This the the character page for the Hotel Dusk: Room 215 video game. The character page for the sequel, Last Window, is here. Note that the main and recurring character entries are duplicated; trope entries should go on the page of the game in which they appear.
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Main and Recurring Characters
Kyle Hyde
An ex-NYPD-detective-turned-salesman who works for Ed Vincent at the Red Crown company. A bit of a Jerkass and most certainly a First-Person Smartass, Kyle is searching for his partner Brian Bradley, who went missing after he double-crossed NYPD and Kyle shot him. He stays in room 215.
- Ambiguously Bi: Some of what we see of his interactions with Bradley make him sound more like a betrayed lover than a simple partner on the force, but it's really just subtext at most. On the other hand, he also has some pretty substantial Ship Tease with Rachel.
- Anti-Hero: Initially arrives at Hotel Dusk to do his job so he can get out of there, before he starts suspecting that the mystery might be related to Bradley.
- Awesome McCoolname: He seems to think this about himself.
- Captain Obvious: When examining items, he often does this, sometimes on purpose.
- Dark and Troubled Past: He was an NYPD detective three years ago, and was devastated to learn that his partner Bradley betrayed everyone in the NYPD. Kyle confronted Bradley at the Hudson River dock and shot him, which resulted in Kyle being fired and moving back to Los Angeles to start a new life.
- Deadpan Snarker: The guy's wit is as harsh and dry as the desert, especially in his internal monologues.
- First-Person Smartass: His narration regularly pops up to summarize key events for the player, and he snarks just as much in them as he does to actual people.
- Ironic Nickname: His room is nicknamed "Wish." Kyle's driving force in life is to find out why his partner Bradley betrayed him - and he does so, getting his wish granted in spite of his cynicism, his disbelief of the supernatural and the story about the room granting wishes having been a total lie.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Very cynical but a very kind man to everyone.
- Kleptomaniac Hero: Par the course for an adventure game protagonist, the guy takes a lot of objects that don't belong to him. If he's caught by Dunning with something that isn't his, it'll result in a Game Over.
- Parrot Exposition: He tends to repeat what others say to him, which gets lampshaded by Jeff and Ed.
- Perma-Stubble: His chin is littered with stubble, adding to his image as a noir-style detective. Lampshaded when examining his razor, he wryly comments that he "hairs up fast".
- Private Detective: Well, a former professional detective, but he still speaks like one.
- Running Gag: "Good name, isn't it?"
- Through His Stomach: Not a straight example, but... the shortest and surest way to get in Kyle's good graces is to fix him a good meal or drink.
- Turn in Your Badge: He was fired from NYPD before the events of Hotel Dusk.
- When He Smiles: He smiles when served a good meal from Rosa and bourbon from Louie, but his biggest moment of this is when he leaves the hotel in the epilogue, Mila follows after him and asks to accompany him. Kyle nods and genuinely returns Mila's smile.
Mila Evans
A mysterious young woman who shows up at Hotel Dusk after Kyle passes her on the way there. Nobody seems to know what she's looking for, and the fact she can't talk doesn't help matters. She stays in Rosa's room.
- Mysterious Waif: There are a number of mysteries surrounding her that all end up relating to Kyle's investigation. The fact that she's mute yet not deaf only adds to the questions.
- Broken Bird: Oh so very much. Witnesses her friend get kidnapped by a complete stranger at the age of nine, brutally struck by said person and put into a coma, wakes up ten years later as a mute, searches for her father for six months with no sense of direction, and passes out again in the same room where her friend was kidnapped, this time being unable to breathe and narrowly avoiding death. And for all of her trouble, what does she learn? That her father may have been killed by Kyle's partner Bradley in the heat of rage when he came to visit her, as revenge for killing his sister whose name was also Mila. Poor girl. For all of the crap she went through, there's no argument that she deserved a happy ending, either with Kyle or Rosa.
- Cute Mute: Until chapter 9.
- When She Smiles: She never shows a single smile but after hearing the truth from Dunning and learning Kyle is leaving the hotel in the epilogue, she follows him and ask if she can accompany him. He agrees with just a nod and Mila happily smiles.
Ed Vincent
Kyle's boss at Red Crown and a friend of his father. Ed is blunt and to the point, and has plenty of connections that let him know exactly what's going on most of the time.
- The Faceless: His eyes are never shown.
- Grumpy Old Man: Although his grumpiness doesn't show in the first game.
- Voice with an Internet Connection: A role he shares with Rachel due to Kyle. He periodically calls Kyle up whenever Kyle needs information related to the current case.
Rachel
Ed's secretary and a friend of Kyle's.
- Hair Color Dissonance: Is blonde in the first game and brunette in the sequel.
- Love Interest: She may or may not be this to Kyle. Kyle doesn't seem to mind her constant flirting and they do mention having a dinner together on Christmas Eve in New Game Plus.
- Sassy Secretary: She can keep up with Kyle's snark and regularly engages in flirty banter with him.
- Sexy Secretary: She's Ed's secretary and pretty easy on the eyes.
- Voice with an Internet Connection: Kyle regularly calls her up to do research on subjects related to the case.
Hotel Dusk Characters
Dunning Smith
The hotel's owner who hates both criminals and cops. He's generally friendly (if a bit dishonest and grumpy) but get on his bad side and it's Game Over for you. He also likes hockey. He's also the painter Marcel Osterzone, and together with Robert Evans he created the painter as a fake persona, pretending Osterzone is a long-dead painter.
- Anti-Villain: Technically the Big Bad of the game, but he's just one of the many victims of the Nile organization.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Started a scam with Robert Evans by creating the identity of Osterzone to sell his paintings. When he began to back out of it, Nile had his daughter Jenny kidnapped to force him back into it.
- Dead Artists Are Better: The Osterzone scam maintains that he never had much fame until his death, when in actuality he didn't actually exist until his "death", since he's just Dunning.
- Game-Over Man: Cause too much of a commotion in the hotel or get caught stealing something, and he'll be the one to kick Kyle out, leading to a game over. On your first-time playthrough, expect to be seeing the cutscene of him doing it a lot.
- Karma Houdini: He's an overall nice man, but his locking Kyle in an airtight room is never addressed or condemned.
- Walking Spoiler: Most of his plot relevance only shows up near the end of the game.
- You Lose at Zero Trust: Keeping him from becoming suspicious or receiving too many complaints from the other guests is key to not getting a game over.
Rosa Fox
Hotel Dusk's only maid. She is very talkative and often complains that she is the only hard-working one in the hotel, which is pretty true. She's also a great chef.
- The Cameo: She appears on a photo along with her husband in Another Code R.
- Catchphrase: "Busy, busy, busy" and "land's sake." The latter may have something to do with her husband being a sailor.
- Collector of the Strange: She collects autographs, and is especially excited at the chance to obtain Martin's.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Averted, she's great at judging people, if a bit quick to jump on conclusions. However, Kyle makes her out to be one to keep her from finding out about Louie's past.
- I Was Quite a Looker: A few pictures of a younger Rosa and her family can be found in her room, showing she was fairly attractive in her youth.
- Mama Bear: She gets really protective of Mila, and won't hesitate to chase Kyle off if she thinks he's bothering her. Imagine if she were ever in real danger.
- Nice Girl: She might be whiny at times, but she gets along well with Kyle, and is willing to help Mila not only to stay with her, but to help find her missing father.
- Only Sane Man: Of the hotel staff.
- Supreme Chef: She's the sole cook of the hotel's restaurant, the Midnight Grill, and everyone praises her cooking, Kyle included.
Louis DeNonno
A former pickpocket who has turned straight and works as the only bellhop in the hotel. His main interests are flirting with ladies and avoiding work. Throughout the game he pops up and helps Kyle a lot. He's also Italian and hates disco music.
- The Bartender: Being a bartender for the hotel's Seven Stars bar is the only job he likes to do - and is actually very good at.
- Big Damn Heroes: He saves Kyle's life by freeing him from the airtight room in chapter 10.
- Butt-Monkey: Probably takes the most crap from various characters in the game... as well as the universe in general.
- The Cameo: He can be seen in a photo together with a yet-unidentified man who may be Martin Summer in Another Code R.
- Catchphrase: He uses the word "trip" a lot.
- He also says "Gotta blow" whenever he excuses himself to go elsewhere. This phrase was actually what made Kyle realize who he was.
- Chivalrous Pervert: Though he backs off real quick when we learn that Mila is essentially 9 - and tells him 'no.'
- Nice Guy: Helpful, funny, and with some surprising Hidden Depths of empathy and understanding.
- Reformed Criminal: Although Rosa and Dunning don't know about his past, and he asks Kyle to keep it that way.
- Side Kick: He doesn't follow Kyle 24/7 like Maya Fey does to Phoenix Wright, but he is quite helpful and at least calls Kyle his partner, since they are both looking for Bradley.
- The Slacker: He's quite a nuisance from Rosa's point of view, because he often slacks off when he's supposed to be cleaning, gives wrong packages to guests, and flirts with the ladies. The only job he can do perfectly is being the Seven Stars's bartender.
Kevin Woodward
A surgeon who comes to Hotel Dusk with his daughter, Melissa. His wife left him some time ago. He and his daughter Melissa stay in room 219.
- Abusive Parents: Subverted. He does treat Melissa a bit harshly because of all the stress after his wife left him, but after Kyle calls him out on his cowardice surrounding Kevin and Grace's divorce, he concedes the point and apologizes to Melissa, indicating he does truly love her.
- Back-Alley Doctor: He was accused of and successfully sued for malpractice. Whether that means he actually committed it is up to the player to decide, although Kevin says he didn't.
- Dirty Coward: After he was sued for the death of a patient, Grace gathered a lot of money to help pay for the malpractice suit. Kevin became distrustful of her and instead of ignoring how she got it, he demanded the truth from her, which caused them to constantly argue, and Grace ultimately left him and Melissa behind. Kyle calls him out for his cowardice, which Kevin humbly concedes.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Kyle catches a drunk Kevin leaving the bar, and learns he was doing this with Iris.
- Ironic Nickname: His and Melissa's room is nicknamed "Courage." His cowardice is why his wife Grace left him. When she somehow managed to raise enough money to pay off a malpractice suit, Kevin was afraid of how she may have gotten that money, and couldn't leave it alone, even when she told him never to ask about it.
Melissa Woodward
Kevin's daughter, a young girl who misses her mother, even if she can be a brat sometimes. She stays with her father Kevin in room 219.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Especially in her introduction, she has a tendency to throw tantrums and talk back to adults. It's implied to be her acting out over her parents' divorce and the constant arguing they got into before that.
- Morality Pet: She is one of the very few characters that Kyle is nice to.
Iris
An enigmatic woman in her twenties who thinks highly of herself and not so highly of others. She stays in room 216. She's actually Grace's younger half-sister, Kevin's sister-in-law, and Melissa's aunt.
- Dark and Troubled Past: She and Grace had moved homes repeatedly because their mother wanted to find a good husband and father for them, but she died in the Las Vegas plane crash in 1960. Iris and Grace were placed into separate orphanages, and Iris was adopted but escaped at the age of 15 to live a lonely life working at different diners for five years, before she's finally reunited with Grace, who's married Kevin and had Melissa.
- Ironic Nickname: Her room is nicknamed "Success." After her mother died, she never really got much of a successful job, or had much of a life, to the point of being ashamed when her sister, who had become far more successful, met up with her again.
- Sour Outside, Sad Inside: She's incredibly stuck-up and judgmental due to an incredibly harsh childhood and her beloved stepsister disappearing off of the map.
Helen Parker
A polite old woman who comes to Hotel Dusk to stay in room 215 in the hopes of having her wish come true. Unfortunately, she arrives just after Kyle checks in, so she stays in room 212, instead. She is Alan's mother.
- Cool Old Lady: She's a former Stage Magician who invites Kyle to drink with her, and has him try a clever coin puzzle, too.
- Eyepatch of Power: Her nickname isn't "Grandma Patch" or "Pirate Grandma" for nothing. It looks pretty cool on her.
- Ironic Nickname: Her room is nicknamed "Angel". She is eaten by guilt over having walked out on her family, feeling herself to be a sinner.
- Stage Magician: She used to be one, and walked out on her family to chase her dream.
Martin Summer
A best-selling novelist in his fifties who is staying at Hotel Dusk to receive a package for him. Since his first blockbuster novel, he's fallen on hard times, with each of his books selling worse than the last. He stays in room 211. Sometime after the events of Hotel Dusk and Last Window, he writes a number of columns about his time at Hotel Dusk and adapts Kyle's time at Cape West in Last Window into a novel.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Summer is a friendly guy, but Kyle gets suspicious of him, especially after reading his notebook and realizing it's the manuscript for the latter's successful novel, The Secret Word. He confronts him about this, causing Summer to get angry, but he calms down when Kyle clarifies he wants to learn the truth instead of blackmailing or exposing him, and confides to him.
- Dirty Old Man: If you show him the Va-Voom! magazine, he admits to having a subscription to the magazine personally. Later on, he will tell Kyle that Cecily Lee on the cover resembles Iris, the woman from room 216.
- Glasses Pull: When Kyle exposes him.
- Ironic Nickname: His room is nicknamed "Honor." He stole his best friend's manuscript to fulfill his dream to become famous.
- Jerkass: Summer stole his friend Alan's manuscript for The Secret Word and became famous.
- Motor Mouth: Kyle internally calls him a 'windbag' when he can't shorten his long prose.
Jeff Angel
Obnoxious and self-centered, Jeff is a college student who stops at Hotel Dusk after picking up Mila on the side of the road. He tends to try and act as though he's a lot more in charge of things than he really is. He stays in room 213. His real name is Jeff Damon.
- Defeat Equals Friendship: Becomes nicer to Kyle after he's exposed for trying to frame him for theft.
- Didn't Think This Through: After Kyle confronts him, Jeff states that he plans to get arrested for the theft so he can embarrass his father by revealing his connection with Nile to the press. Kyle calls him out on the stupidity of this plan, as it's more likely that Nile will eliminate both Jeff and Larry because the former talked.
- Ironic Nickname: His room is nicknamed "Trust". Jeff does not trust his father Larry, who has ties to Nile, to the point of refusing to use the old man's surname.
- Jerkass: He's a rude, snobby and arrogant dickhead to Kyle when they are talking to each other in the hotel. Not to mention in Chapter 4, he's responsible for putting the $20,000 he stole inside room 215's toilet tank and then raised the alarm with Dunning, and the following chapter has him stash a gun inside the laundry cart to be found deliberately.
- Lonely Rich Kid: The son in a rich family run by his father and brilliant lawyer, Larry Damon, who turns out to be in a dishonest alliance with Nile.
- Real Name as an Alias: He kept his first name but his last name Angel turns out to be his false name when Kyle discovers his Student ID Card legally saying 'Jeff Damon' after he sneaks into his room.
- Out of Focus: After his confrontation sequence he all but vanishes for the entire second half of the game, only reappearing for a brief conversation with Kyle in the epilogue.
Brian Bradley
Kyle's missing NYPD partner. While working on a case about the crime syndicate Nile, Bradley betrayed the police, causing Kyle to tear up the city looking for him. When Kyle caught up with him at the docks, he shot Bradley, who fell into the river.
- Big Brother Instinct: He's very much a kind brother to his younger sister, Mila, and his betrayal towards the NYPD was because Nile had her kidnapped and promised to let her go in exchange for his loyalty. They didn't keep their end of the deal and had her killed, prompting his Roaring Rampage of Revenge towards Robert Evans.
- The Chessmaster: Bradley orchestrated Kyle coming to Hotel Dusk in the first place, confident that Kyle would be brilliant enough to close the book on the hotel's many mysteries. He even left behind a goodbye letter that he expected Kyle to find.
- Never Found the Body: After Kyle shot him and he fell into the Hudson River, his body was never found, which prompted Kyle to search for him. He's still alive and went into hiding for three years to murder Robert Evans in revenge for his younger sister Mila's death, and left a goodbye letter at Hotel Dusk for Kyle to find.
Grace Woodward
Kevin's missing ex-wife and Melissa's mother.
- The Ghost: She never appears in person, and is only seen in flashbacks.
- Missing Mom: Grace disappeared to parts unknown shortly after her and Kevin's divorce, and despite Melissa's initial hopes, it's clear she isn't going to be returning to her family any time soon.
Robert Evans
Mila's father, the curator of Gallery May in Santa Monica.
- Evil Is Petty: He had Bradley's sister Mila, whom he was keeping her hostage to coerce Bradley to betray the NYPD, killed, simply because she shared the same name as his own daughter. This gave Bradley his desire for revenge against him three years after faking his death.
- Karmic Death: Bradley killed him as revenge for his sister Mila's death.
- Hate Sink: While what happened to his daughter was horrible, he's still responsible for most of the cast's suffering and its debatable how much he cares about the damage he's done.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: His Osterzone scam is pretty much responsible for everyone's problems.
Alan
A mysterious man whose name shows up on a decorative pen Summer owns. His real name is Alan Parker.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Summer betrayed him by stealing the manuscript to his novel, The Secret Whisper, and claiming it as his own.
Jenny
A mysterious girl whose name keeps showing up around Hotel Dusk... Her real name is Jenny Smith.
- The Ghost: She's only seen in flashbacks as a child, but it's subverted when an older Jenny arrives at the hotel in the Golden Ending.
- I Have Your Wife: Nile kidnapped her to get Dunning to continue his work as Osterzone. Fortunately, she's let go in the Golden Ending.
