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Tonight, I check into a New Mexico hotel where the guests are driven away by the owner who thinks you share. I'm like an audio mirage. If I do a share tune, you're going to think you're hearing share. I've got to find a way to save a sinking hotel with dreadful entertainment. I would pay you 100 bucks not to sing. Awful food. It's like the cat shat all over my plate. And a general manager who can't be trusted. Does the general manager badmouth the owner behind her back?
Yes. What an untrustworthy, backstabbing son of a [__] you are. The 14-bedroom Meson De Mesilla is a small boutique hotel located in the border town of Las Cruces, New Mexico. It should be a wonderful southwestern oasis, but the few guests that visit the hotel are in for an unpleasant surprise. Owner Cally Savinsky purchased the former bed and breakfast in 2006 and completely remodeled it, putting her own distinctive taste and style into every aspect from the food to the furnishings. To me, it's very European. It's very Tuscan in nature. Maybe that's the Venetian plaster, but I didn't really pick a style as much as I just picked out things that I liked.
And one thing Cally likes a lot is beige. The bedrooms are beige with beige and a little beige. The walls are freaky. It looks like it's trying to be marble, but it's plastic. I do not believe the customer is always right. Definitely not a place that I would feel comfortable staying. Sometimes they're wrong. I just have to cook well. Pregnancy wanted to make sure it was well. Yeah, the more you cook it the less flavor it will have.
How's that chicken parm tender salad going? Cali made the menu. We only serve Tuscan food. I don't even know if Cali's ever been to Italy. 86 bruschetta. Told you guys forever that was an awful recipe. But it may not be the bad food or the decor that's keeping guests away. My mother was a bartender and she would have me sing to people and they paid attention to me and they liked me. I live for applause.
Cali tried to make it as a professional singer, but when her career stalled, she found her own personal concert venue. I bought the hotel to sing. The audience members really like me a lot. I'm like an audio mirage. You if I do a Cher tune, you're going to think you're hearing Cher. If you're not looking at me, you think I am Cher. We get a lot of telephone calls. Is Cali singing tonight? Well, then that kind of means they like me. I think I surprise them quite a bit cuz they just don't expect it.
Give me just a second here. After that song, I need a little drink. Two months ago, Cali hired local restaurateur Zan Steinberg as her new general manager. Ladies, how are we? Who's checking in? Zan's wife, Mitzi, has been working with Cali since the hotel opened. In the beginning, my husband Zan and Cali's relationship was very good. Has it deteriorated? Oh, a bunch. Where are the keys? How can I get anything done if that bastard won't put [__] back? Zan is the biggest problem here right now and that's unfortunate because I brought him on to help me with what I thought with the biggest problem was
we don't have enough customers. Some kind of general manager he is. Cali should be fired for being a poor operator and digging this thing into a hole With ownership and management not on the same page, the guests are the ones that suffer. How is everything here? We're basically ready to get our food to go cuz we've waited so long. Okay, let me take care of that for you. Cali believes that the customers have a place in her hotel, but Cali's at the tippy top of that pyramid. I do not enjoy going up to tables and having something wrong at every [__] table I get to.
I don't like it at all. Hotel bookings have fallen to an all-time low, and for much of the year, not one of the 14 bedrooms has a guest in. If things don't change fast, the hotel will be forced to close. Someone needs to be able to tell me what it is I'm doing wrong. Everything that I have is tied up into the hotel. My first time in New Mexico. I'm in Las Cruces in the Southwest desert. And look at it. I mean, absolutely stunning. On the way to the Maizon de Mesilla. Now, this is a small boutique hotel, possibly the perfect getaway.
You have arrived at your destination. You're kidding me. I mean, this is a joke. You've arrived and look here, I'm on a [__] pile of sand. Turn around when possible. This is crazy. It doesn't make sense. You have arrived at your destination. Is that it there? Turn around when possible. You think they'd have a decent sign on there, wouldn't you? Looks like a prison. Finally. Hello.
Hello. Welcome to Maizon de Mesilla. Good to see you. So, whose favorite color is beige? Well, Cali was the decorator. Cali is the Cali's the owner. Yeah, that's right. This is our cleaning agreement. If you could read and sign it, please. Cleaning agreement? Yes, just so you don't I'm not coming for a job or a detox or our property. This is a Damage your property? Yes, the owner's very concerned about the Venetian plaster. And she wants me to sign a waiver.
Yes, sir. To say I won't damage it. Yes, sir. Does everyone have to sign these? Everyone, yes. Why would I sign a waiver? I'm not sure why you'd want to sign a waiver. No, sir. I'm not going to sign that. By the way, welcome. Good to see you. What a first impression. I don't believe that there needs to be a waiver. I just do what I'm told. You put these things on there. It doesn't look like New Mexico to me. doesn't. Maybe Italian?
Uh well, I have two restaurants in Italy and my restaurants haven't got pictures of New Mexico. Bloody hell. Let's go up to the room. Do I have to sign a waiver to walk on the carpet? No, sir. Look, that was not me. Looks like someone's pooped on my wall. Oh, you got a little fireplace. A fireplace. That's exactly what you need in the middle of the [__] desert. Do you have any alternate rooms?
I'd love to move if it was less beige. All the rooms are going to be the same. Oh, [__] Oh, thank you. I'm going to unpack. Are you going to leave me alone on my own in my room? Do I need to sign a waiver? No, sir. No. Nice to meet you, by the way. Nice to meet you, too, Gordon. Thank you. This room is so bland, it looks more like an airport hotel than a fun weekend getaway in the heart of New Mexico. I can't wait to meet the woman behind this. Hello. Hi. Welcome to the restaurant. Gordon. Kelly. Kelly, good to see you. Good to see you, too. Um I thought that you'd be wearing beige. With the lady that's in love with beige everywhere.
I do like beige. My favorite color is beige, but I think beige goes with a lot of things. I didn't sign the waiver. Sending that message out to every customer coming in here is not a good sign to begin with. Well, it's $7.50 a square foot to replace the Venetian plaster, so it could be a lot if someone does some damage. Why don't you uh show me around? I would love to show you around. This is the main dining room. How many seats have you got here? 89. What do you have on the stairs?
It's a stage where I perform. Oh, wow, amazing. And percussionists, guitarists? No, I actually right now I sing to tracks. So, you have like a backing track and you sing over it? yes, I do. Okay. Wow, wow, wow. And this is the bar. Over there, we have another stage. I usually sing in here on Fridays and Saturdays. Okay. And no one else performs here? No one else. No. Wow, wow, wow. I'm intrigued here. Seriously, what's all that [__] in the pool?
Well, that's from the pool cleaner who was supposed to be here this morning. He's a little bit late. Is it busy the pool? No, it's not. Very seldom do people use the pool. Mind you, I suppose it's like going for a swim in a prison. Jesus Christ. What's that at the back there? That was for entertainment. My god, three stages. I sing everywhere in the hotel. I love to sing, period. Three stages? I hope there's no stage in the kitchen.
Hello. Hi. How are you? Good. Sierra. Hi Sierra. Sierra, nice to see you. Likewise, where are you from? I'm from New Mexico. Oh, nice. Local girl. Excellent. Is the cuisine New Mexican? No. It's American. There's nothing here that's New Mexican at all. No. This is all very um confusing. I'm looking forward to tasting the food later, anyway, whatever it is. Uh let's catch up at the bar, shall we? Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you, too. I like to cook Southwestern cuisine. It's like I don't know why we have Tuscan food. As the owner, in your mind, what's wrong with the place? Well, we don't have enough customers. And you've had it now since 2006. How much did it cost? $1.2 million. Wow. That's what I purchased it for. How much did you spend converting it? Another $1.2 and 1/2 million? Mhm. Bloody hell. I shut down for 14 months to remodel it.
14 months shut down? Yeah. It wasn't supposed to be 14 months. It was supposed to be four. It turned it into 14 months and a million two to do it. And the contractor was indicted. Bloody hell. I've gone through a lot of stuff with this hotel. It's like I'm starting to think maybe the problem is I'm just too trusting. How long can you continue putting money in? Uh I've got maybe 60, 70, $70,000 left. So, for the next 6 months, max. Yeah, unless we unless it kicks up.
Um listen, I'm I'm here to help. And I'm sorry it's been this difficult. Thank you. I'm glad to see I'm I'm really glad you're here. So, [snorts] I'm keen to meet the general manager and see why he's letting this place fail on his watch. Now, you're the general manager? I'm the general manager. Um how long have you been working in hotels? Hotels will be 9 weeks. This is I've I never been in a hotel, but I'd always been in restaurants, full service restaurants. How does a restaurant manager become qualified to be a general manager of a hotel when you've never worked in a hotel before?
It's not that complicated. Take care of the guest, check people in and out. It's not that complicated. I don't believe it is. I can do the work. It's not that hard. There's only like six, seven things I need to learn. What are the major problems? The major problem is Cali is the owner. She's the major problem. She is too controlling and my hands are being tied. If you're not being allowed to do the job you came in to do, why are you here? I'm here cuz I'm emotionally invested in the place. How can you be emotionally invested when you've only been here for 9 weeks?
Well, my wife's been here all these years. Anytime somebody calls in sick, the first person they call is Mitzi. We've always thought it's a gold mine. We just can't figure out why we can't get people in the seats. The only way for Misone to be successful is for Cali to back out. What are these things here? Uh the vinyl. We're uh Disgusting. In fact, can we take this off? Do you mind? Instantly, it looks better, right?
You not need to be a general manager to make that decision, do you? No. Is there a server or I will go and bring a server over for you. Please And his or her name? Uh Mitzi. How's your wife? Yes. How are you? Good. How are you? Let's order first, shall we? Okay. And then we'll have a chat. All right. What would you like? We are in New Mexico, aren't we? Yes, we are in Las Vegas. Taste of Tuscany. Yes. Why wouldn't you just go for a modern, stunning, delicious Mexican cuisine?
I guess it's because she thinks there's enough of them. It's crazy. Uh the prosciutto looks good. Okay. The chicken piccata, that sounds interesting. Okay. The lamb lollipops. Wow, it's not cheap, is it? $23 for the lamb lollipops. Thank you, my darling. Bloody hell. I got the prosciutto. I know good food. Thank you so much. No problem. Our food is really good. To be forewarned. It's not a caper on my plate. Prosciutto normally goes with uh tomatoes.
Yes, and this is olives and anchovies. Popular dish? Um no. It's like vomit there, I guess you'd say. Ooh, dear, oh dear. Word's got out that I'm in town, and the restaurant is starting to fill up with customers. Like this, like this. I feel sorry for all of them. Well, here we go, my $23 lollipops. You've been the longest member of staff here. What do you think's wrong with this place? Um I think Cali's reputation. Is it that bad? She's rude. She's rude? Mhm. She's brass. She's short. She's not flexible. I think you get the picture.
Thank you, Madonna. Blimey, not what I'd call a loyal workforce. What's that? $23. Dreadful. Tough as [__] Do you like lamb? I love lamb. It's tough as a little tough, and perhaps a little rare. A little tough. What is going on? Now, you haven't got much hotel experience, but isn't this your forte, restaurants? Yes. Bloody hell. I'm finished with that. Thank you. I mean, dreadful. Absolutely You tell that Is that lamb frozen? The lamb comes frozen, and we thaw, of course.
Can you find out where it's from? Yes. Lamb lollipops, no go. So far, nothing I've tasted has even a remote connection to the area. Nothing local, nothing authentic, nothing New Mexican. New Zealand. New Zealand lamb. Mhm. Wow. That part's right. Our chicken is um piccata's non-traditional. Thank you for visiting us here at Mescal and Misery. My name is Cali. I'm going to do just a little music for you this afternoon. Little rock number from Cher. Love her.
Hi ladies, how are we? Nice to see you. I'm so sorry about the noise. I just got in the kitchen. Yes, a little bit much. I'm not too sure what's more scary, the food or the singing. What would you say? I don't know if that compliments or if that's a How are we, ladies? Take my grapes. Bunch of grapes.
And thanks for joining us here. Does that normally happen? Yes. That's not just because I'm here. No. She is not Share. I am sorry. I love to sing. That's probably why I bought this place. I've got to get away from this horrendous singing. We haven't met you, have we? Say again, sir? We haven't met you, have we? No, sir. I'm David. What do you do? Yes, sir. I'm a pantry. Yes, sir. Tell us. Are you trained, David? Well, it's trained as in I've been sir.
I've been around, sir. And where's your love of food coming from? Where did you Where My father. Your father. He was a chef? No, sir. My dad was a nurse, but he loved to eat. Wow. WALK IN ANOTHER CALAMARI WITH A REMOULADE. I have the second calamari selling right now, ma'am. Heard. Give us 2 seconds. Yes, sir. This already breaded. It's fried. I'm going to fry it right now, sir. That's when it cooked.
Yes, sir. So, when was it cooked? Oh, actually we get in a box, sir. We get it from a fish company, sir. Completely frozen. Just touch that. Oh, yes, sir. It feels like rubber. I don't eat the fish here, sir. How come you know this and you're still doing it? My opinion doesn't matter in this restaurant, sir. If you know it's bad Yes. and yet you just against your will do it. Life.
Wow. I hope tonight's guest can remain as positive as David has. If you can sign this here for me, it's just a cleaning agreement. A what? A cleaning agreement. It's just in case you do throw red wine on our walls. Does that happen? It has happened, actually. Unfortunately, the guests checking in are getting the same terrible welcome that I did. If I could please have you read Good evening, ladies. Welcome. Nice to see you both. Thank you. I'd like to apologize about the waiver. All right. Well, you got to do Oh. Not throwing red wine on the walls is too Sign a cleaning agreement?
Yeah. So, what does that mean? Like, do the check-off list when you come in and then do the check-off list when you exit in the morning? Is there any other breakfast other than coffee in the morning? No, ma'am. There's no breakfast. Is there room service or anything? No, ma'am. You're lucky you're not hearing the singing. I'm going to head to the bar for a quiet after-dinner drink. Any more singing and I feel like my head might explode.
Okay, what is going on? Customers are having dinner and all of a sudden she breaks into this music. Totally unexpected. No, totally. Yeah, she just sits there and absolutely Real loud, wasn't it? Yeah. And what the [__] Seriously, I've seen enough for one day. Just you got to have played that down somewhere. Where's she going now? She's going to sing? No. Yes. Not in here. Yes, sir.
You are kidding me. I thought these guests in here were the lucky ones. They did do. The same numbers? Exact same. She's a nut job. Exact same order, yes. My name is Callie, for those of you who don't know. I do a little entertaining here. Got any share fans in the Hey, thank you. With dinner service and the terrible karaoke concert finally over, it's time to get the chef and the management together and find out what on earth is going on here. Let's get one thing absolutely certain. It is not a taste of Tuscan anything.
It's not funny. So, class the butt. So, are you happy about all of this? No, I told you I'm not doing it because I'm not allowed to change anything. Oh my god. So, I feel like there is many pricing issues here. There are definitely changes that have to happen. You're amazing. It's just total horse [__] It's just total horse [__] You know? It's just like No, we work within the constraints that I'm allowed to organize. Me this [__] all been taught. Constraints my ass. You have done nothing since you came in here but talk about me behind my back, try to set me up to fail every [__] day.
Why do I want to make you look bad? I don't know. I wish to hell I did know, but I've got several people we can line up and we'll tell them exactly what you said to them. I imagine we will, you know, I can do the same thing about you, you know. I'll leave and the only thing you'll say, the parting words, not to me is, "I hope he hangs himself." So, how horrible is that when I'm doing an event here? Well, I'll tell you how horrible it is. About as horrible as when somebody hires all new people and tells each and every one of them that she's a [__] to work for, you can't work for her, but hang in there because in 6 months I'll be
running this place and she'll be gone. I mean, literally right out the box, right out of the box. So, there you go. So, that's what it all goes back to. Yeah, because that's when I found out what an untrustworthy backstabbing son of a [__] you are. I got to worry about my back continuously with you. What? This major miracle man that was supposed to come in here and double and triple this business when there's been no change whatsoever. None.
Was I allowed to make any changes? Like direct dramatically making changes? You wanted to hire new people, which you did. Of course you told each and every one of them that they shouldn't work for me. For God's sake. Is that true? There was the impression given that Cali would no longer be here whenever we were brought here. owns the place. Why were you suggesting that she's not going to be here after Sierra starts? I don't recall that. [__] It just wasn't her. It wasn't her, it was Danny, it was Britney, it was everybody. Does the general manager badmouth the owner behind her back?
Yes. Of course she doesn't trust you if you're going to badmouth her behind her back. If you were the owner, what would you do? I would fire that person that badmouthed me. I think I'm leaving. I was just fired. Now, Cali, I'm sorry, you've already failed. And you need a fall guy. Okay, you got me. You run it. You step up to the plate. Good luck. I'm leaving, too. I'm out of here. I feel betrayed. And if the [__] thinks I'm going to stay, she's nuts.
You know, I don't mind Cali yelling at me. It's fine. She finally got it off her [__] chest. But she doesn't trust anybody. You know, everybody's burned her in her history. I don't know. I didn't burn her. It felt good to fire him because he's been a cancer here at the hotel. And now the tumor has been cut out and we're going to be in better shape. Zant's just been fired. The level of animosity and the friction between those two is extraordinary, but the question is what happens next?
Today has got to be better than yesterday. Let's hope the pool guy came. What the hell is that? What a joke. I mean, what a badly utilized space. I mean, you think of a hotel anywhere in New Mexico, God, one thing is an asset. This is pool. I mean, this space could be the best thing about this hotel, yet it's just abuse. Dirty. Not even a towel out here, so What the [__] was swimming there? That's disgusting. Breakfast. So, no morning swim for me, but at least I can enjoy a good breakfast to start the day. God. That's all they've got to offer. How unimpressive is that? This is crazy.
I've got to find some breakfast. I'm starving and cold coffee isn't going to do it. But, I've heard there's an amazing farmer's market in town, so I'm going to quickly check it out. What a bloody little place. I've heard David from Maison's kitchen runs a food truck here in his spare time. No deep fried calamari, I hope. I saw the line and I thought, "Wow, what are you serving?" We got quesadillas, best in New Mexico. Okay, brilliant. I have a look at the food truck with a buddy of mine, Chris, a little taste of New Mexico.
This is one of our favorites right here, cucumber lime. That's perfect. mint. But, 100° outside, that's perfect, right? Yes, it is. My goodness. Man, that's delicious. So, what's in the quesadilla? Cheese, green chile, and asadero cheese. Here you are, my friend. Thank you. Mhm. That is delicious. Yeah. Uh David, that's better than anything I've eaten in the hotel, you know that? Yes, sir.
Delicious. Thank you, sir. Uh the food truck is my creative outlet. It's a place for me to at least express my ideas without having any borders. Well done. I'll see you later. Thanks. Good job. Delicious. Enjoy the food, guys. Thank you. This town is stunning, full of charm and local color. It's such a shame the hotel reflects none of that. I've got to find a way to get Cali to embrace New Mexico and make the most of what her hotel has to offer. How you I feel okay.
I think it's important for you to understand the bigger picture. Okay. Yeah. Stick with me, please. Thank you. Hopefully, what I have planned will open Cali's eyes. Cali, this is some of your guests. I'd like you to share your experiences. Why don't we start off with you first, please? First impressions are important to me and the very first thing I had to do was sign a cleaning waiver. And it just it makes the assumption that I'm not going to be clean. That assumption was it was just a tough first impression.
Yes, a valid point. Waivers are for bungee jumps. How you feeling? Uh that whole thing for me wasn't to make you think that I didn't think that you were clean. It was I had someone come in and throw red wine all over the Venetian plaster and I thought that I should charge them for that. Are you punishing every other guest on the back of the sins of one guest? And it's not right. You know, you can't penalize future business on the back of one idiot. So, It appears that there's no thought into what the customer's going to experience. For instance, um the first thing on a hot day, you want to go into the pool. Um and we looked out to the pool and it's right now it's the same way.
It's got um a lot of leaves and it's dirty, so that maybe it's not open, but how can it not be open? Yes, a valid point. Madam, please. We were in the lounge for dinner and when you were singing, we couldn't have a conversation. It's just not appropriate for an upscale, intimate, fine dining experience. I feel like you're very focused on the performance, but you're not really focused on your guests. Very interesting. So, Anything that goes wrong with the restaurant when you're singing, you're too busy singing and not caring about your guests. I would pay you 100 bucks not to sing. As long as you are focused on your
singing career and not on your restaurant and hotel career, my wife and I won't be back. I don't agree. I have quite a bit of people that come here to hear me sing. Guest feedback is critical. It's about turning that negativity into something positive. Now, I'd like to introduce you to a very special lady, Nilou Motamed. She is the features director and the senior correspondent for Travel and Leisure magazine. Nilou, um give us an insight to your stay, please. One of the things that we look at is whether a hotel has a sense of place, whether it's maximizing the value that beautiful setting that it's in has.
You mentioned the pool. That's one great example of a moment where you have a potential great asset here that is being underutilized. And it's kind of underwhelming. There's a reason why hotel schools exist. So, it's not a hobby. It's a business. There is one question I'd like to ask you all. Would you come back to stay in this hotel again? Please raise your hands. No one. Um thank you to you all. Your feedback has been absolutely pivotal. I appreciate it. I was sending a message that I didn't realize I was sending and didn't want to send. I want people to come here. I want them to feel welcomed.
Are you starting to understand? I am. You are? I am. You're worrying about the wrong things. biggest issue you have is understanding who's number one. The guests have to be number one, not Cali. That's That's That's the bottom line. If you can change that, this place has every chance of becoming a big success. Can you change? Will you help me? I will help you, but you've got to start listening. I can do it. Again. So, overnight, my design team have pulled off an incredible transformation, which I can't wait to share with Kelly and her staff. Are we ready?
Yes, sir. Please, turn around. Wow. Nice stunning sign. Wow. Now, when you drive by, it tells you what we are. The Sandia Vista Hotel and Restaurant. That's right? Very Now, everybody that drives by is not going to wonder, "Huh, wonder whose nice house that is." Are you ready to see inside? Oh, yeah. Because this you're going to absolutely love. Morning, everybody. What about you? How are we? Oh, we're cool. Welcome to your new hotel breakfast buffet.
Wow. Remember what breakfast used to be like? We had cold coffee. Now, you have a very traditional stunning breakfast buffet. That will be served on crisp white linens. Not those horrible plastic cloths. And that's not all. I reached out and got an amazing local talented breakfast chef. Let me introduce you to Meet David, our breakfast chef. Wow, David. Hi, David. Hey. Hi, David. It's a wonderful thing. I feel great right now. I'm loving the recipes and I'm I'm really excited to be in the kitchen right now.
Kelly. Yes, sir. I think that's a much better way of using that stage than a karaoke evening. Let's go. Welcome to your suite. This is beautiful. Very cool. Wow. It's in there. Very cool. Wow. Very cool. So, we've incorporated some of the local colors and brought them in to this boutique hotel. Kelly, how you feeling? Amazed. Room 205 is an amazing room. It's a New Mexico feel. I know it's not beige, but you don't mind, do you?
No, no, not at all. I think it's gorgeous. I do. The walls are still beautiful, and yet we have all this color. And it goes so well with the area that we're in. I love the color, but there's something I've taken away. There are no more waivers for your guests to sign. Is that good with you, Kelly? Good. It's awesome. The front desk no longer has waivers, and the new rooms are colorful. They fit with exactly where we are in this historic district. I am very proud to show people the new rooms.
I've got one very small thing to show you. You ready? We are. This you're going to love. Oh, it's out here. Wow, cool. Oh my god. That's amazing. That's awesome. Now, that's what I call a pool. Yes, it is. Remember there was leaves and crap everywhere? Now, welcome to one of the hippest, one of the coolest pools anywhere in New Mexico. That is the oasis in the middle of the desert. Gone is that hideous fence, and replaced it with new turf and pool furniture to die for. Beautiful. It is. People will just want to come and hang out here now. Bam.
Bam, this is awesome. The pool, absolutely beautiful. Never seen anything like it. If we don't have pool parties now, then something's wrong. This is your fantastic cabana area. Gone is the stage. If you want to sing, Kelly, do it in the shower. I'll be serving drinks. Drinks out here? I'm hoping the business is going to absolutely kick off with this wonderful pool. Now that you have a stunning outside area, let me introduce you to your new poolside menu.
Wow. Poolside. So, you start off with a lovely refreshing tomato gazpacho, beautifully marinated, seasoned lovely with extra virgin olive oil. Fish tacos as well. Oh, I'm going to eat all that. Yes. And delicious fruit kebabs. Oh, this is great. Wonderful fresh fruit, mango, orange, lime, coconut, and seasoned with these wonderful green local chilies. A taste of New Mexico, not Tuscany, Kelly. Outstanding. The tomato gazpacho is magnificent. I'm very proud to cook this food. It makes sense and it goes with New Mexico. I think it's excellent.
Have a good look at the menu. Get used to it cuz we're going to be pushing it big time. See you in a minute. This makeover is the biggest I've done in any of the hotels I've visited. There's over $150,000 worth of upgrades and I've never been happier with the improvements. It's exactly what the guests need. If I was Kelly, I'd be over the moon. Green chilies, pecans, everything that New Mexico's about, we have it on the menu. We have the guacamole, we have the salsa.
What do I do with the five cases of hamburger buns that I just brought in? And even more. Hey, what we want to spend an hour putting things away every night and then bring them out every morning? This is what Ramsey gave the hotel on flavor, flavor, flavor, flavor. Who do I hire to do that? This is a lot of work. I can't do this. I can't. Deal with it. Oh my god. There's things that I'm concerned about. The pool's outstanding. It's scary to me because I've got a pretty big job ahead of me now and the linens, major pain in the ass. So many things that I'm going to have to
do that right now I you know, I'm really like freaking out over this and what I'm going to do is raise prices. Kelly is a little overwhelmed right now. I do believe she likes the fact that it's more New Mexican. Jesus God almighty. But Kelly's Kelly. Where's all my [__] What does that mean? The all the other stuff that you took away. What stuff? Tell me. I want to help you. The oh the tapestries. Oh, and I know you took down all the grapes Yes. which was covering a pretty big hole in that wall.
Well, then show me. Show me what we Oh, it's not catastrophic. Oh, no. Is that what you're worried about? It was a plastic bunch of grapes. To hide this where somebody hit it with a table. We can get your grapes back and you can stick plastic grapes back on the wall. Let me show you something for 2 seconds. I want to show you something really important. Just have a look at that out there. How beautiful is that? It's exactly what your guests need and want. Let me show you something.
Oh, oh, there it is. And look at that, amazing stuff there. And look at this pile of [__] in here. And you're starting to create a fuss forgetting that this hotel is about the guests and you start putting the team on edge because you want back the grapes. Here's what I'm going to do for you. In 15 minutes, I will clear all that furniture, okay? And I'll put it back in my van. And this [__] here, I'll put back in there. I am ex- Should we go for you Should we get in there and look for your grapes? No. I am more grateful than you can possibly know. have a very bizarre way of showing it. That's all.
Thank you, Kelly. Sometimes what I say with the best intentions is taken with the worst. And to be aware of that is very good because that just means that I'm going to be able to start thinking the thought all the way through before it comes out of my mouth. I'm glad Kelly's grateful, but I am worried as soon as I leave, she'll be back to her old ways. Plastic grapes won't kill her business, but if she carries on singing, that might. You mustn't take this the wrong way and I hope you don't, but I grew up with a dad that was constantly moving our family [clears throat] in and out of working men's clubs, bars, and singing every [__] weekend. Seeing him ruin his life trying to be someone
he was never going to be. The other night, I watched you move from here to here. For Christ you shouldn't be doing this in here. I think there's a level of class about you, the way you hold yourself, the way you dress, the way you appear. I don't want to see you being laughed at. really don't know how to react but obviously um Every time you're singing you're not running your own hotel. I totally agree with you. right now. It needs to be run. Okay, that makes sense to me. Good. I think Kelly's ready for a fresh start. So I invited lots of new guests and a local band for Maison's first ever pool party.
Hi. Table for four five? Uh 15. 15? How are we? Are you good? Yeah. Having fun? Yeah. Gorgeous place, right? Yeah. Love it. Enjoy. Have fun. party crowds are loving all the changes. The fish tacos are yummy. They're loving the food, guys. Yes, keep it going. Yes. You know my first job when I was 18? Pot wash, starters, running. But I wasn't running to glamorous pools like you're about to run to. And the new guests are loving the colorful rooms. Oh, wow. It's beautiful. It is beautiful. Love the beds. Come on. I think this will work. People will like this idea.
You guys really need to have something like this in Albuquerque cuz there's nothing like this. We don't have to leave town. We're here. Vacation. I think Kelly's heart is in the right place but she has a lot to learn about running her hotel. I'd like to introduce you to a very special man, Mr. Jeff Mayhew. Nice to meet you. Likewise. How are you doing, Kelly? I'm I'm wonderful. Now this man has a wealth of experience spanning nearly three decades of running some of the most prestigious and luxurious boutique hotels in New Mexico.
Jeff's a former innkeeper of the year. He's not just good, he's one of the best. And he knows this business inside out. After all, he does something so well that he's innkeeper of the year. I want my guest to get the experience that his guest get. I'm going to leave you two alone. Spend some valuable time. Okay, great. We look forward to working with you. Thank you. So let's talk. Okay. Now, Kelly clearly she can't turn back time but she can insist on this place having a bright future on one condition.
She stays off that bloody microphone and makes her guests the stars and not her bloody singing. Can she do it? That's the million-dollar question. It's the end of a long week at Maison de Messier. I'm really happy with the changes at the hotel, but it could still all fall apart if, instead of stepping up as general manager, Kelly steps back onto the stage. Kelly, it's time for me to say goodbye. If you have that urge that you start getting the tremors and you feel a need for the mic, I want you to run in the freezer.
Stay there 2 seconds. I've put your microphone in a block of ice. Now, this will give you 2 or 3 hours to defrost, which will give you a chance to understand that the guests are the stars. I understand that. I want you to seize these changes and run this stunning boutique hotel. I will. Thank you. I found out from Gordon that I don't have a singing career, and that's okay. I This is my career. If I could turn back time, can't get that bloody song out of my mind. Since my visit, bookings at Maison de Messier have surged.
Welcome to Maison de Messier. Two for dinner? Yes. The new guests are enjoying the pool and the new menus. It's delicious. I'm impressed. I didn't even know this place was here. And Kelly is learning how to be a proper general manager. I appreciate you coming. You're welcome. Thank you. I really am very grateful. The man knows what he's doing. Thank god for Gordon Ramsay.
