I have just started watching Hotel Portofino and it's based on an upper class family who move to Italy and renovate and run a hotel with limited funds. The characters are ok.. but a bit too predictable! The nanny who arrives from England will eventually hook up with the owners son.. It hasn't happened yet but I guarantee it will happen.. so no real thought has gone into the storyline, just the typical predictable stuff.. maybe I am wrong and the nanny won't win the son over.. but..
I love period shows but the town sets are beyond terrible and incredibly FAKE! There has been absolutely no effort to create realistic sets or get decent actors to play the part of stall owners or shop keepers.. they all look ridiculous.. I think a high school play could create a more realistic 1920's village scene and whoever signed off on the sets should be fired.. it's a massive distraction..
At this stage I have no idea how far the hotel is to the FAKE village/town and I still have a lot of questions that might be answered later on.. but at the moment the storyline is all over the place! The husband of the owner of the hotel was away when the initial guests arrived.. what was he doing and what is the relationship between the couple.. I don't know! Apparently the husband is a scammer and will do anything to make money.. and he is very cruel to his son.. that's about it..
I started describing the other guests at the hotel but got bored because the characters are boring..
I hope this show improves because some of the acting is very good especially the female owner of the hotel.. Bella..
So far it's ok but I really wish whoever approved the town sets knew what they were doing.. and had a better eye for realism..
Review of Hotel Portofino
