Grand Hotel Mania: Management Reviews

Update: the developers were correct, and they’ve added new levels. Unfortunately, they also recently changed how you get jewels and thus how you can upgrade. I see what they’re trying for, but it doesn’t work as it is. There used to be an incentive to continue playing earlier levels. (Something the developers touted, btw, which makes this change even more irritating.). Now there’s virtually no reason to play earlier levels, and very little incentive to play later ones. I still play, but considerably less frequently and with less pleasure. Suggestion: if you’re going to keep this new incentive, add some for the earlier levels and make some that are less ridiculous — eg, serve 7,777 people with guitars — so that there’s a reason to play. You’ve got a great game here. Not clear why you’re doing this.

I really enjoyed this game. As the developers said in response to another review, you have to be patient, go back to earlier levels, get some diamonds, and then improve the level you’re on. You also can’t play this game standing in line at the grocery store. It takes concentration. But that’s why I liked it. Challenging enough that you felt pleased when you won. Very sorry I’ve finished all the levels

I’m on the silver pike location now, but I’ve noticed it with the hotel before which is the paradise, but what ive been noticing is if I press something/ someone for the bellhop you go to it would not make a note of it, for instance, if I need him to go to someone during a busy time and this always happens when he’s delivering, so let’s say I have lobster and press someone who wanted lobster which is let’s say “2” but because everyone is asking for things I’m also clicking what and who he needs to get next. So as I’m doing this I realize that although I pressed someone for slot 2, it would make it seem like I didn’t. This has been happening since the paradise location and it just happened now at silver pike! I’ve lost the game many times for that one hiccup. Just now, I pressed for him to go to someone and I realized the bellhop skipped her, I pressed her again and it didn’t mark her as a number. Idk if the developer is purposely doing this because I’ve played this one level about 7 times and it made me miss the hot season. Level 24 of silver pike is purposely making me lose. You’re supposed to reach 1450 coins, each time I’ve been less than 20 away or they’ll have about 10 customers come at once and this level is you can’t throw anything away, Miss a customer, or order. This level is purposely making you lose, and if you get everything it’ll make sure you don’t reach the coin count you need or the time runs out. I like it but that’s started to tick me off.

It got to a point where I couldn’t pass levels without purchasing gems. I think I should be able to collect more than 1 or 2 gems after playing 5-10 levels from previous locations. So I made the decision to delete GrandHotelMania as it simply wasn’t worth the time and energy for such little reward

EDIT: You’ve gotten so many reviews with people saying the same thing. At some point, I think it would be in your best interest to consider what the players are saying. The game is no longer tenable past certain levels without two things : 1) constantly going to the endless play in past levels to college gems or 2) purchase gems. For me, I started to see this during the second location. I barely got to the next hotel and couldn’t even upgrade all the appliances at each one. By the time I got to the third location the game became more frustrating than fun. I had to do endless play for HOURS just to collect enough gems to upgrade ONE appliance. If I could collect more than 1 or 2 gems in the past levels then maybe I could consider playing the game again.

EDIT 2: Please read my entire review. I am fully aware of what I need to do to get more gems. I am just not willing to play 45 levels from an old location every day just to get about 10-12 gems so until there is a change, I will play other games. Thanks.

Great fun game BUT gems that are required for upgrades have now become harder to get. I used to be able to play the older levels and get a gem or two for every five levels completed but the developer took that away. I have coins that are useless without gems yet I keep earning more and more coins I can’t use - at least let me be able to exchange useless coins for gems OR give back the option to earn gems for older levels I’ve already completed. They’ve also started giving less gems for completing new levels in this great push to have you spend your money to buy gems instead. I definitely recommend this game but be prepared to be frustrated because of a lack of gems for upgrades. My daughter has stopped playing altogether and I’m ready to follow her lead. I understand the developer needs purchases to make the game profitable but at the same token you’re totally killing the user experience and giving us a reason to find alternative things to do with our time, which come to think of it, might not be such a terrible thing.

I loved this game the first several levels. Once I got to the second section of hotels to the Royal Flower Hotel the upgrades are filled 100% you can not win the levels without spending lots of extras. Even when you use the upgrade that speeds up the main characters, at least 10 of the firecracker keep you happy and 10 of the Genie Lamp clean the rooms you can not even finish the level let alone fulfill all the tasks required to pass the level.
The graphics are beautiful and it does play well but it is difficult after the very first hotel Golden Apple to go very far without a bunch of upgrades or gems. Through the other hotels I was just patient and kept playing but now that I am in the Hotel Royal Flower it is just impossible to finish levels in this hotel to progress to the next hotel. The bellhop is faster in the very first level Golden Apple Hotel than he is in the Royal Flower Hotel.
I got this game because it reminded me of one that I had purchased from the Apple App Store that was on the very first iPad. I loved that game! No in game purchases! You played the game you purchased. If you wanted more levels you could purchase additional pack of levels as well. What I loved most is I could go back and replay all the levels whenever I wanted. Also it was a little challenging but not frustrating and impossible. I play games to relax, have fun and enjoy my off time.

I really enjoy playing this game. I’ve currently completed walk the available levels and still playing while waiting for an update. It is challenging enough to keep you engaged, but I can still move through the levels with a bit of work. I do like that you can go back and play in old hotels after you’ve completed them and moved to the next level. It can take a little time to get the hang of just where you should tap an item, but otherwise it doesn’t seem to have dead spots on the screen. A couple of suggestions for improvement: as you move into a new region, the coins earned are too low to make the necessary improvements. The coins earned don’t really go up from level to level, but the prices for upgraded items really goes up. That can be frustrating as you repeat a level over and over, hoping to earn enough coins to make improvements. Also, the rate at which you earn the special powers (speed, time, coins) could go up after 80 levels have been completed, since you aren’t earning many gems anymore. Lastly, it would be great if the “continue” function (which costs 20 gems) could have an “are you sure” feature. I’ve lost many gems by inadvertently tapping on that. Thanks for creating a fun game that keeps me engaged!

Graphics are great and it’s fun, but you really can’t get through completing the first (especially second and third) hotel(s) without having to buy gems. The developer response is to go back and try old levels to earn more gems. That’s a RIDICULOUS suggestion and they know that. When something costs 10 gems to upgrade, but you have to RE-complete like 40 old hotel levels to get that many, the game is just not fun. Who the heck wants to redo old levels to THAT extent? Also if you fail a level, you get a pop up that says for 20 gems you can get 3 more customers. The “okay” button is huge, green and right in your face. You have to carefully click the small x in the top right corner to not waste your hard earned and or purchased gems. That’s so shady, and desperate. I don’t mind spending money on a fun app, but I do mind being tricked and or forced into it. The developer response is that they’re working on it - I’ve seen that response multiple times from them, and I assure you, if they wanted it fixed it would be already. Period. As you progress the upgrades for your hotel become so expensive that you’re pretty much forced to buy gems bc you can’t continue passing levels if your equipment isn’t up to par. It’s a total BS and I do not recommend at all. The developers wasted a great app for straight up greed. Gross

I could have very easily purchased a new PlayStation with multiple games for what I have spent the last few months which is why I have un-installed this game. I was a bit surprised to see that the game developer is not based out of China and using this game as a means to wreck Americans thru addiction & bankruptcy:)! The icing on the cake is their ‘gifts’ they so graciously offer as you progress thru levels- 3 gems and 30% of 2 other boosters, LOL! So shocking to see their superficial, generic responses to every single instance of feedback -hahaha. I am sure they are just too too busy counting our money to have the time to offer any meaningful response!

As others have said. It’s admittedly a bummer that all of the enjoyment of the game is vastly overshadowed by the underlying greed of it’s creators. I strongly suspect GrandHotelMania will be like so many others that start off great with very strong in app purchases at 95% profit margin, but over time they will ultimately find themselves where each month is a Net Zero - we lost 500 customers and we had 500 new customers- ain’t life Grand(intended)?! Huge opportunity lost for these guys, esp in the midst of a pandemic when people need diversions and new ways to have a little fun!

I rarely rate games, but I really enjoy this game. It’s mechanics are easy to understand, and everything is explained thoroughly. My only negative comment is that it’s too difficult to obtain the purple gems required to upgrade. I cannot afford to spend money on in app purchases, so my only option is to play through hotels I’ve already beaten in order to win gems every 5 levels. I’m stuck on level 16 on the beach hotel, and I’ve played around 150 levels on the first hotel to help obtain gems, which is annoying because it’s so time consuming. The ads you can watch for a gem reward are far too scarce, so I would love to have the ability to watch more ads, or greatly reduce the amount of gems it costs to purchase upgrades. Thanks, to the developers for making a fun game, and I hope you improve it!

Update: I lowered my review by one star because it’s increasingly difficult to purchase upgrades that require many gems. The in game events that require you to complete a certain number of levels are silly in my opinion. I lose the level on my first try of the event, and lose the contest, all because I don’t have gems to buy upgrades with. Starting to get a bit bored of the game for these reasons.

I normally don’t review games, but I just wanted to respond to the plethora of reviews seen here about it being too difficult. It is not too difficult. Rinse. Repeat. It is not too difficult. Some levels certainly provided more of a challenge, but were easily beatable with a booster or two (of which I have tons banked...they are given out very generously). The key is to save up coins by overplaying earlier levels so that you can level up your hotel before getting beyond the first couple of levels. There is some grinding involved, but mostly it’s just common sense and strategy.

I only came to check the reviews to see if others were demanding new hotels, because I have reached the end, and come back every day for my bonus and to check if a new hotel has been made available. Anyway. Your game is fun and provides a reasonable level of challenge. These players complaining that it is too hard just need to work on their strategy and coordination.

The game is really fun to play the only things that are really annoying is the fact that you can’t replay any levels to reach some of the goals, you don’t receive enough boosters to get through the levels, after playing for a certain amount of time your upgrades take hours and it’s like the game is rigged to make you fail so you come back to play again the next day.. I suggest never using your boosters unless absolutely necessary and I think they should initially start off with 2x as many than originally offered to keep people playing. Also one more thing, there are not enough rooms for all of the guests and most of the time they don’t leave the room that another guest may want so when needing to earn smiles I keep getting 10/11 over that stupid fact. I’m currently stuck on level 49 of Regata and I play a lot less now that it takes so long to earn gems and boosters so it’s not as fun as it was initially. Hopefully this issue is fixed and more rooms are added or at least more boosters and gems are earned to make the game more enjoyable.

I really started to like this game, but then I started noticing how the difficulty TRULY differs in this game. That one hotel that was tropical took me almost a month to finish because almost every level after 15 was REALLY hard to the point I couldn’t beat it without using help. But then the winter lodge hotel was so easy beyond words for each and every level. I think I might’ve died 3 or so times in that hotel (due to clumsy mistakes, not difficulty). But now all of a sudden, the game keeps crashing. I was 2 levels away from winning Hot Season and the game crashed in the MIDDLE of the level and when I opened it back up it just said I lost Hot Season. Like wow, what a waste of 45min.... This game also just has a lot of bug issues that need to be fixed. It’s getting more frustrating every time I play. I really want to continue to like this game. Also, I wish it would be awesome to continue levels after you reach the 80th level at each hotel without having to use more gems...Coins, fine. But gems are few and far in between, so it would be nice that once you hit level 80 the gem requirement for upgrades would go.

I loved the game at first but as I got into the higher levels, like into the second hotel, the game became so difficult to move ahead in that I am going to delete it. I don’t mind spending a few dollars now and then but it got ridiculous. I’ve seen developers responses, and kudos to them for responding, that they are trying to make the game “realistic”. News flash....if I want that kind of realism, I’ll go get a job at a real hotel, seriously. When the game requires absolute perfection to get a “smile” in order to pass a level, it’s not attainable without using boosters to do it. I’ve also experienced getting an order and a room ready perfectly on time and I still do not get a smile. Then it requires you to pay for extra guests to achieve the amount of “smiles” to pass a level. Not acceptable. This is a game not real life and I don’t play these games to get treated like I’m on a real job. The developers need to get a grip on reality. The game sets you up for failure over and over and it really is irritating. As I read other reviews with the same complaint, it has become clear to me that the developers are not listening and giving the critique lip service only. Goodbye Grand Hotel, I’ll take my business elsewhere.

I enjoy this game but it is so frustrating that there are impossible levels. You can get all perfect “green” scores and still not win a level. Also, all upgrades have been purchased and this still occurs. Please fix this.

Edit: I changed to 1 star after reading all of these terrible developer responses. Clearly something is wrong with your game and you are choosing to ignore it. Also there is no easy way to reach out to you besides writing a review. I’m talking about a level on the first hotel which I constantly have to go back to in order to get boosters. And you may get one booster after playing 10 levels. But sometimes even after playing a perfect game on the first hotel it will not let you win. And you have to continue to play it until they allow you to earn enough money in that level or use a double money booster. Even though all upgrades have been purchased.

I understand making a game difficult so that people enjoy it more and it doesn’t get boring but making it impossible without a booster every 3 or 4 levels is just ridiculous. Clearly something needs to be done such as increasing the amount of boosters you win every level so that you have the boosters you need for the upcoming impossible levels.

I’m in full support of all the other reviews that are giving great critiques to improve this game. It’s a great game however, having to use gems and money to upgrade gets annoying since were not rewarded that many gems. Most importantly what annoys me about this game is how the Green & Yellow mood meter moves slow by the red moves extremely fast. I see the developers responding to reviews, hopefully they can go beyond responding and actually make some changes to improve this game. It’s not supposed to be an easy game but sometimes it’s unfair. Has great potential.

Updating and improving my star review because I love this game, the developers are understanding. I strongly believe that there are no other games out there like this game so despite the small changes that could be made; it needs to be recognized that this game is still amazing and in its own lane. It won’t be a perfect game because that doesn’t exist but I love the quality of the colors, the developers thought out everything for the game to look high quality, no lagging so far and there aren’t a ridiculous amount of ads in it like others.

Was once a great game. Then developers decided to “balance” the game to earn more $$. Gems and coin are required to upgrade hotels. You can earn 1 gems by watching 1 ad(max 2 ads every few hours). Most ads crash, losing the gem trying to earn & will have to wait several hours before another “free” ad is available. When you open a hotel, gems are given freely, coin is a little difficult, but eventually obtainable. Fact that you can progress in levels (each hotel appears to have unlimited levels) fairly quickly at first. Every few levels rewards come giving gems & tokens to earn boosts. 3 types of boosts, each type requires 10 tokens to become a boost. Will very quickly reach unprecedented success, requiring you to open a new hotel. Once you open that new hotel, if you prefer upgrading previous hotel, you can expect to play a couple hundred levels to earn 10 tokens to earn a single boost (will need boosts on new hotel, as impassable without upgrading). Gems come at a rate of 3 to 5 gems every 100 levels. Every 4 or so hotels, you are forced to a new “area”, where you will lose all coin. No coin=no upgrading. Game shamelessly forces pay to play.

This use to be such a great game with decent rewards to obtain enough gems for the next level. But now it is almost impossible to get ahead without spending DAYS to earn 1 gem or 1 point toward a random power up. Which you then can use to buy upgrades (which those prices have skyrocketed lol) I have tried to give it the benefit of the doubt because it is visually appealing and quite addictive to play. But the fact that have to click one thing soooooo many times for it to register is extremely frustrating. Especially when it took me DAYS to “save up” for a power up and I lose due to the fact I clicked something and it didn’t register. I thought people were exaggerating in the comments when they reported this glitch but after giving it a few months this is just ridiculous and none of the updates seem to fix this issue. This was one of my favorite games now I don’t even want to waste my time playing anymore. It’s not worth it once you advance to the second set of levels. Don’t waste your time unless you want to spend real money to get ahead without days of saving.

I’ve played this game from the beginning and I have played some levels over 500 times. All of my hotels are upgraded to the absolute. But I’m not willing to play through levels if I can only get 1 or 2 gems for like 30 times played. It’s not worth the time I have to play it. Guess I’ll just stop playing it and wait until I can just watch two ads and get two gems every six hours. I’m very disappointed in this latest development. The achievement thing is great but if I have to spend more like 100 gems to upgrade a hotel and then the “reward” for that achievement is only one gem, it will take FOREVER to upgrade my hotels. Not only that but I’ve already upgraded all my hotels so I can’t get the gems for those achievement ive already met, but you’ve really lessened the gems given when playing older hotels. It’s dumb! Maybe that’s your point 🤷🏼‍♀️ so you can keep up with the demand. But in the end I’m just frustrated and it makes me not want to play it.

This is a fun game but it is too hard to get diamonds. In order to make upgrades to progress you must have diamonds and money but diamonds are hard to come by. I have never spent money on a game I play on my phone but I have for this game however I will NEVER spend money on this game again. I will be uninstalling if you do not make changes soon because it is impossible to progress without diamonds because they are needed for upgrades. We should be able to win diamonds after each level. It’s so frustrating to finally beat 5 levels to only get 1 diamond and one lamp. Also, boosters like the timer, fast feet and the rocket are hard to come by. It is also ridiculous that hot season ends if you lose ONLY once! Hot season should be a day long event or last multiple days so that you can continue to try to beat it. Please, please, PLEASE consider making changes to this game...

ETA: I see I got the same canned response everyone else gets. I have already updated all the hotels to the max items available so your suggestion is not helpful. Maybe read reviews b4 c&ping a response?
Like others have noted it is hard to pass levels without spending money. The game admins always give the same canned response to keep playing in the lower hotels to work up on gems and boosters. Only problem is with the latest update they changed the “easy” hotel and now IT is impossible to get thru too! Even using boosters it’s almost impossible. And it isn’t a matter of just getting better at it, they have the guests spaced up so you have a pile up of people at once and all rooms are full for a ridiculously long time before the “guests” check out. So you lose the guests in line and (surprise) you have to use gems for the 3 extra guests. It’s too bad, the game is really fun but the developers are greedy. This was since the most recent update. Don’t believe me? The beginner hotel used to average 10 guests per level , and now they upped it to 15. Since the developers only seem to care about money and not putting out a fun, passable game I have finally decided to delete it.