Emily's Hotel Solitaire

Category: Arcade, Puzzle Plays: 0 Rating:

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How to Play

Game Overview

Emily's Hotel Solitaire is one of those casual games that feels like a beach read in digital form. You're helping this girl Emily turn her grandfather's dream into a real hotel on a tropical island. The card game is classic solitaire with a twist -- you pick cards that are one higher or one lower than your current card, and you clear the board without running out of draws. It's surprisingly tense when the deck gets low. The visuals are bright and cartoony, all pastel colors and palm trees, with little upgrades like flowerbeds or cozy sofas you unlock by earning stars. There's no deep story here, just a light narrative about building something nice. The music is chill, almost like elevator music but not annoying. What got me hooked was the loop: play a round, earn stars, pick a decoration, see the hotel change a bit. It's not a brain-burner -- more of a wind-down game for your phone during lunch or on the couch. People who enjoy match-three games or themed solitaire like Fairway Solitaire would dig this. It doesn't ask much of you, which is fine. You can zone out and still progress. The tropical setting is just window dressing, but it adds a nice vibe. If you want something that feels productive without much effort, this works.

About Emily's Hotel Solitaire

Emily's Hotel Solitaire is a card game wrapped in a hotel-building story, but what you actually do is play dozens of solitaire hands to earn stars. Each level is a new solitaire puzzle where you draw cards from a deck and match them to the ones on the board by going either one higher or one lower in value. So if you draw a 7, you can clear any 6 or 8 that's sitting there. Sounds simple, but the trick is the board has multiple piles, and you can only pull from the top card of each. Your hand holds five cards at a time, and you cycle through the deck until it runs out. If you can't make any moves left, you lose that level and have to restart.

The early levels are generous -- they give you plenty of wiggle room with extra decks or smaller boards. Around level 10, things tighten up. You'll see boards packed with cards, and the deck runs out faster. Some levels introduce locked cards that need two matches in a row to unlock, or special tiles that shuffle the deck when cleared. The game doesn't explain these well, so you just learn by failing. The satisfying moment comes when you chain a long sequence of matches, clearing half the board in one go, and the star counter shoots up.

Each level you beat earns one to three stars based on how many moves you had left or how fast you finished. Those stars let you decorate the hotel in between levels -- stuff like picking carpet colors, placing sofas, or adding flowerbeds. It's not deep, but it gives a reason to replay levels for more stars. The hotel sections have names like "Sunrise Wing" or "Coral Terrace," and you unlock them as you progress through the island map. Later levels hit you with time pressure too -- a timer counts down, and if you're slow, cards start locking up. I found myself cursing at level 22 where a bunch of 4s and 5s were buried under everything.

There's a hint button that shows one possible move, but it costs a star to use, which feels punishing. You can also undo moves, but that costs coins earned from completing levels. The game wants you to plan ahead -- think about which pile to pull from so you don't trap a needed card. The difficulty builds unevenly: some levels are a breeze, others feel like the game stacked the deck against you. It's not consistently hard, which is both annoying and keeps you hoping the next one might be easier 🔍.

Tips & Tricks

When you're first starting, it's easy to burn through your supply too fast. Don't match cards just because you can--sometimes skipping a possible play is smarter, especially if the next card in the draw pile would let you chain multiple moves. I learned this the hard way when I hit a dead end with three cards left on the board.

Pay close attention to the order of the draw pile. The game shows you the next card coming, so plan ahead. If you see a high card coming and you have a low one on the field, hold off if you can. Matching the wrong card can trap you later.

Another thing: don't ignore the 'one higher or lower' rule when the card on top is a King or Ace. Kings only match with Queens or Aces, and Aces only with Kings or Twos. These cards are bottlenecks--clear them early if possible, or you might get stuck.

Use the undo button. It's not cheating. I wasted a few levels not realizing it was there. Sometimes a single misclick ruins a run, and undoing lets you try a different sequence without losing progress 🔍.

For the hotel decorating part, focus on the rooms that give bonus stars first. The Chinese restaurant and cozy furniture upgrades help unlock new areas faster, which keeps the game feeling fresh rather than grindy.

Finally, if you're struggling on a level, step back and scan the whole board before making your first move. A quick glance can reveal a chain of three or four matches that clears half the field. Rushing is the biggest mistake.