If you open a hotel in a very dangerous area, you will definitely attract extreme people. And when the odds are already stacked against you, the last thing you need are guests with more luggage than luggage. Maybe if Andre Morel (Cyril Metzger) had thought things through, he would have chosen a different path in life – but if he had, he wouldn’t be Andre Morel.
It’s the dying days of the 19th century, and Morel is a man with a dream. It’s not enough for him to run a luxury resort in the Swiss Alps; the mountains are already full of health sanatoriums and spas. He wants to establish the world’s first all-year-round hotel, resort and fresh air destination designed to attract luxury customers from all over Europe.
And by best, you mean very rich: keeping a large luxury center running in the dead of winter will not be expensive. Enter Lord Fairfax (Simon Ludders), who agrees to finance Morel’s crazy scheme. Now Morel has money, and he has found a building – a dilapidated and decaying building, but it’s not like anyone will sell him something better – and together with his wife Rose (Manon Clavel) and chef Cesar Voclain (Vincent Heneine), he has a team to support him. You will need them.
In all eight episodes, The Winter Palace it offers ample opportunity to step into the style and beauty of old world resorts, seen in the lives of the rich and the ruthless. The costumes are beautiful and glamorous, the hotel is a stunning setting – once inside – and the concept of a winter resort is unusual enough to bring in the curious and the thrill seekers. But behind all the polish, it’s the series that always drives home how dangerous this was a success.
Initially, local people opposed the idea. Apart from the locals Morel has no staff, and a five-star resort is not something you can work with a bare-bones staff. After the disaster in the morning, half of the workers leave; it looks like that skeleton crew option is back on the table.
There are also guests. Lord Fairfax spared no expense to entertain himself, as his daughter Lady Isobel (Astrid Roos) is determined to make her mark in the male world of skiing. But mountaineering is a risky business at the best of times, and when his efforts lead to disaster, he jeopardizes both the hotel’s funding and its main selling point. People want to see the beauty of the Alps in winter, without risking their lives to go on outdoor adventures.
Filmed on location in the Swiss Alps, and with a strong focus on historical accuracy – without letting it detract from the beautiful story – The Winter Palace compared to Downton Abbey (with a dash of The White Lotus combined). While they had the Edwardian upper classes and their servants alike, The Winter Palace it comes from other new ways.
Part of what sets it apart is exploring how the Swiss have transformed mountain hotels into world-class attractions. At a time when skis were made of wood and ski lifts were undreamt of (if you wanted to go down the mountain, you had to go up first), men like Morel – based on the original hotelier Johannes Badrutt, the first to turn the mountain top health resort into a tourist attraction – saw a future that he grasped with both hands.
So when his dream starts to falter, it doesn’t take long before Morel offers crazy deals to keep his guests happy. Easier said than done considering the high-end clientele it has been attracting. Standing actors, Texans wearing cowboy hats full of oil money, British aristocrats and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Henry Pettigrew), the creator of Sherlock Holmes, are among the people who come to the impressive lobby of the Winter Palace and expect everything they like to be done.
While those at the top are playing their little games, the lower workers are dealing with their own, much bigger problems. Increasingly the task of managing their problems falls to Rose, while Morel is out in front trying to keep the business afloat – even if that involves risking his life in the mountains to improve the hotel (did someone say avalanche?).
Although he is probably safer going up the cliff than at his hotel. Mysterious disappearances, possible murders, love triangles, bankruptcies, rival businessmen plotting a takeover, and local residents willing to resort to violence to get the deal they want; it’s all in a day’s work at the Winter Palace.
All episodes of Winter Palace are streamed on SBS On Demand.
