Cali Szczawinski, Hotel Hell’s most famous Cher impersonator, is still singing, even though she has now sold the Meson De Mesilla hotel.
Usually, fans tune in to Gordon Ramsay’s ever popular business-rescue show, Hotel Hell, expecting to see the notoriously sharp-tongued celebrity chef shouting at a chef or an owner during a failed dinner service.
And while Ramsay’s visit to Meson De Mesilla for the show’s second season did include all of the above, it also included quite a rare Gordon Ramsay laughing-fit.
Cali Szczawinski’s If I Could Turn Back Time rendition
Of course, if you tuned in to watch this episode (or happened upon the clip of Ramsay laughing online) you will know that this uncharacteristic moment was brought on by the Meson De Mesilla owner, Cali Szczawinski’s incredibly out-of-place Cher impersonation.
Not only was Cali’s slightly off-tune impression a big shock to the usually stone-faced celebrity chef, but it also seemingly upset many diners who were trying to focus on the meal.
In fact, Ramsay even approached one table during the performance and apologized for “the noise”.
Unfortunately though, this hilarious moment was not the last time that Ramsay and Cali were not exactly on the same page.
By the end of the episode, it seemed like Cali had started spiraling instead of being inspired to try and save her hotel.
Meson De Mesilla’s history
While Ramsay and Cali did not necessarily see eye-to-eye during this Hotel Hell episode, there is no denying that Cali was trying her best to keep her hotel going.
And despite what Zan (the former General Manager) had to say about Cali being on her way out, Cali actually ended up staying the owner of the hotel for over a decade, when all was said and done.
All in all, Cali’s history with Meson De Mesilla can be summarized as follows:
| Date | Event |
| 2006 | Cali moved to Las Cruces and purchased Meson De Mesilla |
| February 2013 | The Hotel Hell producers contacted Cali about profiling Meson de Mesilla on the show |
| June 2013 | Ramsay and the Hotel Hell crew arrive at Meson De Mesilla to film the episode |
| July 21 2014 | The “Meson De Mesilla” Hotel Hell episode premieres |
| 2017 | Cali sells the hotel to new owners |
How Cali felt about her Hotel Hell experience
Cali initially seemed extremely excited about the idea of Ramsay coming to Meson De Mesilla when she spoke to El Paso Inc. in 2013.
However, if you made it all the way through to the end of this musical episode of Hotel Hell, you will know that Cali was not all that happy with Ramsay’s makeover at the end of the episode.
And it seems like she remained unhappy with Ramsay’s changes even after he left. Cali shared in an interview with Las Cruces Sun-News in 2016 that Ramsay “didn’t do anything [Cali] could keep”.
The former Meson De Mesilla owner even went one step further later in the interview, claiming: “Almost every place he has gone to has closed.”
Meson De Mesilla is now Hacienda De Mesilla
Despite Cali’s best efforts to keep Meson De Mesilla going after (in her opinion) Ramsay’s botched intervention; this seemed to be an uphill battle in the years after the Hotel Hell episode’s premiere.
Cali brought in a silent partner to help things along in 2016, but when this also did not help, she eventually sold the hotel in 2017.
The new owners, Thomas and Jerean Hutchinson, were initially skeptical about taking on a hotel with so much baggage and they even changed the hotel’s name to Hacienda De Mesilla, to try and avoid the continuous negative feedback that was still pouring in at the hotel more than three years later.
However, it seems like things at the new Hacienda De Mesilla are slowly turning around, as this hotel has mostly been receiving positive reviews as of late.
Cali is still pursuing her singing career
While Cali may not have her three Meson De Mesilla stages to host her performances any longer, it seems like this aspiring singer/performer has still not given up on her dreams, though she has perhaps purchased a new, not frozen microphone since Ramsay’s visit to Las Cruces.
Cali still performs under the stage name, Cali McCord, to this day. And, according to the song list posted to the official Cali McCord website, her favorite artists to impersonate are Petula Clark, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Patsy Cline, Nancy Sinatra, Tanya Tucker, and many more.
Of course, Cali still promotes her Cher impersonations, though the website discloses that she also does Believe and The Way Of Love, alongside her now-infamous If I Could Turn Back Time rendition.
