GRAND HOTEL 5 (SECOND HALF OF S3, FRENCH REGION 2 DVD)

Spain in the early 20th century. The idyllic luxury of the prestigious Grand Hotel, located just outside the (fictional) town of Cantaloa, conceals secrets, lies, intrigue, and danger.

Grand Hotel (Gran Hotel, 2011-2013), the acclaimed Spanish mystery drama, is availaible on DVD in France thanks to Koba Films. 

Produced by Bambu Producciones, the company of Ramón Campos and Teresa Fernández-Valdés, for private channel Antena 3, Gran Hotel was sold to more than 60 territories, including France (groupe M6), the UK (Sky Arts) and the United States. Series three of Grand Hotel initially consisted of 14 X 70-minute episodes. However, when Antena 3 reduced by half the second series to preserve ratings the channel added 8 of its 16 episodes (already filmed) to the third (1). Released in January 2016, the "Grand Hotel - Saison 5" DVD set from Koba contains the second half of the third and final series (7 x 70-minute) plus a bonus featurette.

Andrés (Llorenç González) is arrested for the murder of Belén (Marta Larralde). Julio (Yon González), Alicia (Amaia Salamanca) and Maite (Megan Montaner) try to prove his innocence with the help of Inspector Ayala (Pep Anton Muñoz) and Agent Hernando (Antonio Reyes). The suspiciously obtuse Chief Inspector Bazán (Daniel Pérez Prada) strives to slow them down. Don Diego (Pedro Alonso) faces an invisible and powerful adversary from his past, who stops at nothing for revenge. Jesús Cisneros (Lluis Homar), the empathic maitre d'hotel, prevents Doña Teresa (Adriana Ozores) from doing something irreparable. Javier (Eloy Azorin) tries to adjust to the personality of his wife Laura (Martha Hazas).

Known internationally as "the Spanish Downton Abbey", Grand Hotel was actually born from the passion of its creators Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira (Gran Reserva) for mystery stories and the work of Agatha Christie (2). This last series of Gran Hotel is packed with suspense, mystery and romance. Rare are the things which doesn't work, mainly the story arc with Doña Sofia (Luz Valdenebro), Don Alfredo (Fele Martinez) and Father Grau (Roger Coma). The riveting twists and turns reach the heights of the first series. The cast is amazing, the music of Lucio Godoy is magnificent and the settings are gorgeous (3). The ultimate episode is one of the most beautiful and elegant conclusions ever made for a television series.

Gran Hotel has been remade twice, in 2015 for Italian pubcaster RAI as Grand Hotel and in 2016 for American Spanish-language network Univision as El Hotel de los Secretos. Yon González, Lluís Homar, Pedro Alonso and later Concha Velasco worked together again on Bajo Sospecha (2015-2016), a crime/mystery drama produced by Bambu for Antena 3. González has joined Bambu's Las Chicas del cable, due to air on Netflix in 2017. Amaia Salamanca is another of the prodco's familiar faces, with Velvet (2014) and La embajada (2016). The 7 episodes of this DVD set from Koba Films are on 4 discs in French only (the featurette is subbed). French subtitles for the hearing impaired are available.

(1) http://blogs.formulatv.com/aldia/antena-3-corta-la-segunda-temporada-gran-hotel-para-emitirla-mas-adela/
(2)  http://nachomedivas.es/secretos-gran-hotel-creador-ramon-campos/
(3) Grand Hotel was primarily filmed at the Palacio de la Magadalena, an early 20th-century palace on the Magdalena Peninsula of the city of Santander (http://palaciomagdalena.com/en/).

http://www.kobafilms.fr/series-tv/401-grand-hotel-s5-5051889561897.html

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2015/08/grand-hotel-4-first-half-of-s3-french_18.html (First half of Series3 DVD review)
http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2015/06/grand-hotel-3-second-half-of-s2-french.html (Second half of Series 2 DVD review)
http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2014/08/grand-hotel-series-two-french-region-2.html (First half of Series 2 DVD review)
http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2014/05/grand-hotel-french-region-2-dvd_10.html (Series 1 DVD review) 

EL HOTEL DE LOS SECRETOS (UNIVISION)

El Hotel de los Secretos the Mexican series/telenovela adaptation of the Spanish mystery drama Grand Hotel (Gran Hotel, 2011-2013), started this week on Univision.

The first of the 80 one-hour episodes (1) was aired on Monday and El Hotel de los Secretos is really impressive. This production of Roberto Gómez Fernández for Televisa,  based on the creation of Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira (for Bambu Producciones and Atresmedia), is very ambitious. The sets are lavish and the locations are superb. It's also, for now, respectful to the original even if there are some changes because of the format and the local audience.

The cast is excellent. Irene Azuela and Erick Elías are great choices for the Mexican Alicia Alarcón (now called Isabel Alarcón) and Julio Olmedo. Diana Bracho is an amazing Doña Teresa de Alarcón. Daniela Romo plays Doña Angela. Diego Murquia becomes Diego Montejo and he's portrayed by Jorge Poza. Carlos Rivera is stunningly convincing as Andrés Salinas (Andrés Cernuda in Spain) and fans of Gran Hotel will recognize Sofía Alarcón and Alfredo Vergara, now performed by Dominika Paleta and Alejandro de la Madrid.

Javier Alarcón is now Felipe Alarcón and he's played by Pablo Cruz-Guerrero. Queta Lavat is Señora Limantour ("Lady" in Grand Hotel). We particularly like the new Inspector Horacio Ayala/Agent Hernando, Detective Serapio Ayala (the incredible Jesús Ochoa) and Agente Dagoberto Suárez (Eduardo España). There's also Ilse Salas (Belén García/Belén Martín in GH), Luis Couturier (Benjamín Nieto), Ximena Herrera (Cristina Olmedo), etc.

El Hotel de los Secretos is set in 1908 and centered on Julio Olmedo, a smart and dashing young man of modest origin. Julio becomes a waiter at the prestigious Gran Hotel of San Cristóbal to discover what happened to her sister, who worked there as a maid before she disappeared. He gets assistance of his new colleague Andrés and he convinces Isabel, the ravishing youngest daughter of the owner of the establishment, to join his search.

For those who love Gran Hotel it's interesting to compare (2), especially if you know the Italian adaptation aired on pubcaster Rai 1 last autumn. Most regrettably, it seems that RAI doesn't want a second series of Grand Hotel in spite of brilliant ratings and the enthusiasm of its fans. Televisa USA is preparing an English-language version with Lantica Media at the Pinewood Dominican Republic Studios.

French fans of the original Grand Hotel can enjoy the complete series on DVD from Koba Films. Last month Koba released the second half of the third and final series as "Grand Hôtel - Saison 5".

(1) Univision is trying out a shorter form of telenovelas: 80 episodes instead of around 200. And El Hotel de los Secretos is closer to a series.
(2) For example, Maite Ribelles, a regular character from the third series of Grand Hotel already appears in the premiere. She's now called Matilde Salaberri and she's played by Regina Blandón.

You can find reviews of the Italian and Spanish versions of Grand Hotel on this blog. 

http://uvideos.com/novelas/el-hotel-de-los-secretos
http://www.latintimes.com/10-reasons-watch-el-hotel-de-los-secretos-episode-1-premiere-univision-diana-bracho-365732
http://spanish.latinospost.com/articles/63154/20160125/el-hotel-de-los-secretos-telenovela-estreno-elenco-protagonistas-horario-personajes-sinopsis-univision-erick-elias-jorge-poza-carlos-rivera.htm

GRAND HOTEL - EPISODES 1 AND 2 (RAI 1)

[Spoiler-Free] 1905, in the Schnalsthal valley (1), South Tyrol (in the Austro-Hungarian Empire). Pietro Neri, a young man of modest origin, arrives from the province of Verona to visit his sister Caterina, who works as a maid at the Grand Hotel Imperial. 

There, he's told she was fired and disappeared. Pietro becomes a waiter in the luxury albergo to find out what happened. Grand Hotel, the Italian adaptation of the acclaimed Spanish mystery drama Grand Hotel (Gran Hotel, 2011-2013), premiered on tuesday and wednesday on pubcaster Rai 1.

Known internationally as "the Spanish Downton Abbey", Gran Hotel was actually born from the passion of its creators Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira (Gran Reserva) for mystery stories and the work of Agatha Christie. The 39 X 70-minute series was centered on amateur sleuths and star-crossed lovers Julio Olmedo (Yon González) and Alicia Alarcón (Amaia Salamanca). Julio was a provincial young man posing as a waiter at the Grand Hotel of Cantaloa and Alicia the youngest daughter of the owner of the establishment, the merciless Doña Teresa Alarcón (Adriana Ozores). The idyllic luxury of the hotel concealed secrets, lies, intrigue and danger. There was even a gold knife serial killer in the area.

Julio and Alicia were helped by waiter Andrés Cernuda (Llorenç González) and lawyer Maite Ribelles (Megan Montaner) joined them later. Their allies in the police were shrewd detective and forensic expert Inspector Horacio Ayala (Pep Anton Muñoz) and the clueless Agent Hernando (Antonio Reyes), the Spanish Poirot and Hastings. Doña Teresa, the scheming hotel director Don Diego Murquia (Pedro Alonso), the austere head housekeeper Doña Ángela (Concha Velasco), and a powerful invisible enemy were the forces who tried to slow down their search for the truth. Produced by Bambu Producciones, the company of Ramón Campos and Teresa Fernández-Valdés, for Antena 3, the original Grand Hotel was sold to more than 60 territories, including France (groupe M6), the UK (Sky Arts) and the United States.

The Italian version is co-produced by Cattleya (Gomorrah) and Rai Fiction with German company Beta Film, the distributor of Gran Hotel. It is supported by BLS Südtirol-Alto Adige and Provincia autonoma di Bolzano. The 6 X 100-minute episodes, directed by Luca Ribuoli (Don Matteo), were primarily filmed at Castel Wolfsthurn, Racines, in the South Tyrol province of Bolzano in northern Italy. The gorgeous locations highlight the impressive adaptation work by Ribuoli, Isabella Aguilar, and the writing team lead by Peter Exacoustos. Grand Hotel stars Eugenio Franceschini as Pietro Neri and Valentina Bellè as Adele Alibrandi, the Italian Julio and Alicia. Adele is the youngest daughter of Donna Vittoria Alibrandi, the owner of the Grand Hotel Imperial, portrayed by Austrian actress Marion Mitterhammer.

German-speaking cast members of this co-production also include Günter Bubbnik (Rodolfo Von Raben) and Klaus Schindler as Raimondo, the maitre d'hotel and Italian counterpart of Benjamin, played in Gran Hotel by the legendary Manuel de Blas. Amongst the Italian cast, the performances of Eugenio Franceschini, Andrea Bosca (Marco Testa, the local Diego), Flavio Furno (Angelo Cereda) and Emanuela Grimalda (Rosa, the head housekeeper) are particularly commendable. Fans of the original will miss the Ayala/Hernando duo: Inspector Venezia (the excellent Ugo Dighero) is assisted by pathologist Doctor Gadda (Andrea Bruschi) - think Holmes and Watson, and the young Agent Arturo Parini (Pierpaolo Spollon).

Anyway the remake is for now faithful to its source material, except for a notably missing cigarette, some characterization changes, a couple of new storyline elements and a few minor details. Grand Hotel is gloriously lavish and overall very good. It will allow new audiences to discover the creation of Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira. Dario Aita (Jacopo Alibrandi), Barbara Ronchi (Olimpia Alibrandi), Francesca Agostini (maid Anita) and Federica De Cola (Caterina Neri) are in the regular cast too. The enjoyable Downton Abbey-esque theme and the superb music are composed by Nicola Tescari. Giovanni Galasso is the director of photography.

Grand Hotel is exec produced by Matteo De Laurentiis and produced by Riccardo Tozzi, Giovanni Stabilini and Marco Chimenz, Ferdinand Dohna for Beta Film, Gianluca Casagrande, Emanuele Cotumaccio and Federica Rossi for RAI, and Claudia Aloisi. A Mexican adaptation of Gran Hotel, produced by Roberto Gómez Fernández, is in preparation for Televisa. It will take place during the Mexican Revolution. The original Grand Hotel is available on French Region 2 DVD from Koba Films.

(1) Val Senales in Italian. Today, Schnalstal.

http://www.grandhotel.rai.it/dl/portali/site/page/Page-59e1f11b-a983-46cd-864f-cbe22f841937.html
http://www.adnkronos.com/intrattenimento/spettacolo/2015/08/26/eugenio-franceschini-grand-hotel-messo-del-mio_4eYr7unIfEeuRjqxV9wLBO.html?refresh_ce
http://spettacoli.leonardo.it/grand-hotel-su-rai-uno-intervista-emanuela-grimalda/
http://www.wolfsthurn.it/en/default.asp
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grand-Hotel-fiction-italia/814055505316658?fref=nf

GRAND HOTEL 4 (FIRST HALF OF S3, FRENCH REGION 2 DVD)

Spain in the early 20th century. The idyllic luxury of the prestigious Grand Hotel, located just outside the (fictional) town of Cantaloa, conceals secrets, lies, intrigue, and danger. 

The first half of the third and final series of Grand Hotel (Gran Hotel, 2011-2013), the acclaimed Spanish mystery drama, will be available tomorrow in France on DVD from Koba Films as "Grand Hôtel - Saison 4".  

Produced by Bambu Producciones, the company of Ramón Campos and Teresa Fernández-Valdés, for channel Antena 3, Gran Hotel was sold to more than 60 territories, including France (groupe M6), the UK (Sky Arts) and the United States. Series three of Grand Hotel initially consisted of 14 X 70-minute episodes. However, when Antena 3 reduced by half the second series to preserve ratings the channel added 8 of its 16 episodes (already filmed) to the third (1). Everybody at the Grand Hotel is in shock after the tragedy, starting with Doña Teresa Alarcón (Adriana Ozores). Wounded, Julio Olmedo (Yon González) is looking for his lover Alicia (Amaia Salamanca). But the wife of Don Diego Murquia (Pedro Alonso) has vanished. Lawyer Maite Ribelles (Megan Montaner), the best friend of Doña Alicia, arrives at the establishment.

Maite joins Julio, Inspector Horacio Ayala (Pep Anton Muñoz) and Agent Hernando (Antonio Reyes) in their search. Diego believes his wife left him and he's annoyed by Maite's presence. In the shadows, someone behind the recent events and the disappearance of Alicia will stop at nothing for revenge. Known internationally as "the Spanish Downton Abbey", Gran Hotel was in fact born from the passion of its creators Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira (Gran Reserva) for mystery stories and the work of Agatha Christie (2).  Following a spectacular cliffhanger worthy of the U.S. supersoaps of the 1980s, this "Grand Hôtel - Saison 4" DVD set by Koba Films contains Episodes 1 to 7 of the third series.  

Doña Sofia (Luz Valdenebro) is left for dead in a cold room. Javier Alarcón  (Eloy Azorin) falls in love with nurse Laura Montenegro (Marta Hazas), who's not quite what she seems. Inspector Ayala is suspicious about Diego, whose self-assurance cracks as his past resurfaces. Hernando is a pioneer in K-9 policing... sort of. Alicia reappears but is she a pawn between the hands of an invisible adversary of her husband? Doña Ángela (Concha Velasco) and her son Andrés (Llorenç González) are fed up of Belén (Marta Larralde) to the point the young man goes to extreme measures. Jesús Manzano Cisneros (Lluis Homar) becomes the new maitre d'hotel. Teresa remains dangerous and Don Alfredo (Fele Martinez) meets the King of Spain.

The amateur sleuth trio Julio, Alicia and Maite helps Ayala and Hernando, the Spanish Poirot and Hastings, to find the answer to this question: who is Adrián Vera Celande? The 7 episodes of this DVD set from Koba are on 4 discs in French only. French subtitles for the hearing impaired are available. Overall effective, this ultimate series of Gran Hotel is packed with mystery, suspense and romance. Its twists and turns are more riveting than ever, the settings are gorgeous (3), the cast is composed of Spain's best actors and the music of Lucio Godoy is magnificent. An Italian adaptation of Grand Hotel produced by Cattleya (Gomorrah) and Beta Film for pubcaster RAI 1 will start on September 1. It stars Eugenio Franceschini and Valentina Bellè.

(1) http://blogs.formulatv.com/aldia/antena-3-corta-la-segunda-temporada-gran-hotel-para-emitirla-mas-adela/
(2)  http://nachomedivas.es/secretos-gran-hotel-creador-ramon-campos/
(3) Grand Hotel was primarily filmed at the Palacio de la Magadalena, an early 20th-century palace on the Magdalena Peninsula of the city of Santander (http://palaciomagdalena.com/en/).

http://www.kobafilms.fr/reservation/grand-hotel---saison-4-449.html
http://www.bambuproducciones.com/?language=en 

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2015/06/grand-hotel-3-second-half-of-s2-french.html (Second half of Series 2 DVD review)
http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2014/08/grand-hotel-series-two-french-region-2.html (First half of Series 2 DVD review)
http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2014/05/grand-hotel-french-region-2-dvd_10.html (Series 1 DVD review)  

GRAND HOTEL 3 (SECOND HALF OF S2, FRENCH REGION 2 DVD)

Spain in the early 20th century. The prestigious Grand Hotel, located just outside the (fictional) town of Cantaloa, belongs to Doña Teresa, the merciless matriarch of the Alarcón family. The idyllic luxury of the establishment actually conceals secrets, lies, intrigue, and danger. 

The second half of the second series of Grand Hotel (Gran Hotel, 2011-2013), the acclaimed Spanish mystery drama, is available in France on DVD from Koba Films since May as "Grand Hôtel - Saison 3".  

Produced by Bambu Producciones, the company of Ramón Campos and Teresa Fernández-Valdés, for channel Antena 3, Gran Hotel was sold to more than 60 territories, including France (groupe M6), the UK (Sky Arts) and the United States. Series two of Grand Hotel consisted initially of 16 X 70-minute episodes but Antena 3 decided to reduce it by half to preserve ratings and the remaining 8, already filmed, were added to the 14 episodes of the third series (1). Lovers Julio Olmedo (Yon González) and Alicia (Amaia Salamanca), the youngest daughter of Doña Teresa Alarcón (Adriana Ozores), search for Fernando Llanes (Victor Clavijo), the man spotted in the film of her wedding with Don Diego Murquia (Pedro Alonso). They're convinced Llanes tried to kill Julio's best friend and fellow waiter Andrés Cernuda (Llorenç González).

Alicia is blackmailed by Diego's henchman Garrido (Miguel Mota) who plots revenge against his master. Doña Ángela, the austere head housekeeper (Concha Velasco), holds many answers to the questions of Alicia and Julio. Doña Elisa (Kiti Mánver) visits her son Alfredo, the marquis of Vergara (Fele Martinez), much to the annoyance of his wife Doña Sofia (Luz Valdenebro). Doña Beatriz (Cristina Brondo), an old flame of Alfredo, arrives at the establishment. Julio and Alicia get help from the shrewd inspector now simple agent Horacio Ayala (Pep Anton Muñoz) and his "superior" agent Hernando (Antonio Reyes). The life of Andrés is threatened again during the Grand Hotel masked ball and Alicia gets in big trouble. Belén (Marta Larralde) and Gonzalo Alarcón (Alfonso Bassave) join forces to bring problems.

Known internationally as "the Spanish Downton Abbey", Gran Hotel was in fact born from the passion of its creators Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira (Gran Reserva) for mystery stories and the work of Agatha Christie (2). A young incarnation of the novelist, "Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller" (Carolina Lapausa), even appeared in the sixth episode of this second series. Another real-life figure, Harry Houdini (Jorge Bosch), appears in an episode where the famous magician challenges Ayala and Hernando, Spain's Poirot and Hastings (regrettably they didn't get their own spin-off). It's all mystery, suspense and murder as the infamous Gold Knife Killer resurfaces.

Series two of Grand Hotel is definitely not exempt of problems: a couple of added characters (Don Ernesto, Angela's sister Violeta) don't work and the tiresome antics of Javier Alarcón  waste the talent of Eloy Azorin. Nevertheless, Gran Hotel remains generous in riveting twists and turns culminating in a spectacular cliffhanger worthy of the U.S. supersoaps of the 1980s. The settings are gorgeous (3), the cast is composed of Spain's best actors and the music of Lucio Godoy is both magnificent and ingenious. Asunción Balaguer (the Miss Marplesque Lady) and the great Manuel de Blas (the ex-maitre d'hotel Benjamin) are back.

The 8 episodes of this DVD set from Koba are on 4 discs in French only. French subtitles for the hearing impaired are available. An Italian adaptation of Grand Hotel produced by Cattleya (Gomorrah) and Beta Film for pubcaster RAI 1 will start this autumn. It stars Eugenio Franceschini and Valentina Bellè.

(1) http://blogs.formulatv.com/aldia/antena-3-corta-la-segunda-temporada-gran-hotel-para-emitirla-mas-adela/
(2)  http://nachomedivas.es/secretos-gran-hotel-creador-ramon-campos/
(3) Grand Hotel was primarily filmed at the Palacio de la Magadalena, an early 20th-century palace on the Magdalena Peninsula of the city of Santander (http://palaciomagdalena.com/en/).

http://www.kobafilms.fr/catalogue/grand-hotel---saison-3-438.html
http://www.bambuproducciones.com/?language=en 

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2014/08/grand-hotel-series-two-french-region-2.html (First half of Series 2 DVD review)
http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2014/05/grand-hotel-french-region-2-dvd_10.html (Series 1 DVD review) 

GRAND HOTEL - SERIES TWO (FIRST HALF, FRENCH REGION 2 DVD)

The second series of Grand Hotel (Gran Hotel, 2011-2013), the acclaimed Spanish mystery drama, is available in France on DVD from Koba Films since last month. Produced by Bambu Producciones, the company of Ramón Campos and Teresa Fernández-Valdés, for private channel Antena 3, Gran Hotel was sold to more than 60 territories, including France (Téva and M6), the UK (Sky Arts) and the United States. 

Spain in the early 20th century. The prestigious Grand Hotel, located just outside the (fictional) town of Cantaloa, belongs to Doña Teresa, the merciless matriarch of the Alarcón family. The idyllic luxury of the establishment actually conceals secrets, lies, intrigue and danger.

Julio Olmedo (Yon González) is determined to clarify the suspicious circumstances of the accident which happened to his best friend and fellow waiter Andrés Cernuda (Llorenç González). Alicia (Amaia Salamanca), the youngest daughter of Doña Teresa Alarcón  (Adriana Ozores) and Julio's love interest, is married with Don Diego Murquia (Pedro Alonso), the scheming hotel manager. Julio convinces her with his theory about Andrés and they devise a plan to get the assistance of Horacio Ayala (Pep Anton Muñoz). But the shrewd inspector is now a simple agent who must take orders from his deputy Hernando (Antonio Reyes).

Javier Alarcón, the black sheep of the family (Eloy Azorin), gets into more trouble. Alfredo, the marquis of Vergara (Fele Martinez), is "on travel" while his wife Doña Sofia, Teresa's eldest daughter (Luz Valdenebro), fakes her pregnancy. The manipulative maid Belén (Marta Larralde), Andrés' wife, is really pregnant and has a letter of the highest importance for Doña Teresa. This letter leads Alicia and Julio to the biggest mystery in the history of the Grand Hotel. And Doña Ángela, the austere head housekeeper (Concha Velasco), could hold answers.

Series two of Grand Hotel consisted initially of 16 X 70-minute episodes but Antena 3 decided to reduce it by half to preserve ratings and the remaining 8, already filmed, were added to the 14 episodes of the third series (1). Koba Films releases the first half of this second series as "Series 2". Known internationally as "the Spanish Downton Abbey", Gran Hotel was in fact born from the passion of its creators Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira (Gran Reserva) for mystery stories and the work of Agatha Christie (2). A young incarnation of the novelist, "Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller" (Carolina Lapausa), even appears in the elegant sixth episode.

Agatha teams up with Ayala and Hernando, Spain's Poirot and Hastings (they deserve their own spin-off), and finds inspiration for The Mysterious Affair at Styles. The plot thickens for star-crossed lovers/amateur sleuths Julio and Alicia, who gather clues with a little help from Ayala's mastery of forensic science and a new invention called the "cinématographe". A figure from Julio's past resurfaces in a Hitchcockian episode to complicate the situation. Meanwhile, Doña Teresa and Don Diego stop at absolutely nothing to protect the hotel and their own interests.

This second series of Grand Hotel is not exempt of problems: the character of Don Ernesto, the new maitre d'hotel (Juan Luis Galiardo in his final role), doesn't work. The antics of Javier become rapidly tiresome. Nevertheless, Gran Hotel remains generous in riveting twists and turns. The settings are gorgeous (3), the cast is truly fantastic and the music of Lucio Godoy is both magnificent and ingenious. Asunción Balaguer and Kiti Mánver (returning respectively as Lady and Doña Elisa), Silvia Marsó, and Alfonso Bassave are amongst the guest stars.

The 8 episodes of this DVD set from Koba are on 4 discs in French only. French subtitles for the hearing impaired are available. An Italian adaptation of Grand Hotel produced by Cattleya (Gomorrah) and Beta Film for pubcaster RAI 1 will air in 2015. It stars Eugenio Franceschini and Valentina Bellè. A Mexican version is also in preparation.

(1) http://blogs.formulatv.com/aldia/antena-3-corta-la-segunda-temporada-gran-hotel-para-emitirla-mas-adela/
(2)  http://nachomedivas.es/secretos-gran-hotel-creador-ramon-campos/
(3) Grand Hotel was primarily filmed at the Palacio de la Magadalena, an early 20th-century palace on the Magdalena Peninsula of the city of Santander (http://palaciomagdalena.com/en/).

http://www.kobafilms.fr/reservation/grand-hotel---saison-2-381.html
http://www.bambuproducciones.com/?language=en 

[Update July 20, 2015]

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2015/06/grand-hotel-3-second-half-of-s2-french.html (Second half of Series 2 DVD review)

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2014/05/grand-hotel-french-region-2-dvd_10.html (Series 1 DVD review)

GRAND HOTEL - SERIES ONE (FRENCH REGION 2 DVD)

Spain, 1905. Julio Olmedo, a young man of modest origin, arrives in Cantaloa to visit his sister, Cristina, a maid at the prestigious Grand Hotel. There, he's told she was fired and disappeared.  To find out what happened, Julio becomes a waiter in the luxury establishment as "Julio Espinosa".

He collects clues amongst the staff and the clients of the palace hotel owned by Doña Teresa, the merciless matriarch of the Alarcón family. In a place full of secrets, his only allies are waiter Andrés Cernuda and Alicia, the youngest daughter of Doña Teresa. Meanwhile, a dead body is found in Cantaloa.

Series one of Grand Hotel (Gran Hotel, 2011-2013), the acclaimed Spanish mystery drama, is now available in France on DVD from Koba Films. Produced by Bambu Producciones, the company of Ramón Campos and Teresa Fernández-Valdés, for private channel Antena 3, Gran Hotel was sold to more than 60 territories, including the UK (Sky Arts) and France (Téva and M6). Known internationally as "the Spanish Downton Abbey", the creation of Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira has in fact more than meets the eye.

Both Downton and Grand Hotel are period dramas with conflicting characters in a luxurious countryside estate, upstairs and downstairs, but the later is a bona fide detective mystery à la Agatha Christie. The first series is centered around the smart, dashing and tenacious Julio Olmedo (Yon González, excellent), who investigates the suspicious disappearance of his sister Cristina (Paula Prendes). Before she vanished, Cristina confronted Doña Teresa Alarcón, owner of the  Grand Hotel (Adriana Ozores, who reminds of Jane Wyman in Falcon Crest).

Doña Teresa will stop at absolutely nothing to protect her own and the hotel, with a little help of her scheming manager Don Diego Murquia (Pedro Alonso). Her eldest daughter Sofia (Luz Valdenebro) is married with Don Alfredo, the future marquis of Vergara (Fele Martinez), and she's pregnant. Javier (Eloy Azorin), the son of Doña Teresa, is the black sheep of the family. Determined to uncover the truth about his sister, Julio bends the rules and social conventions so dear to Doña Ángela (Concha Velasco), the head housekeeper, and maitre d'hotel Benjamin (Manuel de Blas).

He gets assistance from fellow waiter Andrés Cernuda (Llorenç González, amazing), the son of Angela, who's in love with the manipulative maid Belén Martín (Marta Larralde). He also convinces Alicia Alarcón (Amaia Salamanca), the ravishing youngest daughter of Doña Teresa and Don Diego's fiancée, to join his search. Things get even more complicated for Julio when Inspector Ayala (Pep Anton Muñoz, who deserves his own spin-off), a shrewd homicide detective interested in modern policing methods, arrives in Cantaloa on the case of a woman stabbed with a gold knife from the Grand Hotel.

Suspense, intrigue, gorgeous settings, a star-crossed romance and a bit of humour make this fast-paced first series of Grand Hotel compelling. Its riveting twists and turns quickly become addictive. Most of the characters are interesting, the cast is great, and the music of Lucio Godoy is simply magnificent. Gran Hotel was primarily filmed at the Palacio de la Magadalena, an early 20th-century palace on the Magdalena Peninsula of the city of Santander. The 9 X 70-minute episodes of this series one DVD set are on 4 discs in French only. French subtitles for the hearing impaired are available.

http://www.kobafilms.fr/serie/grand-hotel---saison-1-367.html
http://nachomedivas.es/secretos-gran-hotel-creador-ramon-campos/ (In Spanish)
http://palaciomagdalena.com/en/ 
http://theboar.org/2014/01/10/grand-hotel-spanish-downton-abbey/#.U23YdHbvz7M
http://www.bambuproducciones.com/?language=en