Grand Hotel

The first thing one notices are the stylistic similarities to the justly popular Downton Abbey, but "Grand Hotel", or "The Secret of the Nile" as it has been renamed, is quite a different flavor while being equally delicious. Visually perfect in every detail, it offers an engrossing story full of interesting characters played by a magnificent group of actors, none of whom I had ever seen before, all of whom I look forward to seeing again. The thirtieth episode will bring this tale to a satisfying denouement, and leave you with that elation and longing one feels when finishing a really good book. I have had very little contact with the Arabic language (I watched with English subtitles) but I enjoyed this chance to listen to it over an extended period of time. I found it interesting how the upper class characters, particularly the older women, peppered their speech with French words like "merci" and "d'accord", and am guessing that this was a linguistic affectation of a certain class, time and place. If this is an example of what Egyptian television is offering its viewers, please, give us more, more, more!