Last Summer at the Golden Hotel was one of my recent BOTM picks. I decided on it based on the description of a reunion between two families at a beloved hotel in the Catskills. I was picturing some drama between the families and secrets to be revealed which is exactly what I got. Plus the setting of a fading hotel in the Catskills reminded me so much of Dirty Dancing even though “this wasn’t the hotel is was based on”.
Dirty Dancing is one of my favorite movies and I think it is because of that movie that I would staying in a place like Kellermans with my family. Last Summer at the Golden Hotel provided me with a new place to imagine visiting. The wall paper may be peeling, the ceiling is cracking, the food choices are outdated, and the entertainment poor but, it still is a place to visit and create memories at. I really enjoyed seeing all of the members of the Goldman and Weingold families return and refind some of the joy and memories they thought they had lost.
The Goldman and Weingold families are total opposites when you look at them at face value. They have different views on wealth, management, and expenses. The younger members of the family have been spoiled by luxury by their parents for various reasons. Yet it is surprising to them how strong the pull is at The Golden Hotel with its uniqueness and memories. The decision on rather or not to keep the hotel or sell it to an interested investor should be easy one on the surface but just like with these families nothing is exactly what it seems on the surface.
This is a story that is a filled to the brim with drama and secrets. There are old crushes that never died, new crushes that are confusing, relationship secrets, and life changing secrets. And every secret is interconnected with what is going on and what will happen with the hotel. It was fun to watch these secrets come to life and be revealed. It was always a question if the reaction would be good especially with the multiple generations. I really liked how Elyssa Friedland broke down the differences between the generation allowing the readers to see that not everything was good in the past or present and that ideas were forever changing.
Last Summer at the Golden Hotel had the perfect amount of drama. I didn’t feel dragged down by it and there was a couple of times I was actually surprised by it. This made me more invested as a reader. I also liked the alternating view points between the characters. It was easy to understand all the various goings on this way. This book is just the right amount of nostalgia and scandal for me. If that is what you look like in a book then this might be a good one for you too.
Rating: 4 Stars
welcome to the zoo! 