Hotel Hell is the eighth level of Shrapnel City in Duke Nukem 3D.
Secret exit
A secret exit to Freeway can be found in the hidden area through the waterfall on the second floor of the hotel. The Secret Exit Button is covered behind the bushes.
Secrets
Secret 1: Wine cabinet
Upon reaching the bar area on the second floor of the hotel, there is a wine cabinet in the middle of the room. Open it to reveal a secret compartment with a Holoduke inside.
Secret 2: Shark tank
The second secret is near the first secret. It can be found to the left of the door where the Holoduke was. Opening this door will reveal a Portable Medkit and the second secret. It is also possible to enter the shark tank through here. If you are inside the shark tank, you can open the right wall of the shark tank by using the use button on the left wall that reveals a scuba gear. You will hear a switch sound.
Secret 3: Booby-trapped ruins
The third secret is accessible through the waterfall in the swimming pool on the second floor of the hotel. Jumping through the waterfall will teleport you to a hidden area. Pressing a bloody hand print on the wall will open a tunnel behind the jars of fire. At the end of the tunnel, you will find the hanging corpse of Indiana Jones and an Atomic Health on a pedestal. Taking the Atomic Health will trigger the room to collapse, and you will need to hurry out of the tunnel if you want to survive.
Walkthrough
See Also: Written/Pictorial Walkthrough by 3D Realms
Speedrunning
- This entire level can be skipped. Upon starting the level, immediately turn 180 degrees, and throw a Pipe Bomb through the crack in the wall. Detonating it will open a path directly to the Exit Button.
- Although less useful, it is also possible to clip through the window coverings that are normally opened before proceeding to the Exit Button. This can be done by getting a running start while on Steroids and then jumping and crouching upon hitting the edge of the window.
Easter eggs
- This level features Indiana Jones's corpse and a trap that pays homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Upon seeing Indiana Jones's corpse, Duke will say "We meet again, Dr. Jones".
- In the hotel pool, there is a "Baby Ruth" candy bar on the bottom. This is an homage to the movie Caddyshack, which features a famous scene in which a candy bar at the bottom of a swimming pool is mistaken for human feces.
- The neon "Hotel" billboard has the "OT" letters flashing, instead spelling "Hel." This is a reference to the movie Motel Hell, in which the "Motel Hello" sign has the "OL" letters flashing, instead spelling "Motel Hell."
- Although difficult to see, it is possible to find a partially obscured message written on the wall near the ceiling in the bathroom stall. The message says "Duke Was Here 2017," but the letters are cut-off because the ceiling was lowered at some point during development. Raising the ceiling in a map editing utility will reveal the full message.
Trivia
- The name of this level is an homage to the 1980 horror movie, Motel Hell.
- The area containing the Exit Button appears to be identical to the one on Fahrenheit.
- An early proof of concept for this level can be found in E2L6 of the December 1994 prototype. Although Hotel Hell does not appear to have been developed from that map, a similar outdoor street, front desk area, and indoor waterfall can be found on the 1994 map.
- If you go to the corner on the second floor where the hotel rooms are there is a usually breakable glass with a text on it: FIRE. Try to the use button but not exactly on it, a little bit on the right lower side of it: the column to the right will be pulled up and you can take some stuff. You will also hear a switching sound if you manage to do it.
- If you detonate the wall of the pool that is near to the bar and wine cabinet under the water, you can swim under the toilet and take the stuff.
- If you go the the reception where the two white postbox walls are with the monitor in the middle, you can open the left postbox at the right third and you can get an armor. Behind you there is a switch on the left wall near the large door of the reception: if you switch it the column raises behind you and you can get some stuff there again.