Owner Of The Brick Hotel Talks ‘Hotel Hell,’ Future Of Business

The owners of The Brick Hotel say they’re working to improve the iconic business in the heart of Newtown Borough.

After Gordon Ramsey’s Fox show “Hotel Hell” painted the business as one is disarray, Verindar Kaur, who owns the business in partnership with her son CJ and two silent partners, said they are hard at working trying to restore the business to its past glory.

In response to NewtownPANow.com’s scoop that The Brick Hotel was on the market for $6 million, Kaur said that is simply not true. She blamed the mix up on a paperwork error and stated the business is just looking for an operator to get the hotel and restaurant back on track.

Chichi Ahia, who is executive director of Sperry Van Ness Ahia Commercial Real Estate, said Wednesday that his firm had listed the business for sale and had signed an agreement to market The Brick Hotel for sale or lease when he spoke with NewtownPANow.com last Friday. He added that there was no paperwork mistake.

The Middletown-based business real estate firm that Ahia runs continues to work with Kaur and The Brick Hotel ownership, he said. He said his company has an exclusive deal signed with The Brick Hotel.

In addition, several interested parties had already toured the property and expressed interest in the business, both Ahia and Kaur said.

On Thursday, Ahia released the following statement:

“Our firm was approached and subsequently retained by the ownership of the Brick Hotel to market the property for Sale and/or Lease. They executed exclusive listing agreements  with our firm to this effect. Obviously, there has has been some back and forth with regards to the future plans of the property. It goes without saying that the property being featured recently on National television has introduced a new layer of complexity to their decision making. While we have not terminated our agreements with the owners, as a courtesy we have elected to temporarily suspend our marketing efforts. During this time we will continue to work with the owners to craft a sensible plan to move forward. We want to grant the owners an opportunity to do this outside of the limelight.”

Kaur said any effort to sell the business or find a new operator would not be related to the “Hotel Hell” episode.

“Ninety five percent of what was on the show did not happen that way,” Kaur said, adding the producers drummed up drama for ratings.

“The person on the show is not the person I am, “ she told NewtownPANow.com. “They filmed here for five days and showed 35 minutes.”

As to how The Brick Hotel ended up on “Hotel Hell,” Kaur said producers for the show hounded her multiple times for weeks and promised her a positive experience. She agreed to be part of the reality show after they promised her a positive experience.

“I am a positive person and not the same person as on the show,” she said. “There is a reason the people who used to work here who spoke on the show are no longer employees.”

In addition, she said the business has been plagued by poor management that her and her son have worked to turn around. She claimed thefts from employees in the five years they owned the business and did not actively manage it were in the hundreds of thousands.

Kaur said the reaction to the show was mixed with little or no impact on the business, at least in the two weeks following the airing of the episode that filmed last November. Going forward, Kaur said she wonders what impact the episode will have on the eatery and hotel, which has been steadily booked this summer.

Moving forward, Kaur, a Yardley resident who has worked with adults and children as a therapist, said they are working to hire an aggressive team to take The Brick Hotel to the next level. She said the team will add on to the skilled employees they already have working there.

“CJ and I really have a vision to make [The Brick Hotel] great,” Kaur said. “I still have faith.”

Pending the approval of a bank loan, upgrades to the 12 hotel rooms that weren’t renovated by the “Hotel Hell” crew will be completed and other upgrades throughout the building, Kaur said.

While the show didn’t paint the most positive spotlight on The Brick Hotel and some complaints still pop up on review sites, Kaur said she learned a lot from Ramsey and had a better idea of what they could do to upgrade the customer experience.

The Brick Hotel recently worked with Ryan O’Keefe “Run Now Wine Later” to provide free wine tastings during the Newtown Business Association Antique Car Show on State Street, Kaur said, calling the experience positive.

With many customers coming down from New York and outside the Newtown area, Kaur said she received mainly positive in-person reviews. She said a customer and his wife recently said they planned to book another getaway to The Brick Hotel after having a positive experience.

Kaur did clarify that the “bullet holes’ Ramsey talked about on the show were from when the show ripped a large mirror off the wall.

“No, no, we didn’t have bullet holes in the wall,” she said with a chuckle.

Later adding: “We might have ghosts. I haven’t seen any but customers have told us they have seen them.”

Ghosts or no ghosts, Kaur hopes the show doesn’t haunt the 14,200-square-foot building that has seen many changes in the 250 years since it opened as a place for locals to get together.

“People should come out, give us a try and support The Brick Hotel,” she said.