Hotel Hell’s Lakeview Hotel closed down in 2021, which was five years after it was featured on the show, and the reason for its closure was not revealed.
Hotel Hell is the 2012 Fox original reality-format show that was executively produced and fronted by culinary expert, Gordon Ramsay.
The premise of the show is, “Chef Gordon Ramsay visits struggling, dysfunctional hotels across America and spends a week trying to help them become successful.”
One of the most notable episodes from the show’s three-season run is from the third and final season, which profiled the Lakeview Hotel in 2016.
The hotel closed down in 2021, the reason for which is unknown. But it is speculated that the owner, Brent MacDonald, may be responsible for the closure.
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What is the best episode from Hotel Hell?
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Hotel Hell concluded with three seasons in 2016. In total, the show produced 22 episodes throughout its run.
According to IMDb and its ranking based on its members voting on the best episodes from the season, these are the top three episodes and their premise:
Episode Detailed description Ranking “Hotel Chester” From season two, episode four premised, “A hotel in Starkville, MS, is in dire straits due to the owners’ financial difficulties” 7.8 out of 10 “Town’s Inn, Part. 1” Hotel Hell’s third season, episode three, which is premised, “Gordon Ramsay visits Harpers Ferry, WV, where he meets an inn owner who runs her 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” 7.5 out of 10 “Town’s Inn, Part. 2” The second part of the Town’s Inn intervention by Gordon Ramsay and his team 7.4 out of 10
What happened to Lakeview from Hotel Hell?
Lakeview Hotel was profiled in season six, episode five of Hotel Hell. The hotel, which was located in Chelan, Washington, was owned by married couple, Brent and Afni MacDonald.
The hotel was considered an adults-only hotel with a restaurant, ice cream parlour, and a valet service. But upon Gordon Ramsay’s arrival, it became clear to him what was advertised versus what was actually there.
First, there was no valet service, as Brent came and parked Ramsay’s car. Upon entering the hotel, there were cobwebs and dust everywhere, which shocked Ramsay at first.
Then, there was the deplorable state of the rooms, including the “best” suite that was given to Ramsay, who did not get the remote to the air conditioner. Moreover, the ice-cream parlour did not offer samples, which frustrated Ramsay.
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The restaurant was no better; most of the food was store-bought, like the minestrone soup that Ramsay ordered and the patties in the burgers from the restaurant. But it could be argued that the show presented Brent as the biggest problem with the hotel and business.
Besides being in denial about the state of the hotel, Brent fired his son due to him allegedly having a drinking problem and he had a strained relationship with his oldest daughter, as he did not attend her wedding nor had he met his grandchild.
Moreover, the one daughter he did still talk to was not allowed on the hotel premises, since she was a teenager.
Where to watch Hotel Hell?
Lakeview Hotel’s biggest problem
While Brent’s abrasive behaviour was one of the biggest reasons that the hotel was suffering, another big contributor was the fact that the business isolated itself from other businesses in the community.
As a popular tourist destination which, at the time, was ravaged by bush fires, the community members depended on each other to keep their businesses alive.
But Brent distanced his business from the rest – he did not sell local wine in his restaurant and he did not collaborate with any of the other businesses, which resulted in the community also distancing themselves from his hotel.
Is Lakeview Hotel still open?
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Gordon Ramsay’s intervention in Lakeview Hotel included deep cleaning the premises, introducing a new menu and hiring a sommelier who would sell local wines in the restaurant.
He also introduced ice-cream samples, but soon after his departure, the hotel returned to its previous form. The hotel managed to stay in business for five years after Ramsay’s intervention before it officially closed down in the summer of 2021.
The reason for the closure was not disclosed, but it was assumed, due to the reviews on TripAdvisor and Yelp, that Brent returned to his old ways, and that was the cause.
Brent MacDonald suggests Hotel Hell was staged
Following his appearance on Hotel Hell, Brent MacDonald suggested that the show was staged as some moments in the episode were exaggerated for television.
Moreover, he suggested that he acted as the “bad guy”, when he realised that the episode needed an antagonist. During this time, the hotel and restaurant were still open.
As such, Brent indicated that they reverted back to their old ways because Ramsay’s intervention did not work for his business, but he could not say as much at the time, because it was a television show.
