The Blurb
If you’re looking for a piece of mentalism that fits in your
pocket, but packs a devastating punch – with not one, but
two effects – then Hotel is for you!
Effect:
You give the spectator an envelope containing a prediction.
You then hand the spectator a stack of business cards you’ve
collected from various hotels you’ve stayed at over the
years. While your back is turned, the spectator goes through
the cards one at a time. He chooses one and puts it in its
pocket. Once you turn back around to face the spectator, you
immediately know which hotel he has chosen!
Now you decide to take the experiment to the next level. The
spectator goes through the stack of business cards again.
Again he stops on the card of his choice. You then ask him
to open the envelope, in which he finds a room key from the
hotel he has just selected!
You receive:
Business cards from various hotels around the world.
Spectators will not question their authenticity. Every
detail has been carefully thought out. The cards have been
designed to do the heavy lifting for you!
A 20-page instruction booklet in English (illustrated by
Tony Dunn and designed by Benoit Drager) chock full of
advice on presentation, additional tips, etc.
A real hotel room key designed specifically for this trick.
Key features:
Totally realistic props
Devastating impact on spectators.
Can be performed anywhere, under any conditions
Spectators really have a free choice
What they say:
“If you check in to this Hotel, you’ll enjoy the amenities.”
-Max Maven
“I own 3 sets of Ludo Mignon’s Hotel cards! He has taken a
timeless principle, updated it with a modern theme, supplied
absolutely top-class props and added a number of secret
“somethings” to create a sensational effect. This is
Mentalism at its finest! The secret is undetectable,
everything is open and above board and yet you still read
your spectator’s mind and then make a great prediction. I
highly recommend this package to every mentalist!”
-Richard Osterlind
“Hotel packs the impact of a full blown stage piece into
your jacket pocket! The method is brilliantly structured and
allows for a deeply fooling demonstration. This is an
excellent addition to any working performers arsenal of
miracles.”
-Luke Jermay
My Comments
There's no question that I really like this product, but
then I've been doing similar routines for years now. It's a
powerful piece of mentalism that is not difficult to do and
uses ordinary items that can be completely examined. If
you're familiar with Director's Cut or my own Greetings of
the Mind or Fagin's Gifts, then you know what this is.
Instead of using movie cards, greetings cards, or gift
cards, this uses business cards from European hotels.
Needless to say, the cards can be very versatile and you are
not limited to just the routine described in the blurb.
However, this routine goes further and the package includes
the necessary props for a second phase. This involves a
prediction and you can't do this with the aforementioned
other similar products. The package contains the props you
need plus the full color instructional booklet. It also
contains the hotel key prediction. You can start practicing
and performing this minutes after getting this.
Now, I'd probably sound insincere if I didn't say that I
still prefer my Fagin's Gifts (for me, here in the States,
gift cards certainly connect more to the layman than
European business cards). But this is something that I will
be using in addition to Fagin's Gifts because business cards
do make sense, they are handsomely produced, and they are
certainly a different prop than the aforementioned items.
The only real consideration I can note is that there are
just over two dozen hotel names to memorize. But this is
not really a major consideration as there are secret cues
built into the cards just in case you forget.
HOTEL works beautifully for close-up, walkaround, parlour,
stage, and virtually all types of venues. I'm fairly
confident that this is something that would not find its way
into the sock drawer with other junk. Highly recommended.