Grand Hotel (TV series)
| Grand Hotel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Historical drama |
| Directed by | Carlos Sedes |
| Starring |
|
| Country of origin | Spain |
| Original language(s) | Spanish |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 66 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Ramón Campos Teres Fernández-Valdés |
| Producer(s) | Bambú Producciones |
| Location(s) | Santander |
| Running time | 70 -80 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Antena 3 |
| Original release | October 4, 2011 – June 25, 2013 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Grand Hotel (Spanish: Gran Hotel) is a Spanish drama television series directed by Carlos Sedes and starring Yon Gonzalez and Amaia Salamanca. It first aired on Antena 3 in Spain on 11 October 2011 and on Sky Arts 1 in the UK on 18 November 2012.
The series, filmed at the Palacio de la Magdalena in Santander, is set in an early 20th century aristocratic hotel during the reign of King Alfonso XIII and is centered on the mysteries that involve the owner family and the hotel servants.
Cast
| Character | Actor |
|---|---|
| Doña Teresa Aldecoa | Adriana Ozores |
| Alicia Alarcón | Amaia Salamanca |
| Julio Olmedo / Julio Espinosa / Julio Molins | Yon González |
| Javier Alarcón Aldecoa | Eloy Azorín |
| Alfredo Marqués de Vergara | Fele Martínez |
| Benjamín | Manuel de Blas |
| Horacio Ayala | Pep Antón Muñoz |
| Diego Murquía / Adrián Vera Celande | Pedro Alonso |
| Sofía Alarcón | Luz Valdenebro |
| Belén Martín | Marta Larralde |
| Andrés Alarcón Salinas / Andrés Cernuda Salinas | Llorenç González |
| Ángela Salinas | Concha Velasco |
International broadcasts
In France, the series premiered on Téva on 1 June 2012 and on M6 on 4 July 2012.[1] In Russia, it started airing on Domashny on 11 June 2012.[2] The rights to broadcast Grand Hotel were acquired in the United Kingdom by Sky Arts. The series has also been sold to Turkey (Sinema TV Aşk),[3] Lithuania (LNK),[4] Estonia (Sony Entertainment Estonia and Kanal 11) and Venezuela (Televen). In Germany, the rights were acquired by Sony Entertainment Television [5] and on the free-TV-channel Disney Channel. In Slovakia, broadcasting by RTVS TV canal, started on the 7th of January 2014[6] In Serbia, it started airing on RTS 2 on 10 March 2015.[7] In Bulgaria the series started on June 5, 2015 on Nova Television[8]
In the United States Grand Hotel premiered on VmeTV[9] on 31 October 2013 in its original language. As of June 2015, episodes can be streamed on Netflix with English subtitles. Hulu is showing the first season with English subtitles.
Season 1
Season 1 Plot
Gran Hotel follows the mysterious happenings within the elegant hotel halls and gardens after the disappearance of one of the maids, Cristina Olmedo. The story spotlights Cristina’s brother, Julio Olmedo, super cool lover and close friend to the owner’s daughter, Alicia Alarcon. A second lover, Alicia’s younger brother, Javier Alarcon, is shown as alcoholic, irresponsible, immature, and philandering, when he is introduced yelling "Bravo!" Next, we have Alicia’s sister, Sofia Alarcon, who plays their mother’s game of secrets to protect the hotel's reputation and keep the family wealthy and of good name. She really wants her husband to get a position and is disappointed that Alicia is getting married because the hotel is her inheritance. Diego Murquia, fiancé to Alicia, as well as hotel manager, partners up with the Gran Hotel’s owner, la Senora Alarcon, to cover up the attempted [key word: attempted] murder of Cristina and keep a vital letter hidden. In this letter, information is contained that would mean losing possession of the hotel for the Alarcon family, the letter having been left by the late Senor Alarcon, who died under mysterious circumstances, to his wife and discovered by Cristina. His wife later asks Cristina for the letter saying, "You have something that belongs to me."
The story starts with the travels of Julio Olmeda to visit his sister, a maid at the Gran Hotel. When he arrives, he finds his sister has been dismissed, and not believing this because he knows she would have told him, he begins searching for clues and suspects throughout the hotel. He passes himself off as a newly hired hotel waiter and quickly begins unveiling many secrets. Shortly after beginning his stay at the hotel, he is told that his sister was dismissed because she had stolen some jewelry from a hotel guest, the Duchess of Murquia. He is sure his sister would never do such a thing, so at a gala that night, he disguises himself as a guest, the nephew of a famous actress, to obtain the opportunity to speak with the Duchess and see if what they say is true. While he is conversing with the Duchess, Alicia joins them and is introduced.
A few days later, Alicia discovers the truth that Julio is one of her servants and is angered, but their friendship only intensifies, as she becomes involved in Julio’s investigation, to the point where they fall in love.
Many secrets are discovered of the hotel. Alicia finds herself between a rock and a hard place as she sees people being murdered around her with no one being found guilty while things begin to disappear, more clues to Cristina’s disappearance arise, and more secrets of Alicia’s mother are revealed.
The servants’ quarters is also full of stories and secrets. Andres, Julio’s roommate and best friend, is always doing Julio favors. Andres is very shy and he lets himself be manipulated by many people, including the head mistress of servants, who is also his mother. Andres has been in love with one of the maids, Belen, for years, but his mother dislikes Belen.
Belen has been carrying on a love affair with the hotel manager, Don Diego, since Cristina’s disappearance. A few episodes into season 1, it is discovered that Belen is pregnant, and Diego is the father. This is most inconvenient as he has just gotten engaged to Alicia, so he pays Belen to have an abortion. Belen refuses the money and says she will keep the baby, bringing Diego to fire her. When Andres finds out Belen is leaving, he begs his mother to keep her because he loves her, and to give his mother no choice, he tells her the child is his. After much drama between Diego, Belen, Andres, and his mother, Belen and Andres become engaged. Err Meanwhile, Julio at a bar one night defends Javier who is about to be beaten up for drinking debts. Julio knows that Javier will then owe him a favor and he can use this to get more information about his sister. Unfortunate events occur and things flip to Julio owing Javier. To pay off his debt, Javier capitalizes on Julio being a great fighter, demanding that Julio take part in a fighting ring. Andres bets on this fight as well to earn money for Belen’s engagement ring. Julio wins, and Javier pays off his debt though soon becomes just as indebted from continued drinking.
This is the night Alicia and Julio realize their feelings for each other, as Julio walks into the hotel, bruised and wounded from the fight, and Alicia tends to his wounds.
Season 1 Episodes
| No.overall | No. in
season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod.code | U.S. viewers
(millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | La doncella en el estanque
(The maiden in the pond) |
Carlos Sedes | Ramón Campos
Gema R. Neira Elegio R. Montero |
4 Oct. 2011 (Spain) | ||
| This episode introduces the characters, the tensions, and the mysteries of the season, as well as the beautiful turn-of the-century costumes and the luxurious hotel set on the Spanish coast. A young man (we'll later know as Julio Olmedo) boards a train headed for Cantaloa. Up ahead, he notices a lovely, well-dressed blond woman (we'll later know as Alicia Alarcon). He is traveling to Cantaloa to search for his sister, Cristina, a floor manager at the Grand Hotel there. The tone of mystery is set as he reads his sister's letter, and we see scenes of her life at the bustling hotel. This flashback introduces the stern housekeeper Angela, the jealous maid Belén, and the haughty owner Doña Teresa. Scenes of a glittering celebration are juxtaposed with scenes of a panicked Cristina, being chased by someone with a knife. The flashback ends with a scream, and back in the present, Julio arrives at Cantaloa. At the hotel, Julio meets a friendly waiter Andrés, who reveals that his sister was fired for stealing jewelry from a guest, and left without another word. Not believing it, Julio decides to stay and investigate. He adopts a fake name, Julio Espinosa, and takes a job as a waiter. (In a scene that foreshadows future, darker revelations about Julio's character, we see him coldly turn away the man who was actually supposed to fill the position.) As he learns the demands of his job, we meet additional characters: the sinister maitre, don Benjamin, and the overbearing hotel manager, don Diego. The drama is heightened as Doña Teresa reveals the financial crisis she discovered after her husband's sudden death. The only solution is for Alicia to marry don Diego. Doña Teresa doesn't trust her son, Javier, her elder daughter, Sofia, or her son-in-law. As the siblings arrive at the hotel, the family tensions mount—especially when Javier is accompanied by an obvious prostitute. Meanwhile, Julio takes a guest's suit from the hotel laundry so that he can impersonate a gentleman at dinner and speak to the guest, Lady, who had accused his sister. He charms his way to Lady's table, where he learns that no jewels were stolen. Later, still in his gentleman's tails, "Julio Molins" enjoys a romantic moment with Alicia on the moonlit balcony. (Interrupted briefly by the Andrés, who is stunned to see his fellow waiter impersonating a guest.) This scene introduces a visual motif of the series, as the couple shares cigarettes, and a central conflict of the series, as Alicia speaks wistfully of her desire for freedom and Julio tries to convince her that she could be free, if only she would allow herself to be. Back indoors, Alicia and Diego have a tense conversation about her lack of feelings for him. Yet as the episode closes, he goes to his room and finds comfort with the conniving maid Belén. This starts off the episode of Diego's fling. | |||||||
| 2 | 2 | El anónimo
(The anonymous one) |
Carlos Sedes | Ana Domínguez
Cristóbal Garrido María López Castaño |
4 Oct. 2011 (Spain) | ||
| The opening scene takes up where the last episode ended, as Diego and Belén embrace on the bed. They are interrupted by a knock at the door, and Doña Teresa's urgent request for help from Diego. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Andrés scolds Julio for impersonating a guest. Julio defends his risk because he learned from Lady that no jewels were stolen. He vows to find out what really happened to his sister. His suspicions fall on Diego, who is sneaking out of the hotel. Julio follows Diego to a bar in the village. Diego speaks to the bar owner, who then sends two thugs into the back room, where they attack Javier. The bar owner demands that he pay off his bad bets or get out. Javier invokes his family name, which only causes the bar owner to reveal that in fact it is Javier's own mother who is demanding this harsh treatment. Now Julio charges in, expertly punches the attackers and drops them in quick succession, and finally pulls Javier out of the bar. Back in the safety of the hotel kitchen, Julio tries to get Javier to talk about the disappearance of the house maid, but Javier answers only with foreboding comments about not trusting anyone. Another late night conversation occurs at the front desk, where Don Benjamin catches Alicia rifling through the guest register in search of information about the mysterious Mr. Molins. The next day, Julio searches for clues in the room that his sister shared with Belén. He discovers a hidden package that includes an ornate key. He begins going through the hotel, trying the key in various locks. In a subplot of this episode, Sofia and her husband Alfredo worry over Doña Teresa's decision to give control of the hotel to Diego. Sofia presses her husband to confront Doña Teresa and demand the respect that he deserves as son of a Marquis. Dic Phuc As Alicia's curiosity about Mr. Molins grows, she accidently discovers Julio's identity. She slaps him and puts a temporary damper on the relationship that she thought they had. | |||||||
References
- ↑ Grand Hôtel
- ↑ "Гранд отель". domashniy.ru.
- ↑ Grand Hotel
- ↑ "Serialas – Viešbutis "Grand Hotel" – LNK". lnk.lt.
- ↑ "Grand Hotel". sonyentertainment.tv.
- ↑ "RTVS.sk". rtvs.sk.
- ↑ RTS :: Hotel Grand
- ↑ "Мистерии и изпепеляваща любов в сериала "Гранд хотел"". Novatv.bg. 5 June 2015.
- ↑ "Gran Hotel". vmetv.com.