[Hotel Flamingo] A Series Review

Hi y’all!

I hope you are doing well and feeling motivated in 2022. I love the potential at the start of a new year and feel good about how the year has started for us.

Today, I am excited to share my review of the Hotel Flamingo series by Alex Milway. I read these books aloud to my kids and we all loved them!

Book 1: “When young Anna inherits a dilapidated once-grand hotel from her Great Aunt Mathilde, she’s determined to restore it to its former glory. But this is no ordinary hotel – all of her staff and guests are animals! Anna soon rises to the challenge. Whether it’s a flamingo, a penguin or a hippo knocking at the door, Anna is ready to welcome them all . . . As she soon finds out, though, running an animal hotel is no easy task. Can Anna make Hotel Flamingo a success once more?”

Book 2: “. . . . Anna is excited to receive word from King Penguin royalty asking to holiday in their Royal Suite. But there’s a lot to get done, and it’s not easy to manage the needs of the penguins when there’s a heatwave on and a huge ice shortage. Help! Can Anna get Hotel Flamingo back to its usual shining self and have happy guests all round?”

Book 3: “It’s autumn, which means it’s time for CARNIVAL! But the rainy season comes early, and high winds and torrential rain lash down across Animal Boulevard. Can Anna save the day?”

Book 4: “On Animal Boulevard the snow is finally melting after a long, quiet winter – and Anna knows she needs to come up with a plan to get the hotel buzzing again. And what does Hotel Flamingo have that no one else has? One of the best chefs in town – Madame Le Pig! Bring on the Battle of the Chefs, and the most fabulous feast Hotel Flamingo has ever seen .”

What sticks out most about these books are the memorable, fun characters. We loved the staff of Hotel Flamingo like Anna the new owner of Hotel Flamingo and only human, Lemmy the Lemur who runs the front desk, T Bear the doorman, Madame le Pig the intimidating French chef, Stella the Giraffe the hotel handiwoman, Ms Fragranti the performing flamingo and more! They were all fun to connect with and had great potential for fun voices. The varying guests that visit the hotel were diverse and unique — royal penguins, warthogs, the famous band called Nocturnal Animals, a chameleon, cows, a homeless dog, an octopus, and even a stunt pigeon. They were so creative and we loved seeing how Anna and her staff helped each very different guest.

It was easy to get into these stories and easy to stay invested. Each book features a fun plot focusing on a particular problem or event. The chapters aren’t too long and the story is simple yet exciting. Anna inherits Hotel Flamingo and must work hard to restore it to it’s former glory. She hires new staff, cleans things up, and waits on guests of all sorts. In the next books, the staff host royalty, build a carnival float for the big parade, and host a battle of the chefs. And all along the way, we meet more hotel guests. We loved how clever these books are with the animals working and staying at the hotel and everyone working together for success!

There are so many reasons this series is a great read aloud for young kids:

Fun Illustrations throughout! My kids LOVED all the pictures and I thought it was so clever that they had only pink highlights in the otherwise black and white pictures.
Short chapters and easy to follow stories
Great characters with lots of potential for fun voices
Great morals and lessons learned in each story

Overall, such a fun series to read with my kids. We especially liked the memorable characters, fun illustrations, and exciting plots. We loved the Hotel Flamingo series!