Inside: Teaching Gran Hotel in Spanish Class. Resources to teach the Spanish TV show Gran Hotel.
Author: Allison Wienhold
Published: July 24, 2015 & most recently updated on February 19, 2025
Enjoying Gran Hotel
When this blog post was 1st published in summer of 2015, I had just finished my first series on Netflix in Spanish, Gran Hotel. I watched El Internado the summer before on DVDs I bought on EBay.
Watching Gran Hotel for me 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 Gran Hotel knowing I could continue to watch Iván from my beloved El Internado. Yon González, is the star of both show, now as Julie Espinosa. [At this time I was using El Internado in my Spanish classes].
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.
*Note* Unfortunately, Gran Hotel is no longer on Netflix. If you are looking for a show in Spanish to watch for yourself, read Best Netflix Shows in Spanish
Teaching TV Shows in Spanish Class
Before you go any farther, I would suggest reading Teaching TV Shows in Spanish Class. It give tips to teach, plus show that are more available now to use in Spanish classes.
All About Gran Hotel
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.
*Note 2025 Update* I would be much more wary to use this show in a high school setting. you would need to be careful to cut many things. I think it would work well for post secondary or adult learners. For High school I would suggest Tierra Incógnita
Below I have collected a few resources that could be used to supplement the show.
Check out the Gran Hotel trailer below for a taste of the show.
Family Relationships in Gran Hotel
There used to be 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 Connections to Gran Hotel
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.
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!
More Spanish Film & TV Show Options
Appropriate movies for Spanish class
Update – Now that this is not available, I would suggest Go! Vive a tu Manera (sports, music, drama focused like High School Musical) or Tierra Incógnita (more suspense & spooky)
TV Show Freebie
