Calumet Inn - Hotel Hell Update - Open or Closed?

Hotel Hell Calumet Inn

In this Hotel Hell episode, Gordon Ramsay visits Calumet Inn in Pipestone, Minnesota.

Calumet Inn is a historic hotel owned by two sisters, Rina and Vanda Smrkovski.

Calumet Inn was built in 1887 and was named after the Native American word for Peace pipe.

The hotel was bought for them by their father, Jim Smrkovski.

After working in the hotel for six weeks, Rina found the work a bit much and left for Minneapolis and did not return for 3 months.

While Rina was away, Vanda, her younger sister, was left to run the hotel.

She doesn't get up from the bed before 3pm and believes that the staff are just there for the money.

Despite having zero hospitality experience, Vanda and Rina think they know best.

They have removed the general manager, Mandy Thompson, of all her management duties.

With the girls in charge and no guests coming in, things have rapidly gone downhill.

So much so that their parents have been forced move in and come work with their daughters to help keep the hotel open.

Their mother, Rita works 7 days a week to help them out and misses her home back in Minneapolis.

Gordon arrives at the hotel and compares the hotel’s entrance to that of a prison.

The entrance passageway was also dark and empty.

Gordon gets to the deserted front desk and calls out for someone to help him.

Mandy sees Gordon and apologizes as it is just her in the hotel at that time.

He meets with Rina and Vanda and they reveal that they aren’t happy with Mandy’s work.

They claim she doesn’t work up to their standards which is why they delegated her to waiting and front desk duties.

Gordon is shown to one of the hotel rooms, which he was checked into.

In the room he finds a moldy refrigerator and a rail for a wardrobe.

Vanda says that she is responsible for the bookkeeping, the front desk and sometimes the dining room.

Rina says that she is still confused as to what her role is in the hotel.

The sisters reveal that they stayed one night before purchasing the hotel.

They Gordon to the room she stayed in, which she claims is her favorite.

The room was dirtier and worse than Gordon’s room.

The sisters claim that the unprofessionalism, rudeness and the consistent complaining of the staff is to blame.

Gordon decides to eat lunch at the hotel’s restaurant, where he meets Jocelyn, a waitress who has worked at the hotel for two years.

He is surprised by the huge menu and the fact that the hotel has only two chefs.

He orders the soup of the day and a fish dish.

Gordon notices Mandy running around and she frustratingly explains that she is no longer the general manager.

She tells Gordon that Vanda is a sociopath and Rina is never at the hotel.

Gordon tastes the soup, it smells burnt, is disgusting and the fish is rock hard.

Gordon calls all the staff in to discuss what the problems at the hotel are.

The chef says she loved her job but now hates it as the owners make it hard for her.

Both Rina and Vanda get snappy claiming they aren’t getting paid and that they aren’t motivated to work because of the staff behavior.

Both Rina and Vanda threaten not to pay any of the staff.

On hearing of Gordon’s arrival, guests begin to check into the hotel but they complain about the rooms, food, service and sparseness of staff.

Gordon finds Rina in floods of tears with her mother, Rita, who explains that she runs away when things get tough.

Gordon speaks to Mandy who opens up about the situation of the failing hotel.

Gordon then calls all the staff together after the day’s work.

They say that the last time they had a meeting was when the sisters purchased the hotel.

Mandy says the lack of communication between the staff and the owners is one of the reasons for the failure of the business.

The sisters tell Mandy, she's not committed and she explodes about working 60 hours a week with two children, gets up and walks out.

Gordon tells them that it has been Mandy keeping the place open and they need to step up as they don't deserve to own the hotel.

The next morning Gordon heads downstairs to go to the gym.

He is told to go down the street in his dressing gown as the historic hotel lacks a gym.

Gordon gathers some of the guests, who tell the owners that the room is run down and neglected.

There is one guest with allergies who says her room is caked in dust and she feels unwell.

Gordon visits Mandy and tells her that she is a good GM and asks if she had control would she come back.

She says she doesn’t know but will think about it.

Gordon visits Rita and compliments her cooking.

She claims cooks for them 7 days a week and hasn’t taken a break since she moved in to work with them.

Gordon calls in the Smrkovski family to talk to them.

They all say they do not wish to be in the hotel but that they feel they have to be.

He tells them to bring in someone to manage it or sell it or shut it down.

Gordon calls the staff together and the sister's reveal they are stepping back, leaving the hotel and Mandy will be running the hotel.

The next day Gordon reveals the makeover and the guest rooms are now bright, colorful and airy.

There are new mattresses, cushions, linen and bedding in every room and the rooms have proper wardrobes in.

Gordon reveals the new gym and new restaurant with recipes provided by Rita.

The staff try the new food and love the new dishes.

With rejuvenated energy, the staff are ready to welcome guests into the renovated hotel.

The sisters struggle to keep their nose out and start interfering.

Gordon has to step in and tells them to pack and get out.

A taxi arrives for Rina and Vanda.

Gordon gives them a goldfish to look after to show they can be responsible.

Vanda says she is going to go travelling and Rina cries again.



What Happened Next at Calumet Inn?


Trip Advisor reviews were mostly good since Gordon's visit but Yelp reviews are mostly negative, mostly after the hotel changed ownership.

It was posted on their Facebook Page that their revenue after appearing on the show had nearly doubled.

Rina and Vanda sold the hotel in June 2015 to Texan and are no longer the owners of Calumet Inn.

The hotel was briefly returned to the sisters, who then sold the hotel to Tammy Grubbs.

The hotel had fallen into a state of disrepair.

In March 2020, it was condemned by the city of Pipestone after a fire inspection found nine violations of the state’s fire code.

Work was completed and the Inn was uncondemned on April 30th 2020.

Owner Tammy Grubbs has made a number of claims against the city council over the treatment of the hotel.

Calumet Inn is closed.

They closed in May 2022 as a result of the earlier closure.

Calumet Inn aired on August 18 2014, the episode was filmed in May 2013 and is Hotel Hell season 2 episode 5.


Read About More Hotel Hells

Next episode - Four Seasons Inn

Previous episode - Hotel Chester

15 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Spoiled, sweetie. Spoiled.

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    2. Obnoxious, honey.

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    3. Spoilt and spoiled are both acceptable. Spoilt is more common in British English.

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    4. Yeah spoilt is pretty standard in British English

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  2. The look on the dad's face when he realised how cluless his daughters are... Priceless. May it be a lesson to dad's around the world :)

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    1. I'm not sure that this was a turning moment for dad. This is a guy who has been spoonfeeding his useless daughters for a long time, despite their ineptitude. The first indications would have come over a decade ago when they were emerging as useless teenagers, yet daddy continued writing the checks regardless. It's one thing to view your kids as little princesses, it's quite another to cluelessly fly in the face of every scrap of evidence.

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  3. They sold the inn. Gordon Ramsay just gave those spoilt brats lots of extra spending money.

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  4. Say what you want about the girls, but Rina said early in the episode that it was a mistake. it's good that they're out of there, and I do think Gordon's wrath was warrented, but I don't see the point in continuing to brand them spoiled brats. We've all done ventures that we couldn't get out of, this just happened to be a big one for them which unfortunately caught the workers in its spokes. Ultimately, they didn't want to be there but tried to honour their commitments, which is of course hard to do when you don't want to do it anymore.

    I know folks say "their parents bought it, though" but that's not a good enough reason to say they're spoiled. There are parents who help out their children excessively and it works out just fine, this particular example was just a bad choice, that's all. It happens.

    Personally, I think the staff were the stars of this episode. Mandy especially. - When she quit, I've never seen an entire workforce gasp like that, it's a sign of just how important she is to them. I don't know if the same staff are still there, I hope so, but I'm glad the girls sold it. It will put it in the hands of someone who hopefully isn't making the same mistake.

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  5. (Profanity omitted)
    Please tell me you're joking. Please tell me this comment is sarcasm. You don't see the point in continuing to brand them as spoiled brats? They were 32 and 27. Most of the population has been forced to work for a decade by that point.

    Rina, the one you're defending, says she "demanded that her daddy" buy this hotel for her and he did. He bought a hotel for her. She had spent one night in this hotel prior. Then, after only 6 weeks after she convinced her daddy to buy her this hotel, this 32-year old woman has the nerve to take 3 MONTHS off to party in Minneapolis and "be alone, and figure things out".

    They then have the nerve to lounge around and treat this insanely golden opportunity like a playground, completely fail to manage anything, and then blame the innocent and competent staff for the hotel's shortcomings.

    Talk about disgusting human beings. "Spoiled" is the nicest label a rational person could give to these women. I'd actually rather befriend non-violent convicted felons than these two.

    You are right about Mandy being the star though. She was the only competent and assertive adult in the hotel, and she called Vandy a "borderline sociopath" and Rina not around her own hotel enough to even make a comment.

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  6. Get out of your hotel! Here's a goldfish. Spectacular

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  7. We all make mistakes, the episode aired like 5 years ago and since changed owners. I can't believe the amount of WHINERS (jealously imo). Just enjoy the episode and let it be a learning lesson for everyone.

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    Replies
    1. I bet you are one of the sisters. lol I just checked the website of the hotel and it is as old as the building.

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    2. OMG no kidding! That website alone would tell me enough not to book a room. It looks like a base HTML page haha good grief

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  8. This had to be one of the most difficult episodes I watched. Before watching the episode, I wanted to check the status of the hotel. I also read the comments that they were spoiled, but I was not expecting it to that extent. Those grown sister are so entitled, entitled, and out of touch.

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