Hotel Portofino (2022-)

I stumbled across Hotel Portofino (2022-) while idly flipping through the PBS Masterpiece app on Amazon Prime and decided to give it a watch based on the gorgeous views in the previews, and even more important, the gorgeous 1920s costumes. Not really sure what I was in for (was it going to be a’la Downton Abbey? Or was it going to be like a Mediterranean Poirot?), at least the outfits would be pure eye candy. Turns out, the show leans more towards Downton Abbey, but perhaps a little less sweeping and dramatic, and a little more like a cozy murder mystery without the murder, if that makes any sense.

The plot is set in 1927 and centers around Bella Ainsworth (Natascha McElhone) who runs a poshy resort in the Italian Riviera (the eponymous Hotel Portofino), while her estranged husband is busy making all kinds of shady business decisions back in London while screwing around on her. Bella’s adult son and daughter join her in Portofino, running from problems of their own, while helping their mother to manage the mix of wealthy English and American clientele and forming their own alliances and romances with the locals. All while fascism is on the rise in Italy.

The costumes are designed by Louize Nissen, and I would personally do some very illegal things for the gold satin gown worn by McEhlone in this photo.

A better shot of the gold dress. And that’s Dame Judi Dench’s grand-nephew on the far left, Oliver Dench, who plays Bella’s son, Lucian.

Natascha McElhone holding everything together as the matriarch in charge of the Hotel Portofino. Her costumes tend to be ever so slightly outdated, yet elegant and obviously well-tailored, showing that she is either living in gentile poverty, or too focused on keeping the hotel afloat to care about being on the cutting edge of fashion, or both.

That said, she always looks elegantly put together.

The difference in fashion is most noticeable when Bella is next to her daughter, Alys, who wears more fashionable clothing.

The characters are all smartly dressed, no matter how wealthy or not. I fell in love with this mauve pink dress with contrasting button collar and coordinating pockets.

It really is the detailing on the costumes that reeled me in. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nissen is using a mix of extant 1920s clothing or pieces of extant 1920s clothing to mix in or incorporate into the costumes made for the show. Either way, the detailing is wonderful and very carefully executed, such as this beaded trompe-l’œi collar.

The arrival of American singer Claudine Pascal (Lily Frazer) creates more excitement than Bella had bargained for. The two women bond while dealing with their respective messy personal lives.

Even the menswear is drool-worthy, which isn’t something I normally say about menswear.

And even when the menswear isn’t droolworthy, the men still are. Assad Zaman plays Anish Sangupta, a young artist thrown into the volatile politics of the time.

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8 thoughts on “Hotel Portofino (2022-)”

I liked the second season more than the first. The clothing was either ugly all over the map in the first season, which was set in 1926.

Fran in NYC says:

February 29, 2024 at 11:25 am

Yes, the 2nd season was better! Some satisfying developments but also some tragedy! But the eye candy has always been great in the scenery and costumes.
1. Brandy Loutherback says:
  
  February 29, 2024 at 11:41 am
  
  None of the the young women in the 1st season sported a bob. Bobbed hair had many variations, most of the young women either wore it long-ish, or wore Leia buns. Constance was a prominent offender of the latter! Rose also wore a totally modern Flapper dress with an egregious diaper at some point in the 1st season. Was I hallucinating? I wasn’t a fan of the cliche love triangle they set up in the 1st season! I totally thought Lucian was gay in the 1st episode! That would’ve been interesting to see that come into conflict with The Italian Fascists! The Scenery was the best part!

I know that Natascha McElhone has done many Frock Flicks, but to me she will always be the snooty girl at the art gallery in Absolutely Fabulous. :)

SarahV says:

March 1, 2024 at 9:07 am

Yes!

Yes, I’ve watched both seasons of Hotel Portofino. And yes, the costumes are gorgeous. The show description above though, only covers season two. Perhaps only the second season is available on Prime? Either way, the costumes are gorgeous in both seasons. As a show, it provides good eye-candy via both costuming, casting, and location. But otherwise, it’s so-so. Hotel Portofino wants to be a combination of Downton Abbey and The Durrells in Corfu, but it isn’t as good as either. But still, it’s watchable and fun. As I said, I watched both seasons and if there are more, I’ll watch those seasons, too. Re Bella’s slightly out-of-date costumes: Yes, she is living under some “financial strain”–as much as a female British aristocrat ex-patriot hotel owner can be. My point is, money is a charged issue in the marriage, with Bella’s character putting what money she does have into the hotel business, and her husband is a spendthrift second who’s family fortunes aren’t what they used to be.