S02.E08: Murphy's Hotel - Hotel Hell [V]

A fitting end to the season, because it touched on almost everything that has made this show go downhill. It wasn't great last season, but it didn't seem to be such a constant insult to viewer intelligence. Most of the owners, as they were presented, were so clueless it's hard to believe they could've stay open long enough to be rescued. The turnarounds, thanks to miracle worker Saint Gordon, happened ridiculously fast. As in this episode, where one heart to heart talk from Gordon completely reverses what has obviously been many years of incredibly immature, self-indulgent, assholish behavior.

And just how fast are the physical makeovers supposed to happen? At least on Hotel Impossible they show you the work being done, which makes it plausible. This episode featured yet another stunningly inappropriate and amateurish redesign. I love old hotels, and if I'd booked Murphy's based on its history I would've walked into that lobby and thought WTF? That tacky sign saying "Murphy's" looked like it was made in high school wood shop. There was nothing "period" about it. Might as well have been blinking neon.

As for the all-night partying, a hotel bar that's the main drinking spot in a small town might get noisy on weekend nights, but it's not going to be 'Fellini Satyricon." What we saw totally had the feel of a bunch of extras told to act wild and crazy for the camera. (That said, whenever I consider booking an in-town hotel I always read online reviews to see if anyone mentions late night nosie from either the hotel bar or neighboring bars or clubs.  So I think that if you stay at a hotel in the middle of the town's main drag, especially on a weekend, it's buyer beware. And bring earplugs. And headphones.)

If the show returns, I'm hoping for owners you'd actually want to root for, less fake staged drama, and less GR screaming insults into people's faces. And please Gordon, keep your damn pants on.

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