Some of us receive invitations to go to hell more frequently than others – that’s the nature of being a newspaper columnist. But when friends invited Derek and me to join them for dinner in hell we quickly agreed. This particular Hades involved a taping of “Hotel Hell” at the Roosevelt Inn in Coeur d’Alene, and dinner was a mystery – a murder mystery. We received an email assigning us our roles. I was to portray Millicent the Milliner. Derek’s role? A professor and colleague of our host Sherlock Holmes, aka innkeeper, John Hough. We were instructed to come in character and advised to bring cash for our $50 a plate dinner, as the inn’s credit card machine ran slow. Oh yeah, we were told it was strictly a BYOB meal. The Roosevelt had no wine, beer or liquor license. After conferring with our friends Jeff “the Eccentric Scientist” Selle and his wife, Sue, “the Debutante,” we rustled up suitable evening wear/Cindy Hval, SR. More here.

• View Online: Miss your chance to see the Roosevelt Inn on Gordon Ramsay’s “Hotel Hell”? An episode featuring the historic Coeur d’Alene hotel aired for the first time Monday on Fox. Viewers who missed it can watch online starting eight days after the original air date, on Sept. 11, at www.fox.com/hotel-hell/.

Question: Did you watch the Roosevelt Inn edition of Hotel Hell? Where/what was the worst meal you ever ate?