Grand Hotel From a Different Perspective

I asked one of my friends' grandmother (who is also an avid telenovela fan/viewer, visiting from Mexico for the Easter holiday) to watch the pilot episode of the Grand Hotel and offer her opinions on the show in general. Also including what comparisons or differences she found between her telenovela shows and this Spanish drama. Her granddaughter is a business graduate student from USC who translated her answers for me when we spoke on the phone.

Below is her response.

What were your general thoughts about the episode?

Grand Hotel is a really fun and entertaining show. The acting, costumes, location and the story line are thoroughly planned and believable.

Did you easily identify/like the characters? Were they relatable or entertaining to watch?

The casting is great because the actors portray their characters well. The drama and chemistry between the main characters is what makes the series so entertaining to watch.

Would you classify this as a telenovela or just a drama? What's the difference between an Mexican telenovela and this show? Is there a difference?

The series has many similarities to a telenovela, but I would classify it as more of a drama than a telenovela for the following reasons:

Mexican telenovelas happen at a very fast pace and the story line of a telenovela can unwind within a few short episodes. The telenovela actors/actresses are not always relatable and can be overly dramatic in their roles. Also, the music is much more dramatic and the location/setting is usually not as luxurious like the Grand Hotel. But they are alike in other ways. The family ties and family involvement in each others lives is very much the same. And the scandals and deception that I watched from just the first episode is very similar to a traditional telenovela.

Would you continue watching the show? Do you think other people would like this show?

I would definitely watch another episode because it was so captivating from the start! I think many people would be interested in the show because it's different, but not too different. I think people who would like it the most are those that are already interested in drama series.