HotelChatter

Robert is practically a hoarder as evidenced by all his hiding spots and storage lockers full of antiques and general crap. (Seriously, we're concerned some cats might be lost in that upstairs office. Please advise and let us know they are ok.) Robert also has issues communicating with his staff, particularly the chef Giulian. Both Robert and Ari view the B&B as more of a place to entertain their friends, rather than a business with employees who depend on getting a reasonable paycheck every two weeks. Over and over throughout the episode, the issues of getting paid and being underpaid constantly come up.

The episode has moments of unintentional comedy--Gordon getting hit on by Barbara, a server/"underpaid cougar"; Robert bragging about the RV he and Ari live in that's parked next to the inn; Robert clarifying that it's not an RV but a high-end motor coach; the rescue pot-bellied pigs that live at the inn--but the owners' incompetence and their unwillingness to take responsibility is absolutely frightening, especially when Ari snaps at Giulian in a dictator fashion and says, "Excuse me. I am the boss here." We're not sure how Ramsay can ever turn this place around.

Other than putting Ramsay in a room that had not been occupied in four months and smells like sewage (and which costs $350 a night for a two-night minimum), we don't see too much of the hotel operations in this episode. It's pretty much an episode of "Kitchen Nightmares", detailing all of the problems with the dinner service and honing in on Chef Giulian's personal nightmare working under Robert. Yet we did feel a sense of satisfaction when Ramsay stood up for the staff and called Robert a bunch of expletives.

And that's where the episode ended, to be continued later tonight. Again, we hope the second episode focuses more on how the hotel can attract more guests--not just diners. Otherwise, the Travel Channel's Hotel Impossible, while less dramatic and with far fewer f-bombs, has the edge as far as Hotel Fixer shows are concerned.

What did you think of Hotel Hell? For f-ck's sake, sound off in comments below!

[Photo: Hotel Hell/Fox]