I finally just finished my first series on Netflix in Spanish, Gran Hotel. It was stretched over months, since I started during the school year. I only watched little chunks, sneaking in part of an episode, if baby boy decided to take an after school nap. It was worth the wait and a really great show. I picked it knowing I could continue to watch Iván from my beloved El Internado, Yon González, now as Julie Espinosa. If you are looking to work on your own Spanish or possibly use the show in class, make sure to change the subtitles to Spanish using this post. Check out the trailer below for a taste of the show.
Gran Hotel starts in 1905 Spain and focuses around a wealthy family who owns a lavish hotel. The many characters range from maids, to wealthy guests, to detectives, who always have a new mystery to solve. You can learn more about the show at antena3 – Gran Hotel &
IMDB – Grand Hotel. Even though the episode count is wrong on IMDB, there are actually 66 episodes in the 3 seasons, each about 60 minutes long.
It would make for a great show for upper level Spanish students to watch since the suspense, mystery, and romance would keep most students interested. You would want to see if you think it would fit your students, since I would give the show a PG-13 rating due to some swearing, sexual content, and drinking. Below I have collected a few resources that could be used to supplement the show.
Family Relationships
There is an awesome guia interactiva from the Antena 3 website shows how all of the characters are related, but beware of spoilers telling who dies! Below is just a small piece showing the Alarcón family, which would be great to teach family relationships.
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| a small snippet of the guia interactiva of all characters |
Travel
The show was filmed at the actual Palacio de la Magdelena in Santander, Spain. Students could investigate the past and present Palacio, or base a travel unit about going to Santander. Here is a website in Spanish about how to spend 2 days in Santander.
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| Palacio de la Magdelena image source |
More Gran Hotel resources for class
Season 1 Wiki – with episode summaries in Spanish, photos & videos
antena3 – Gran Hotel – official website with tons of special features
This year I think I will stick with El Internado as a class show, but I will be keeping Gran Hotel on the back burner as a future possibility. I will however, be recommending Gran Hotel to students as a choice homework option. Have you seen the show? Do you plan on using it in class? If you do, please share resources in the comments!
Update – Now that this is not available, I would suggest Go! Vive a tu Manera in Spanish class
Or here are 10 Appropriate movies for Spanish class & Binge-worthy Netflix for Spanish Teachers & more Binge-Worthy Netflix shows in Spanish
