After just one episode we're going to stick our neck out and award the series a prestigious four star "Motella Mark." We love it!
As predicted the 7:30pm time slot only enabled us about 10-minutes of live viewing as the demands of the motel took precedent. Thank goodness for TVNZ OnDemand where we were able to view the entire episode.
The Hotel Inspector had the benefit of the colourful, school matronly, Ruth Watson as host and we were impressed with the Kiwi fill-ins that performed their role magnificently. Our very own Frankie and Simon took on the role of joint hosts and quintessential Auckland pratts very seriously (probably even more seriously than they took themselves).
We reckon that "Hotel SOS" was able to tick all of the boxes that were essential to emulate the successful Hotel Inspector format:
1) An accommodation business that is failing - Tick
2) Unusually quirky and difficult owners - Tick
3) A straight-talking, self-professed expert hotelier that harasses and hectors the owners until they realise the error of their ways - Tick
The hosts' ability to tag-team one another as they hectored and shamed last week's hapless accommodation owners of Hicks Bay Motel Lodge on the East Coast was reality TV gold.
Frankie and Simon truly understand the appeal of the show's format that relies upon the toxic relationship between the host(s) and the eccentric accommodation providers.
This week we see that the show is heading off to a motel in Taupo and it would appear that the show's producers have managed to find another strong willed and eccentric motel owner to wind-up.
We see that the online reviews of the motel make entertaining reading with the motelier described as "Dumbledore meets The Grinch on Mount Doom" and as "Catweazle after he'd let himself go."
The motel owner has been accused of having a unique view of customer service, selling spartan rooms with heaters on a pre set timers, rationed hot-water and a spa that was "similar to a flat bottom concrete sheep dipping tank."
We can only wonder why Hotel SOS has been restricted to only 4-episodes;-)
