33 minutes ago, Pepper the Cat said:

Sarah is obviously a huge part of what is wrong with this place!

both she and Karen have their heads in the sand!

There's something very unsettling in the relationship between Sarah and Karan. In a Shirley Jackson, there are bodies buried in the cellar, kind of way.

  • Love 10
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Snarklepuss

Snarklepuss

LOL, BusyOctober, you cracked me up with that!  Karan also reminds me of the famous old/young woman illusion (of course as the old woman):

young_or_old.jpg

Sarah strikes me as a parasite.  She has some kind of fantasy of running an inn so she found the perfect opportunity to play act at it at will by latching onto Karan because she is so completely deluded that she could pass herself off as a "helper".  Sarah probably doesn't have much to live for and is desperate to find something meaningful, but she's so disturbed it manifests itself as completely dysfunctional.  If she were just a concerned friend of Karan's she wouldn't be acting so suspicious.  It's hard for me to watch Karan because all I can think about is that she is mentally disturbed and there's no hope for that place.

I always feel sorry for the employees working at these places.  I know it's hard to find a job but isn't there a point at which you want to run screaming?  Or are they all getting what they want out of the situation and just putting up with the craziness to get it?

  • Love 8
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threebluestars

threebluestars

I think Karen has some real mental health issues. While not a scary full blown hoarder, she clearly is heading in that direction and needs help.

Sarah is a real problem as well. She's taken over completely, and it's almost like she sought out someone she knew she could ride roughshod over. That business card says she's desperately trying to fit somewhere, and she's taken over this place to feel important.

That place does not stand a chance, Ramsay or not.

  • Love 8
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DoctorK

DoctorK

(edited)

Sadly, next week we will see Ramsey heal the dysfunctional relationships, fix the Inn and everyone will live happily after, at least until the cameras stop rolling. Sorry Gordon, these people don't need business help, they need psychiatric help and Gordon you are not a therapist.

Edited by DoctorK
spelling
  • Love 7
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MegD

MegD

I thought there was a couple that owned it and they let the mother of one of them run it. But then she said she was the owner. I'm lost.

I felt bad for the staff. Karen and Sarah are a crazy duo. I can't decide if they are closer than friends or if their delusions have just managed to coexist and feed one another.

  • Love 2
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Court

Court

(edited)
3 minutes ago, MegD said:

I thought there was a couple that owned it and they let the mother of one of them run it. But then she said she was the owner. I'm lost.

I felt bad for the staff. Karen and Sarah are a crazy duo. I can't decide if they are closer than friends or if their delusions have just managed to coexist and feed one another.

Her son and wife bought it for her. They said to give her something to do. 

Edited by Court
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LittleIggy

LittleIggy

34 minutes ago, MegD said:

I thought there was a couple that owned it and they let the mother of one of them run it. But then she said she was the owner. I'm lost.

I felt bad for the staff. Karen and Sarah are a crazy duo. I can't decide if they are closer than friends or if their delusions have just managed to coexist and feed one another.

Folie a deux? 

Karan makes the Vienna Inn lady look pulled together. Go read some of the bad reviews on TripAdviser. The earthworms in the bathroom made me gag! Speaking of gag, who would want boiled already cooked then frozenhamburger meat? Do they have health inspectors in WV? How is that kitchen still open. 

Watching GR shows has gotten me into the habit of saying "f*ck me." Boy, was I saying it a lot watching this train wreck (with whistles every hour!). Can't wait for next week when the cook goes nuts. ;-)

41 minutes ago, Court said:

Her son and wife bought it for her. They said to give her something to do. 

Couldn't they have just got her to take up knitting or gardening?

  • Love 11
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MegD

MegD

25 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:
1 hour ago, Court said:

Her son and wife bought it for her. They said to give her something to do. 

Couldn't they have just got her to take up knitting or gardening?

Or, I don't know. Buy her a place to live with her delusions.

  • Love 6
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MelissaMinion

MelissaMinion

20 minutes ago, Albino said:

People please....in deference to Sarah, let's watch our language!

Did anybody notice, on Sarah's twee little biography card, whether she was a retired teacher, too? That "Watch your language" was so close to my third grade teacher (the year we discovered SWEARS!) that I did a double take.

  • Love 4
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TDT

TDT

Wow that was just painful to watch..

The cook flipping out in next week's preview,i wont be surprised(nor will i blame him) if its revealed in the update that he was the first one who bailed

  • Love 2
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Albino

Albino

So I'm looking at guest pics of this place on Trip Advisor (where it has a 4 star rating!) and some poor souls stayed in Gordon's room back in 2014 (I think.) Sarah's whimsical artwork is visible under the window, and yes...the armoire appears to be locked.

Also a pic of Karan from the same general time frame and she looks almost normal.  Her hair is brown and it's a frontal pic so her nose does not appear so monstrously witch-like to look quite as hooked.

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candall

candall

(edited)

What is this?  I'm not even up to the first commercial break and this woman has some obvious psychological issues that need to be addressed by a professional--not fucking Gordon Ramsey giving her the benefit of his hotel management advice.

And they're stretching this into a two-parter?  Feels like exploitation.  Out.

*********************

ETA:  Okay, maybe that's too much of a snap judgment.  I'll check in here with you next week to see if they pulled it all together.  I mean, surely they wouldn't devote two hours to the host ineffectually beating his head against a subject's dementia, right?  Maybe this is all in service to "Ramsey Triumphant."

Edited by candall
"Watched my language" down to a single F-word.
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placate

placate

I was playing Silent Hill Homecoming while watching this and what I was seeing on my computer screen wasn't freaking me out as much as what I saw on the tv.  Karen has issues, but she seems like she could change if someone strongly guided her in the right direction.  I guess what I'm saying is that she isn't Amy's Baking Company level crazy.  I think her son must really love her if he bought her an inn and lets her run it horribly.  I feel like she's gotten no real criticism other than online reviews which she could easily ignore.

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spiderpig

spiderpig

Gordon Ramsay Visits Arkham (for those of you who've read H.P. Lovecraft)

Hotel Hell - Harper's Ferry Edition.  Directed by Tim Burton.

What was that?  I knew it would be a pip based on last week's preview, but MAN!  Gordon's producers must have been salivating when they came across this property.

All of the talk about her souvenier junk for sale and Karan saying people bought it for their children.  Do you know what I half expected Gordon to find in those gross freezers? OK, we won't go there.

Like others have commented - where are the building and restaurant inspectors?  Were there any other guests staying at the inn?  I can't believe the restaurant would attract the number of local diners they showed unless everyone in town knew Gordon was filming there.

It's going to take the full week to recover from this before viewing Part Deux.

  • Love 8
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Snarklepuss

Snarklepuss

I think Karan is every bit as mentally disturbed as Amy from Amy's Baking Company just in a different way.

I too wondered about where health inspectors were and how this place could possibly have passed.  I wonder about that on pretty much every restaurant makeover show too.  It's like the 800 pound gorilla in the room.  These shows expose the uselessness and corruption in that business.  You'd think people would be calling their local governments to complain.  I'm sure those diners were called in by the show.  I've read that shows like this take out ads on Craig's List and stuff like that to get people to come.

Speaking of the clothes in those black garbage bags, I thought there looked like more bags accounting for more stuff than could have come from that wardrobe alone.

  • Love 2
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PugLoaf

PugLoaf

(edited)
33 minutes ago, The Crazed Spruce said:

They boiled a hamburger.

They boiled a hamburger.

BOILED. HAMBURGER.

I can't... I mean.... BOILED. HAMBURGER.

*shudder*

It was one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen. I am glad I skipped breakfast.

I do wonder if the show has some kind of staff psychologist who assess the guests/casts/whatever?

It seems they remodeled after Gordon was there as a TripAdvisor review mentions that when they visited it was under construction.

Edited by PugLoaf
added additional info
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dstranger99

dstranger99

6 hours ago, TDT said:

Wow that was just painful to watch..

The cook flipping out in next week's preview,i wont be surprised(nor will i blame him) if its revealed in the update that he was the first one who bailed

I saw that too....Why not just quit and find another place to cook where the people are "normal". You don't have to be an expert chef to flip burgers, he can get a job anywhere doing that.

9 hours ago, DoctorK said:

Sadly, next week we will see Ramsey heal the dysfunctional relationships, fix the Inn and everyone will live happily after, at least until the cameras stop rolling. Sorry Gordon, these people don't need business help, they need psychiatric help and Gordon you are not a therapist.

Let's start by giving both Sara & Karan a bath, They both look like they smell.....

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Jersey Guy 87

Jersey Guy 87

2 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

I too wondered about where health inspectors were and how this place could possibly have passed.  I wonder about that on pretty much every restaurant makeover show too.  It's like the 800 pound gorilla in the room.  These shows expose the uselessness and corruption in that business.  You'd think people would be calling their local governments to complain.  I'm sure those diners were called in by the show.  I've read that shows like this take out ads on Craig's List and stuff like that to get people to come.

 

Anyone who's worked in a restaurant kitchen can tell stories of gross practices that went on there.  In high school I washed dishes at local restaurant, one that was somewhat upscale.  I would never eat there because I know what went on in that kitchen. I don't doubt that plenty of other restaurants are the same but I haven't worked there so I can pretend they're not.  That said, this place was a disaster.

I'm sure the presence of Gordon Ramsay and a camera crew had a lot to do with why the restaurant was so crowded that night.

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Julia

Julia

(edited)
13 hours ago, BusyOctober said:

This is who Karen reminds me of.

image.jpeg

I don't think that's a very nice thing to say about Strega Nonna. At least she sweeps.

ETA: OK, I was waiting for him to say something and he didn't - maybe he will next week? - but you don't stuff brill-o in the wall because you need to fill a hole. You put brill-o in the wall because it causes internal bleeding and death when the rats who chewed the hole try and eat it.

Edited by Julia
ew.
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vmcd88

vmcd88

I'm more disturbed by the people who regularly eat in at the Inn.  While I'm sure they would never guess that their burger was made the day before and boiled right before it was put on their plate, I'd like to think there would be some odd taste that would make them never want to eat there again.  Same with the cooked frozen 6 month old chicken.....reheated in the microwave. 

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threebluestars

threebluestars

I absolutely loved the two servers who were GLEEFUL in telling the customers exactly what was going on there. "This is our rotisserie chicken we bought at the grocery six months ago!" lol. Those boys full on knew Gordon Ramsay was going to blow a gasket.

I can't blame the employees for staying - sometimes you get stuck in a job because the prospect of leaving is scarier than a steady pay cheque. I think seeing the employees glee at finding someone outside of their place of work come in and notice all the things they hate is my favourite thing to watch on the show lol. It's like you can see them thinking "Finally, someone else sees it too, we aren't crazy!" Because I bet a lot of the owners gaslight them enough to convince them that they're complaining about nothing.

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BusyOctober

BusyOctober

(edited)

I've watched some disgusting kitchen/restaurant/bar rescue shows, but I don't think I ever physically gagged...twice...as I did upon hearing about boiled burger & old, frozen rotisserie chickens soaking in a warm bath/microwave to thaw & be served!

I don't know where in WV this place is, but my husband and his buddies experienced inedible food while visiting there. They ride ATV's and go to WV to ride the Hatfield & McCoy trails. The first year they went they cooked some meals at their camp site (which could be its own episode of a makeover show), but they went out to a few restaurants for a couple of meals.  Their 2 most memorable meals were a breakfast at a small cafe & a "steak dinner" at a highly recommended "steak house". 

The breakfast - they rolled up on the place @ 7am and sat at the counter with a view into the kitchen. The place had no brewed coffee.  Sanka or Maxwell House instant coffee, brought to you in the dirty smudgy jar along with a paper cup of tepid water, and packets of non-dairy creamer powder.  The guys decided to skip heavy pancake specials & ordered egg sandwiches on English muffins from the menu. There were 4 guys.  The waitress took their order, went to the freezer & took out 1 wrapped store bought pre-made egg sandwich from the freezer.  She then placed one on a paper plate, zapped it for a minute or 2, then brought it to the table.  Went back to freezer to get the next one...she did each one separately. One of the guys asked for a small OJ (list on the menu as "fresh").  She told him it'd be a few minutes while she "mixed up a batch"...it was TANG!

Steak House- they asked several locals where they could get a good steak dinner.  Overwhelmingly they were told they "had to" go to this place in the next town. "it is worth the 30 min drive!" So, off the guys go and the place is busy, but they get a table.  Server passes out very dirty, sticky menus and says "Afore y'all get to pickin' sumpthin', I got to tell you we's outta cuppla items...we ain't got no more prime rib, nor the T-bone, but the New York Strip is your best bet."  OK, 4 NY strips it is!.  Again they were seated near the open kitchen, so they could see everything.  The "chef" took out 4 frozen small slabs of meat from the freezer and ONE AT A TIME proceeded to "cook" them on a single electric hot plate. As each one was done, it went under a heat lamp.  It took over 40 minutes to get them to the table, served with under cooked tater tots and canned mixed veggies. Two of the braver guys attempted to cut their steaks with the dull knives and started to chew...and chew...and chew.  They paid and left and drove another 45 minutes to a McDonalds they saw off the highway.

They have gone back to WV over the years, but now they stop at Walmart and stock up to cook all their meals themselves.  MAybe I tell them to check out the Town's Inn next trip.

Edited by BusyOctober
typos aren't pretty
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MegD

MegD

6 hours ago, spiderpig said:

Did you read that Karan has a doctorate in education?

Somehow that makes me sad for the state of the American education system.

I want to know where Creepy Sarah is getting her business cards. I know you can get them inexpensively, but not so inexpensively that you can use them as papier-mâché wallpaper.

  • Love 2
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Lisin

Lisin

16 hours ago, spiderpig said:

I can't believe the restaurant would attract the number of local diners they showed unless everyone in town knew Gordon was filming there.

They did a casting call... or at least they paid people SAG day rate to "eat" there both nights. I live in a nearby town and know people who were at the "reveal" dinner but I don't have details beyond that.

Also, Harpers Ferry is in the Eastern Panhandle of the state, it's about an hour outside of Washington DC and there are loads of five star gourmet dining places in the area. This place is an anomaly. Especially for this area. 

  • Love 2
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Court

Court

Did anyone catch that Sarah sits at the table and keeps a journal? Gordon read from it and it was something like Betty used the bathroom at 10. I think it was near the beginning. 

  • Love 7
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spiderpig

spiderpig

I think Sarah is an alien in a human suit.  The way she materializes out of nowhere and talks as though not all her gears are engaged is bloodcurdling.

The son who appeared briefly at the beginning of the ep seemed startlingly normal.  He did make a quick getaway though.

  • Love 8
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Snarklepuss

Snarklepuss

15 hours ago, The Crazed Spruce said:

They boiled a hamburger.

They boiled a hamburger.

BOILED. HAMBURGER.

I can't... I mean.... BOILED. HAMBURGER.

*shudder*

OK, don't gag but Connecticut has famous "award winning" steamed cheeseburgers, although the meat is fresh, not pre-cooked.  And they are AWESOME.  Connecticut is weird (I live there) and so are steamed cheeseburgers, but they are a world apart from Karan's.

http://www.masslive.com/food/2015/05/connecticut_steamed_cheeseburgers.html

3 hours ago, MegD said:

I want to know where Creepy Sarah is getting her business cards. I know you can get them inexpensively, but not so inexpensively that you can use them as papier-mâché wallpaper.

They've probably been sitting in a dusty box on her dresser for 25 years unused, so why not?

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AKA...CJ86

AKA...CJ86

(edited)

...Did I hear Sarah correctly...Wikipedia Editor on her business card...the people I know...that's a hobby...

 

 

 

 

...unless there is more to it that I don't know...sorry, Wikipedia editor never sounded appealing...and I always thought anyone could do it?

Edited by CyberJawa1986
  • Love 4
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Wings

Wings

The owner has 'smile mask syndrome'.  That is covering a deep depression.  At the limited glance I see her women helpers have a mental skew as well.  Not enough info to diagnose though!  What a fucked up situation.  I think the follow up will be the place closed. 

I do not believe that the Inn had any diners.  No one would come back to eat that food and word is out.  No way.  Gordon/production hired the diners.  This is all for good TV and the scouters found reality gold with this crew.  He has zero inclination to fix this place.  It cannot be fixed.  This might have been the owners son asking to put the final nail in the coffin.  There are people watching that might be interested in buying.  A last ditch effort to finally make things change. 

  • Love 3
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Julia

Julia

8 hours ago, CyberJawa1986 said:

...Did I hear Sarah correctly...Wikipedia Editor on her business card...the people I know...that's a hobby...

...unless there is more to it that I don't know...sorry, Wikipedia editor never sounded appealing...and I always thought anyone could do it?

It's one of those online things where a very few of the lots of people who do it are... very committed. In a wow, really? kind of way.

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