'Hotel Hell' in Ramsay's own London backyard

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July 30, 2012 - 11:56

After our disappointing stay at celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay's first hotel, the York and Albany Townhouse in North London, we were horrified to find out that Ramsay is now turning to helping hotels that have seen their hey-day (or never had a hey-day in the first place) by going out in the field to to put the hotels back on the hospitality map.

However, having seen how his hotel operates first-hand, we're afraid that Ramsay has very little credibility left in our eyes when it comes to the hospitality industry. Ramsay would be better off having a wander down to Regent's Park to set his own hotel straight before jumping in to save the world's decrepit hotels, like a knight in shining armour.

Hotels from hell will be the topic for a new television series, Hotel Hell, which will be presented by Gordon Ramsay and will air on the Fox Network on 13 August. In the same vein as Kitchen Nightmares, Ramsay will be heading off to the United States in order to reform small struggling hotels.

Ramsay, the only British chef to have been awarded three Michelin stars also has 17 restaurants worldwide - only a select few, like the restaurant of the Trianon Palace in Paris, are actually overseen by the chef himself. His first hotel, the York and Albany in North London, for example, has two restaurants, which are not officially headed by Ramsay, although a part of Gordon Ramsay Holdings.

The multi-millionaire chef - $38 million to be exact, according to the Forbes rich list - may have all the good intentions in the world to help the struggling classes of the hospitality industry, however, if he can't keep his own 10-room hotel in shape, how good an example of that revered British excellence will he make across the Atlantic?

Last month, we spent a night at the hotel - you can read the full review here. Expecting top-notch accommodation from this five-star restaurant with rooms, we were left high and dry after our experience. The lack of attention to detail and to functionality, despite reaching top marks for British authenticity in its décor and charm, was startling for an establishment laying claims to being one of London's most desirable places to stay.

After a series of hotel-no-nos, like an unattended reception desk, broken lamps, a missing bedside cabinet, a lacking phone, not to mention the stained carpets, we could not help but mark down Sir Ramsay's terrible townhouse.

One can imagine the surprise we were hit by when we saw an article on the Fox website announcing the new series! In Hotel Hell, Ramsay is set to travel far and wide to save crumbling reputations across the United States from San Diego, California to Cambridge, New York. To fully gage the ongoing problems at the bed and breakfasts, inns and hotels included in the program, Ramsay will stay at the awful establishments before putting the staff through a hotel boot camp with the aim of getting the hotels back on track.

Admittedly, dirty rugs and an unattended front-desk weren't quite enough to call the York and Albany experience 'Hotel Hell', but it was a star short of reaching full five-star status for us. Before Ramsay sets off on his high horse, guns blazing, he should spend a bit more time in his own backyard, scrubbing those rugs clean and fixing the wiring before calling himself a hospitality expert, which is somewhat insulting to those of us who really are qualified in the field.

Rooksana Hossenally