Gran Hotel

Andrés and Julio (second comic lead and romantic lead respectively) played by the succulent Llorenc González and Yon González (no relation). Yon is an amazing award-winning actor whose older, taller brother is also a gorgeous actor, and Llorenc is an adorable newcomer who hails from Catalonia (Barcelona area), whose first language is actually Catalan.

Contemporary Yon, with facial hair

Leading Lady Alicia Alarcón, played by the stunningly beautiful Amaia Salamanca

Doña Teresa, Diego, Doña Ángela, and Belén

The wicked witch matriarch (think Alexis), the purely evil villain (think Hannibal Lecter), the good bitch (think Dominique Devereaux or Margot Channing), and the greedy dumb vixen (think Sammy Jo), respectively.

Llorenç González, a sometimes Catalonian version of Jake G.

Clueless wimp Marchess Alfredo and ambitious but mediocre schemer Sofia Alarcón (Alicia's older sister and Doña Teresa's first-born). The actress who plays Sofia has whispers of Sean Young

Aitor Luna (who skipped his dad's surname) and baby bro Yon González Luna

Yon has a bit of an Orlando Bloom look to him.

A friend of mine told me she watches and loves it.

But then again, she's also a Frau.

I've been wondering if I should get into this show because apparently it was cancelled early and a lot of the storylines weren't resolved, which kind of ruins it for me.

I saw the first season and loved it. Haven't seen the second one yet. Great show but needs more nudity and shirtless scenes though Yon shows a nice basket through most of the episodes.

I LOVE this show! I started watching on Netflix and the minute that the mother slowly, methodically pulled off her ring before she slapped the shit out of someone, I knew this was a show that I could get into. It grabs you from the start. Lots of gorgeous eye candy as well.

Watched season one. Have not seen second season although I know it is up on Netflix. It s good.

I watched the first episode last year and it was ok but I wasn't really pulled in. Apparently no gay content which might've made the show more interesting. If you like Llorenç González you can see him in a bisexual love triangle in Angels of Sex. Not a perfect film by any means but nice enough.

Season Three is already on Netflix.

I thought this was a finite series, like most Telenovelas are. I was under the impression it ended in 2013. Are you sure it was "cancelled", r10?

R15, IMDb says the third and last season was made in 2013. Llorenç González has since appared in 25 episodes of Velvet, a Spanish series about a fashion house in the 50s and 60s..

Um, r10, the attached article describes how it was a happy ending at the Grand Hotel and just servings for all the villains. It's packed with spoilers but you'd have to know Spanish to understand them.

In other words, as a typical telenovela, it had an ending.

I thought it was strange to think that it was cancelled - it's a huge hit in several countries and Netflix picked it up!!

For clarity's sake, the original show ran 39 90-minute episodes. The subtitled show runs 66 45-minute episodes. If you do the math, you realize that a lot of minutes were cut off in the transition to subtitled -- but nothing that affects the plot. I can already think of a situation that had to be cut short but we as viewers knew enough to infer what happened. SPOILER - I am talking about the duel between Javier and that General which got interrupted because The General's daughter woke up from her coma. Then the whole thing disappeared --- but we can put the pieces together and assume the daughter informed her father that it was her sister who had pushed her out the window, so the duel was called off and the General and the remaining live daughter blew off into the sunset.

Javier, the happy-go-lucky alcoholic ne'er-do-well baby brother of the Alarcón Family -- always fucking the female guests, always gambling/hustling with the underworld, always getting into deadly trouble, and always getting his thin skin saved by his mother and servants.

Spaniards are gross and racist

I've watched this soap with my Spanish-speaking 81-year old mother and even SHE couldn't help observe Julio's/Yon's VPL by commenting "you can see his size..."

The period pants are yanked up against the men's crotches in such a way that if they're not wearing bikini briefs, you get to see these huge sideway rods on the more endowed actors. And Yon takes the prize!

There's also a scene in which both Julio and Andrés are in their long johns, button flies open -- ay ay ay. That's where you notice Llorenç's delicious meaty thighs and big culo, and Yon's big pene.

Doña Ángela, the stern housekeeper,good witch, and mother of Andrés in Gran Hotel

And then there's young "Doña Ángela" ...

The actress is Concha Velasco, who in her young dancing days, was spitfire sensation Conchita Velasco, the "it" girl of the Franco-rebelious swinging sixties era in Spain

The lipsynching is all over the place at r22, especially from the guys in the band, some of whom seem to be singing the girl's part.

In the US you can watch El Gran Hotel in broadcast television "V-me"

OMG Concha Velasco was probably one of the first bad chicks in the entertainment business. La Chica Ye-Ye is still one of the great pop (rock?) songs ever produced (at least in the Spanish speaking world). It still plays in the radio till this day. :D

and concha in Argentina and Chile is slang for pussy

Well for what is worth Concha was quite the slut in her hey day.

Does V-me have subtitles?

Now your forcing me to fo back a rewatch the whole damned series just to find some dicks I might have missed.

What about skin? I see Aaron Eckhart has a new movie this week, and has the cast of Gran Hotel joined his crusade against movie nudity?

Holy fuck this show is crack. Highly recommended.

No, r28, just the first season. :)

[quote]Apparently no gay content which might've made the show more interesting.

Well, there was the time Javier and the Turkish Consul got high on opium and woke up spooning. Too bad Mr. Turk was dead cold by morning.

Javier is a weak human being. It really stands out because almost all of the characters are very strong, 3 layered characters. Whether they are evil or good. Javier is just pathetic in contrast.

Eloy Azorín, who played Javier, also played Penelope Cruz's teenage son who gets run over by a car in Almodóvar's "All About My Mother."

I like Javier but he's infantile. I though Andres was kind of weak. He disgusted me with his adoration of Belen. Ugh.

Have you ever seen so much scheming? Diego is the most evil of the bunch. At least, so far.

I'm going to say something very Frau-ish so brace yourselves: I'm kind of shipping the Alica and Julio romance. Hetero romance bores me to tears but those two actors have really good chemistry together and they are both so fucking beautiful. For the good of our collective gene pool, those two should have babies. Ok, kill me now

Hello??? Anyone out there?

Si.

I am trying not to post as I am ahead of most of your viewers - season 3. And I don't want to spoil any of it.

Thanks for not spoiling. That's the big problem for binge shows, isn't it? Especially if you don't kniw anyone who's watching, it's hard to talk about it on the Internet without being spoiled

The poster that said it's like crack - described it. It's hard to turn it off. Sometimes I roll my eyes and go - right, like that would happen. But once I suspend that, I just enjoy. It's still better than most American tv I am also watching.

There are so many trainwreck moments I had to just shake my head. Some unintentionally hilarious moments. They are SO dramatico, and they absolutely telegraph every thing to you to make sure you "get it."

I love it. The show is irresistible and I completely agree about Julio and Alicia. He's a badass. He likes to fight, and he gets in people's face, and he is just a very macho guy without appearing macho. He has this angelic face, and yet there's that sullen, sexy thing too. I 'd love to see a lot more of Yon Gonzalez.

They also make sure to include a lot of fight sequences starring our hero Julio. Some of them are hysterical, like one I just saw that could have been plucked out of a king fu movie (SPOILER not really but just in case - where they get attacked by a whole gang of hoodlums looking for Javier's ransom and Julio disposes of them one by one). But it's important to make Julio the hero no matter what. Plus Yon is actually a great actor.

Yon did another show after Gran Hotel that also is very popular. But we can talk about it later. But yes - he is one sexy man.

[quote]Yon did another show after Gran Hotel that also is very popular

Bajo Sospecha!

Just finished watching a handful of episodes and... there's a murder in that hotel every other day!

Yes E 35 there is! Murders are overdone. But it's still fun as hell.

It's like the writers got together everyweek and asked the actors Ök who wants to sit injail this week for a murder they didn't commit?" (always one they didn't commit, even amongst those villains that did commit some).

And the baby doessn't get much older - so all those crimes hav happened in a period of six months (12 months if you count the ones that happened while harlot Belen was pregnant).

Alicia/Amaia when she's just being a hot babe in a tight dress

Just watched an episode in Season 3 where there is a mention of a gay relationship. Will see. Haven't watched next episode yet.

There are a few gay quips at the expense of homosexuals throughout he series. A couple of times Julio has homoerotically teased Andrés, the most notable one when he commented "You didn't come here just to watch me strip, did you?" And then of course, there are all the times Inspector Ayala fag-bullies Hernando.

Note to Julio: EVERYBODY has come here to watch you strip.

But if we want to see Andrés big butt and thick hairy thighs in all their glory, we need to watch that Sex of the Angels Soanish film, also on NETFLIX. Plenty of nudity there by Llorenc Gonzalez - every which way.

Lloenc does alright with Velvet. He gets it on with the nympho sister of the owner. Guy is hot. I hate it when he has to play comedy so broadly .

I love the way everyone on that damned show lurks around corners so they can spy at just the right momnent. No one ever gets caught. And how much room service tea can your lover deliver before your abusive husband notices?

Julio and Andres need to be roommates for reals. Both od them are way hotter than Alicia or Belen or WTF thos girls are. They should have done a lot more with the homoerotic angle. Shit.

Llorenç's butt and thighs in action

Llorenc presenting

Yon/Julio frontal!

Yon is a delight for those who love hanging extra foreskin

Llorenc about to get male head

Llorenc butt embracing another dude

[quote]Julio and Andres need to be roommates for reals. Both od them are way hotter than Alicia or Belen or WTF thos girls are.

I'm no heterosexual, but Alicia can hold her own next to those two. She is quite stunning. Belen the whore had her moments over Belen the maid.

Both Yon and Llorenc have done movies about threesomes with a girl

More

And more

And if you need to see Llorenc in sequence

Belen is such a dumb whore. Her half-baked schemes are the dramatic equivalent of Javier's comedic ones. Both idiots don't think their devilish plans through, and ultimately have to be rescued or sent to the doghouse.

Probably the best picture of Llorenc's hairy butt

You may think I'm silly for saying this, and I really do appreciate all the sexy pictures, but it occurs to me that both Yon and Llorenc have a beautiful mouth.

Agreed, r69, and not silly at all. Yon needs an orthodontist so that the teeth can catch up with those beautiful lips (notice he rarely goes beyond smirking?) No big deal, he just needs some gaps closed or evened out.

I wish they'd make a Spanish version of Dracula with Yon in the title role. I remember seeing Frank Langella's Dracula and he was a very sexy vampire.

I don't know about a Spanish version of Dravula (though Yon would be an excellent choice to play the vampire Count), but how about an American version of Gran Hotel?

Stockard Channing IS Doña Teresa.

I think there's one already in the works. I know there's definitely an Italian version in the works and I'm pretty sure they are doing an American version. Forgot where I read that.

Mexico is doing a version. Hard to pull this off in America. Where would the Grand Hotel be? Hamptons?

[quote]Where would the Grand Hotel be? Hamptons?

Somewhere south where old New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Newport money could come rest during their harsh winters. Old Miami, New Orleans or the Gulf Coast.

Sounds good, R75. Tell your people to call my people.

Henry Cavill as Julio. Jake Gyllenhaal as Andrés. Amanda Seyfried as Alicia. Jennifer Lawrence as Belén. Shia Le Beouf or Zachary Quinto as Diego. Zac Efron or pretty much any twink from Glee as Javier.

And, to keep in style with the Spanish version, former go-go "it girl" of the sixties Goldie Hawn as Doña Ángela.

Patrick Stewart as Inspector Ayala and the father from The Middle (Janitor in Scrubs) as Hernando.

Sean Young would have been a perfect Sofia but nowadays AnnE will have to do, with Adrien Brody as the Marques Alfredo. Kathy Bates as the Mother Marquessa.

And Angela Lansbury as Lady

Susan Sarandon was Dona Teresa. Alicia is the tough one. As is Julio. Hard to match what those two have.

I'd cast James Franco as Julio. Alicia Vickander as Alicia, Michelle Williams as Belen, Stanley Tucci as Ayala, I don't know who I'd cast as Andres because I don't think Jake would be right for it. I can see Jake as Sophia's husband. Anne Hathaway as Sophia, Pedro Pascal as Diego. OMG he would be SO evil. The person who plays Javier has to be someone good. Javier was deceptively cool. I liked the character. He was comic in a cool way.

Jessica Lange would make a wonderful Dona Theresa.

Some very cool casting here:)

The three Doña Teresas submitted so far are all excellent choices. Maybe they'll have to come in for an informal meet & greet and see who has better "chemistry" with Diego.

Some secondary characters:

Scarlett Johansen as Cristina Olmedo

Natalie Portman as Camila

Linda Cardellini as the bitch who wants to take the Marques away from Sofia

Joaquin Phoenix as Ángel/Llanes

Michael Caine as Don Carlos

Christian Bale as the Tavern owner

Adrian Brody as The King of Spain

Eva Longoria as the Jealous Queen

Angelina Jolie as Maite

[quote]The person who plays Javier has to be someone good. Javier was deceptively cool.

Maybe JGL?

I think Anne Hathaway would be good as the nurse who wants to marry Javier. I can see her doing crazy really well. Actually Natalie Portman would be a good Alicia. How about Gretchen Mol from Boardwalk Empire as Dona Theresa. Evil.

Ryan Gosling as Julio, Sienna Miller as Alivia

Alicia

Florida is binge watching Grand Hotel. I wish more people knew about it.

I think Sienna Miller would be a good Belen. She's very good actress with some range. The Alicia character isn't as demanding.

I had to LOL at Texas binge watching Narcos.

So funny that with all the mysteries, murders and intrigue in full overdrive in this soap, they do seem to cling to a few very common cliches.

SPOILER:

The butler(s) did it.

The deaths in the show are so grizzly. Kind of reminds me of Thorn Birds in that fact.

Not everybody paid for their bad deeds. Most did though. That scene with Diego is almost haunting.

I have finished it. Loved the last two minutes. Did not disappoint.

Emma Watson as Maite

[quote]The deaths in the show are so grizzly.

And the resurrections are even more spectacular.

My favorite was a certain character's kind of 3-D, slow-motion death...

There were too many mysteries. It seemed as if there was always at least 3 or 4 mysteries going on every episode. As one was solved, another had started. And two were midway. I know that kept it suspenseful and the detective was fun to watch, but I think it could be slimmed down a little. The editing was great. Did people in Spain get this once a week - like Downton Abbey?

FANK YOU for recommending this, DL. Only one episode in and I'm totally hooked. What a fun show.

It has a rare knack for having a lot going on without being frenetic or filled with needless plot turns. And the dulce del ojo is nice, too.

Once a week but with longer (60 minutes?) episodes, r95. That's why you'll notice that the 45- minute Netflix versions sometimes end abruptly at awkward moments (not too often, they do a good job generally). Plus they had to clip some of the show here and there to fit the 66 Netflix episodes.

Once a week but with longer episodes spread throughout three seasons, r95. Netflix restructured them to 66 episodes lasting 45 minutes each. That's why you sometimes see abrupt endings (not often, they do a decent job in general) and feel scenes may have been clipped (most of them unnecessary anyway).

Ugh - sorry for the repeat posts. Turns out I had accidentally ignored myself while scrolling on a small mobile screen, so my posts were not showing, making me think they were not taking...

On Chapter 13 and screaming like a whore in church! BELEN!

I'm old enough to remember "Dynasty" and this is the first show to give it a run for its money — but the acting is much better. Over the top ridiculous but genuinely exciting.

I did find it online but it is better on tv. The online episodes are a little longer so it can screw you up episode wise if you want to go back to tv. But the online ones had a few scenes that Netflix didn't. But the visual and sound is not as good.

Adter you watch Gran Hotel, check out Velvet, Espana's High fashion intrigue set in the 50s'. Sort of like Mad Men and Dynasty combined, but more over the top.

Belen is the ultimate whore in church, not you, r100. And she won't be easily stopped, until she decides to do it herself in the penultimate chapter.

Is Velvet on Netflix?

yes, I think so. I think the first season is on Netflix and the second season as well.

I thought Miguel Angel Sylvestri was really hot but too rugged looking for the role he played. Llorenc Gonzales is in it, and he is just as delicious as ever, and there's another guy who plays a pilot who is very sexy. Velvet is worth checkng out. The girl who plays Alicia in Gran Hotel, plays an incredible bitch in Velvet. In fact there's another actress who plays a spoiled little "princess" who goes batshit crazy. It's good. The lead female role is played by Spain's version of Alicia Bikander. I swear they could be twins.

Mexico has their own Gran Hotel

Hilarious R22. Never really think of Spain having a swinging 60's era.

Has Yon Gonzalez ever done anything in English? I like him a lot!

R109, Yon's English is weak but he says he's working on it. I agree he should be snatched by Hollywood. Not only is he handsome, but also he's a terrific actor.

On Velvet:

On DLers advice, I decided to check it out and, even though it is lower budget and cheesier than Gran Hotel - especially the annoying score filled with sixties knockoffs made for a fifties movie (they recorded songs that sounded so much like Be My Baby, I Only Want To Be With You, etc that their authors should sue) - it drew me in and I'm already caught up all the way to the end of season 3 (which can be found in the internet if you google Velvet 3 and speak Spanish).

The plot concepts are good, the comedy so-so (though the comic actors are excellent, especially Cecilia Freire), the anachronisms are blatant (especially the music), but the crazy villains are fascinating enough to keep you watching. And there is a gay sub-plot on season 3.

Plus the fashions - what it's all about - are fabulous.

I read that season 4 picks up 5 years later, with the sixties in full swing with lead Ana looking like a successful Jackie Kennedy clone in the world of fashion design ... And Alberto SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER still "dead."

Also I was thrilled to see my favorite heartthrob Llorenc Gonzalez on screen again (playing yet another comic role) and surprised at Amaia Salamanca's range as an actress. She's as good as a vengeful bitch in Velvet as she was as a spunky ingenue in Gran Hotel. Plus it was very professional of her to assume a third-tier supporting role (in which to excel) after having been the lead in a wildly successful show.

Eye candy in Velvet:

Maxi Iglesias as Max

Miguel Ángel Silvestre as Alberto (anachronistic gym body and all)

Javier Rey as Mateo

Llorenç González as Jonás

Peter Vives as Carlos

Adrián Lastra as Pedro

I really enjoyed Velvet, and I completely agree with your description. It's cheey and has flaws, but it draws you in. OF all the characters I think Pedro gets on my nerves most. And his love interest. Ugh I cannot stand her. The two of them make a great couple. The male eye candy is off the charts, something for everyone. Character wise my favorite is Javier Reyes' s Mateo. The lead actress who plays Ana could be Alicia Vikander's twin. Alberto's wife. Now that's a character arc. Holy shit. I've watched Season 3 but I want to see it again on Netflix. You can find it on the internet, even with subtitles, but it will be better enjoyed on Neyflix.

I watched Velvet so I could see more of Llorenc Gonzalez, and Amaia, but I almost fell out of my chair when I saw Max Iglesias. He is beautiful.

Lastra has a pretty jacked-up body in real life. Too bad he can't show it off as "funny man" Pedro, the simple villager.

And then there's the wigs. Case in point, the otherwise über-fabulous Miriam Giovanelli as Patricia, who wore her own hair dyed a striking platinum and twisted into a beehive the first couple of seasons and then was slapped this hideous wig-avec-flip flor the third season.

Even the star of Velvet, Paula Echevarria as our heroine Ana, was not spared the aytack of the tacky wigs.

Ironically, Amaia Salamanca's wig is one of the better ones, and it helps define her character, Giving her a sorority bitch kind of look (with the short hair, pronounced chin, and big fake orthodontist enhanced smile).

One for the lesbians. Sexy bombshell Marta Hazas as Clara, serving Shelley Long/Kate Winslet realness, as Shelley and Kate only wished they could look.

I read somewhere that Yon González's brother, the half-foot taller Aitor Luna, will be joining the cast of Velvet for season 4.

Newest Velvet eye candy, who joined in season 3- Francesco Testi as Marco, serving Richard Chamberlain-as-Dr. Kildare realness.

I love Marta/Clara & Javier/Mateo. I was referring in my earlier post, to the woman who plays Alberto's wife. She really does a good job with her character arc. As I said, Holy Shit! From one extreme to another, sith subtle clues along the way. And Amaia is completely believable as her "friend."

Manuela Velasco as early Cristina, the perfect Stepford Wife (La esposa del Estepfordo?), even if the product of a forced corporate marriage.

Coached Cristina starting to realize that life is not a bowl of cerezas

Season 3 Batshit Mad Cristina

The best eye-candy in Velvet - Manolito

I know there's only about three of us keeping up with this thread, but who cares?

Anothe obsession Velvet has - besides the 60's soundtrack on a 50's show (!?) - is serving sex scenes with full 50's undergarment regalia

I would have included Diego Martin as Enrique in the list of eye candies, if it weren't for the fact that he's about five feet tall and portrayed as a violent motherfucker

[quote]Never really think of Spain having a swinging 60's era.

Oh they did, but they were always a couple of years late. For instance, that Chica Yeyé video is from 1965, by which time the U.S. and the rest of Europe was already shedding teased hair and pencil skirts for ironed long hair, mini-skirts, and go-go boots.

Still a great song.

Fast forward forty-some years, and Spain is the SECOND country in THE WORLD to legalize gay marriage. Fuck mini-skirts, really.

AND Cecilia Freire as Rita

OK, I'm done. OMG if you ignore me, this entire thread will go blank.

You have talked me into it. I will give it a try Velvet tomorrow. I loved Grand Hotel so much, I just wasn't ready to try something else yet. But I will now.

Rita is SO annoying. I can't stand Rita & Pedro. They really get on my nerves.I fast forward their parts by Season 2. It's a storyline I can do without.

But why have none of you talked about Dona Blanca! She's one of my favorites.l She just could not say no to that candy. Hope he's gay. O.Em.Gee.

I'm trying hard not to do spoilers.

Yeah in Season 3 Cristina is truly batshit crazy. But then, if you go back to Season 1, she showed signs of obssession very early.

Honestly, I life the middle point, where you knew she was getting crazier and more devious every episode, but she had not yet reached the pinnacle of insanity.

Javier is my guy. He makes me smile. And the new addition, Francesco Testi, as Marco is to die for. Shit.

The gay designer reminds me of Yves Saint Laurent in a way. Except he's not insane. I really like him.

[quote]Rita is SO annoying. I can't stand Rita & Pedro.

I'll give you over-the-top and not-so-well-written Pedro. But (and I don't know if you come from Spanish/Latin American cultures or not) Rita, and the actress who portrays her, are brilliant --- but not so much if you're hearing fast jibberish and reading subtitles. She really brings home many people we grew up with.

They both ramble - but Pedro rambles to hide the truth (which can be written poorly and get really boring very quickly because it's just noise) whereas Rita rambles because she has no filter (which turns her into a rewind, let-me-hear-something-funny-I-just missed character --- like a in Ab Fab).

[quote]You have talked me into it. I will give it a try Velvet tomorrow.

Just beware - it has cheesy production values and sometimes frequent endless filler montages accompanied by bad 60's music knockoffs. By Season 3, I could have gotten shitfaced doing a shot every time these montages would pop up.

R139 is right. But honestly, it seems like it was made back in the 70's or something. Cheese for reals. It's a melodrama, soap opera in the mold of those old movies like The Best of Everything, Peyton Place, etc. I love it.

My favorite name in Velvet is that of Patricia's society friend Susú Mirabelles. It's the Spanish equivalent of, say, Muffy Lippincott

Okay - it's taken me awhile. But I just finished the first two seasons of Velvet and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's so fun and easy to escape too. But love the characters - they do an amazing job with a big cast. Spanish tv knows how to do it. I am waiting for Netflix to show Season 3.

A couple things. The actor who plays the designer was the equivalent of the Spanish Emmy. I love him. The actress who plays Rita was nominated but did not win.

Netflix has contracted with the producers and writers to do a Netflix original series to be taped this year, shown 2017. They produced/wrote both Grand Hotel and Velvet.

Thanks for talking me into watching Velvet.

....

The actor who plays the designer is openly gay - started in the theater/musicals

The designer does steal every scene he is in.

Damn - I watched seasons 1 and 2 of Gran Hotel last spring and summer. By the end of season 2, I was a little tired of it and needed a break, but always intended to go back and watch season 3, and now it is off Netflix.

I tried to find a good summary of how it ended, but never really found one. I am assuming the young couple got together, Andres ended up happy with someone, and Diego probably died. I am assuming somewhat negative endings for Belen and the Mother and probably the sister. I could see both a happy or unhappy ending for Andres's mother (I could see her dying, but dying happy because her son was happy), the brother and the brother-in-law.

SPOILER ALERT:

Belén gets busted by the cops and rather than return to jail throws herself down a cliff in a pretty memorable scene.

Teresa (the mother and hotel matriarch) gets laid, becomes a good person and has a happy ending.

Ángela (Adrián's mother) becomes the new president of Gran Hotel.

Javier (the bachelor brother) gets ball-and-chained by the kooky girl and they end up having lots of kids...and a doll. His face in his final snapshot (they do these stamp-like final shots for most main characters) is priceless - trapped, but relatively happy.

The cops solve all the mysteries and there's even a half-joking implied homoerotic relationship between them, as they end us spending many nights in the hotel sleeping in shared close quarters.

Adrián (my favorite) fakes his death by capital punishment to incite Belén's return to claim his new found fortune as the righteous and newly revealed eldest son of Mr. Alarcón, which leads to her eventual capture and aforementioned bust. He ends up marrying the lawyer girls who wears pants.

Diego is killed cruelly and mercilessly - while suffering from a deadly bout with cholera or the bubonic plague (I don't remember) - by the doctor (posing as butler) who ended up having the affair with Teresa.

And, of course, after much adversity and countless stolen kisses, Julio Olmedo and Alicia Alarcón live happily ever after, bearing and raising a boy, who was shown in the final snapshot with the rather strong implication that he was Julio's and not Diego's, due to his bushy hair.

Is it no longer available on Netflix.

I did read that Netflix has hired the producer and writer of Gran Hotel and Velvet to do an original series for them. I think they are taping it now. My only request would be please get better wigs. But I loved both of those shows.

R148 -- I guess they just dropped it this month. I had the third season to watch and was going to do that during the holiday repeat season. Oh well.

Thanks for the recap R147 . Do you remember what happened to the sister and her estranged noble husband? He actually seemed relatively decent, and she did seem somewhat sympathetic at times. However, she did murder two people, and have to think that came back to haunt her at some point.

I kind of had a feeling they were going to redeem Teresa. They seemed to be setting it up for that at the end of season 2. Still, she really was a piece of work and am not sure she deserved the happy ending. Great character though.

Debating whether to check this out after watching the decline of Velvet. I loved it the first two and half seasons. Towards the end of the third season it started to go down. The final season might be the worst final season/series finale I've ever seen. The writers seemed to go out of their way to make it as bad and nonsensical as possible. Even getting the lead guy back, Alberto, for the final episodes didn't help. They didn't even try to pull the last episode together, it was a complete disaster. They did have very good characters and eye candy galore. Miguel Angel Silvestre, Javier Rey and Francesco Testi being the hottest. Rey was always attractive, but suddenly became gorgeous in season 4.

To the poster who was annoyed by Pedro, he could definitely be grating a lot of the time, but he could also be endearing. I did like Rita and she wasn't a goody, goody, she could be very obnoxious. I really liked Raul and Jonas, but didn't care for Enrique, Patricia or Cristina, though she kept things interesting,bher revenge started to get very stale. They didn't seem to move the stories forward, the 4 seasons were basically all a rehashing of the same. The character that I was lukewarm on was the lead, Ana. She was boring, not sure if it was the actress or the writing for her, but out of all the women she was by far the dullest and least stylish. By the end, I really didn't care about her and Alberto being together. I think he would have made a more exciting and interesting couple with Clara or Sara than Ana.

I think the writers/producers got really distracted when Netflix asked them to do another show - just for Netflix. Also, the loss of the male lead was Alberto took away so much chemistry. They used Ana as the center of the show and it didn't work. She is boring. They should have concentrated on Mateo/Clara and Raul. They always entertained me.

The last half hour was taped live. I think cause they could get Miguel for a very short time. I do hand it to him for coming back to finish it all up. He certainly classes the place up. And that smile.....

Good to know - was thinking about checking out Velvet - but might hold off (esp.. since I got burned of not finishing Gran Hotel before it was removed).

The first two and half seasons of Velvet are great. Well worth watching.

Coming around three years later to note that the whole Gran Hotel series is once again on Netflix, and it's great during these lockdown-at-home times.

Netflix also has the Egyptian remake available; I made it through half of one episode and switched it off. You just can't transfer that glossy, over-the-top telenovela magic to an Arab country.

Gran Hotel is great entertainment. It's much better than the crap on American network tv. The writing is sharp, the characters are hot, the sets are great, and the main character seems to be Northwestern Spain. What's not to love?! Anyway, I'm on season 3 and I want to stab Belen. What a dumb bimbo.

I’m a fan . Also enjoy watching Indian movies and TV series .

There are so many good Spanish shows on Netflix