On September 9th, ABC officially wrapped up the first season of their series Grand Hotel. The show is based on the Spanish series Gran Hotel created by Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira. This drama takes place at the Riviera Grand Hotel, the last family owned hotel in Miami Beach, and follows a man named Santiago Mendoza, the owner of this hotel, as well as his wife Gigi, their adult children, Alicia and Javi, and some of the Riviera staff who work at the hotel.
The plot starts off with Santiago and his wife who wants to sell the hotel to these Chinese investors. Alicia and Javi are upset about this and Alicia, who is an MBA graduate, uses certain strategies to prevent Santiago from selling the hotel. As the season goes on, the plot uncovers certain scandals and twists along the way.
I personally like the plot because the story makes you want to watch more and see what surprises are uncovered in the show.
I also liked the characters. They seem to have their little drama and soap operas throughout the season. For example, when Carolina, the self-obsessed daughter of Gigi and also Santiago’s stepdaughter, tries to sleep with the famous rapper El-Ray, her fiancé gets upset and starts to attack him, causing a strain on both of their relationships. The characters also had their funny moments such as when one of the managers gets high on cookies that had weed in them. Even though some of them had their funny moments, I felt that I was able to learn about every character and their motivations throughout the first season.
Overall I thought the first season of Grand Hotel was pretty good. I enjoyed the characters, the plot and the acting. The acting from Demian Bichir and Roselyn Sanchez was strong and dramatic. I think that this show will get a second season and can’t wait to see how the story continues.
