Murphys Historic Hotel to get “Hell” from TV’s Ramsay on Tuesday night

The Murphys Historic Hotel got a makeover from hell – “Hotel Hell,” to be exact, courtesy of the Fox television show’s big cheese with the big personality, Gordon Ramsay.

Ramsay’s work at the hotel, which also houses a bar and restaurant, will air as the show’s second-season finale Tuesday from 9 to 10 p.m. on Fox. (The show normally airs Mondays, but moves to Tuesday for the finale, according to the network website.) The hotel dining room will close that evening for a free public party before, during and after the episode.

Hotel co-owner Brain Goss can’t discuss exactly what viewers will see – as is generally the case with reality show participants – but promises it will be enjoyable.

“The end result is gong to be a very entertaining season finale show,” Goss said last week. “We have a lot of characters who work here, we have a lot of fun. We are really like a big family here – the community, as well.”

Goss, 33, co-owns the historic hotel with friends Kevin Clerico, 33, and Joel Lacitignola, 35. Lacitignola is the restaurant’s chef. Goss has worked there since he was 22, and you can hear in his voice the pride of hotel ownership and of the Calaveras County community as a whole.

Ramsay liked the community, too, according to an episode description from Fox: “Gordon Ramsay heads to Northern California, where he is captivated by the beautiful vineyards of the Sierra Nevada Foothills and the town’s most historic building, Murphys Hotel.”

But the show, which banks on building drama as Ramsay sets out to fix struggling establishments before unveiling the fruits of his labors – and trademark incendiary ire – also tags the Murphys establishment as a “frat house.”

“(Ramsay) quickly learns that the 200-year-old landmark has become an attraction for a crowd where all-night partying kept guests from actually sleeping,” the Fox description continues.

It’s something Goss accepts with good humor.

“We’re three young owners, but we work really, really hard. They have to portray us as something, and frat house works for us,” Goss said. “We do like to have fun.”

But Goss also was quick to point out that each member of the trio puts in 65-hour weeks to keep the hotel and restaurant one of the Mother Lode’s destination spots.

The establishment is one of California’s oldest hotels, having opened in 1856, and is part of Calaveras County’s signature tourism industry. Among its most famous historic guests were Ulysses S. Grant, Mark Twain and Black Bart.

Lisa Bolton, with the Calaveras County Visitors Bureau, was at an event in Los Angeles where she met a location scout from “Hotel Hell” who gave Bolton her contact information. “I reached out to our lodging community to see who might be interested, and the Murphys Hotel was,” Bolton said.

“Initially, when I pitched our particular locations to Fox for the show, I told them (the Murphys Hotel) wasn’t typical for their show,” Bolton said, referring to the lineup of failing, dirty or otherwise on-the-brink-of-disaster hotels that Ramsay normally visits. “It’s a well-functioning hotel that’s making good money. They (owners) just wanted to take it to the next level.

“I talked to (Fox) extensively about that,” she continued, but the production crew, nevertheless, was interested.

Still, Goss said he had to talk Clerico and Lacitignola into being part of the show. “Joel and Kevin were against it,” Goss said, but he convinced them with the idea of exposure – the national kind that could attract 7 million to 8 million viewers on Tuesday night.

The partners had experience mostly in the food and beverage service industry and the hotel “just came with the package” with the restaurant and bar, Goss said. “It was sort of buy two, get one free.”

One thing Goss doesn’t expect to see in the Murphys episode is the infamous “black light” that Ramsay uses to reveal hidden grime and “bodily fluids” on hotel linens, carpets and such in some episodes. He’s confident the Murphys Hotel will show well.

Although he’s accepting the “frat boy” tenor to the episode, he and his partners take their roles in the community and at the historic hotel seriously. “We’re not going anywhere, that’s for sure. We’re more caretakers because its been here (158) years. … We’ll improve it and leave our signature here and … hopefully the next owners do the same.”

As for the notoriously hotheaded Ramsay – a celebrity chef and hospitality expert famous for his television tirades on other series like “Hell’s Kitchen” and “MasterChef” – Goss said he was “Gordon Ramsay, exactly how you would see him on the TV. It’s not going to be a surprise.”

Even when the cameras were not rolling? “He’s Gordon Ramsay.”

Bolton said she had a positive experience with Ramsay. “I only had a few small encounters with him,” she said. “I wasn’t the subject of the show, so he was funny – charming and funny and more handsome than he looks on TV. He definitely has some charisma.”

No matter Ramsay’s reputation, Goss’ experience with “Hotel Hell” was positive. “I don’t care how they portray us,” he said. “The main thing is, of course, there are always things I’d love to learn.” Ramsay gave them some valuable ideas and the owners have continued to change things at the establishment in the months since he left.

And if the show attracts more people to Murphys and to Calaveras County on the whole, it all will have been worth it. The community and businesses there support and depend on one another, Goss said.

“We did the show to highlight Murphys and Calaveras County and what we have here,” he said.

Fox crews filmed the episode more than a year ago, in June 2013, and several people in the community have been waiting to see if they made the editing room cut for the episode. For her part, Bolton said she’s “hoping not.”

“You know how it is,” she said, “probably just very typically not wanting to make a fool of myself.”

Goss is looking forward to not just the episode, but also to the viewing party. “It will be a big old social gathering,” he said. “We focus our day-to-day on tourism. … Hopefully this event is a chance to slow down for a night (and let the community) laugh at us.”

He said the partners want their employees to experience the episode together, along with the community, their vendors and customers.

“It’s going to be a fun show to watch,” Goss said, “even though I’m the guy getting cussed at.”

This story was originally published September 7, 2014 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Murphys Historic Hotel to get “Hell” from TV’s Ramsay on Tuesday night."