Make your reservations! Hotel Portofino is reopening for a second, six-part season — and it’s now the summer of 1927 in the idyllic, sun-soaked resort on the Italian Riviera.
A year has passed since expat Bella Ainsworth (The Crown and Halo star Natascha McElhone) opened up her upscale, quintessentially British hotel for wealthy holidaymakers in Portofino. Is business booming? And who’s checking in this time?
Here’s everything we know about the second season of Hotel Portofino and what’s in store for its regulars…
Hotel Portofino season 2 release date
Following the first season’s launch on BritBox in 2022 in the UK, and subsequent showing on ITVX, Hotel Portofino has found a new home on U&Drama, airing from Friday 8 November at 9pm (box set on U).
The season is already airing in the US, and is available on Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home and PBS Masterpiece Amazon Channel.
Hotel Portofino season 2 plot
Hotel Portofino is going from strength to strength, and Bella plans to build new spa facilities with help from a dashing local architect as season two opens, and her son, Lucian (Domina star Oliver Dench), is arriving from London to help with the plans.
But Bella’s excitement is soon overshadowed when her nefarious husband, Cecil (Collateral star Mark Umbers), turns up unannounced. Also, suspicion shrouds every guest as Bella believes an anonymous hotel inspector for a travel guide could be in their midst.
“Bella is trying to figure out who the anonymous hotel inspector is, so she’s skittish and nervous around everyone,” says Natascha. “There’s a paranoia throughout this season, though, as there’s also the drama of Lucian’s friend, Anish [played by Apple Tree Yard star Assad Zaman], and the Fascists, and wanting to do the right thing and feeling out of your depth.
“Bella knows that the corruption from local politician Vincenzo Danioni [played by Ripley and Gomorrah star Pasquale Esposito] can’t be explained away as some cultural habit, so she wants to meet that head-on and not participate in it," Natascha explains. “In the first season, she had to hold her nose and play the game to some extent, just to get things established. But the ebb and flow of that in series two is wonderful.
“Bella is also leaping on something that went out of fashion with the spa, but then there was a huge growth in that sector,” Natascha continues. “That’s the entrepreneur in her, trying to ride a wave and make her hotel flourish. But she always seems to get into something then gets side-tracked by people needing her. I think many people can relate to that!"
Newcomers at Hotel Portofino
Hotel Portofino welcomes new guests in season two — look out for the fussy Dodsworth sisters, Jane and Patricia (played by Melanie Gray and Michele Moran), who cause a stir with their vegetarianism. Could they be hotel inspectors?
We also meet charismatic architect Marco Bonacini (played by Giorgio Marchesi), who helps Bella with her new spa plans. But does he have designs on her too?
What’s in store for Hotel Portofino’s regulars?
Cecil Ainsworth (Mark Umbers)
“We find Cecil in London at the start of the season, until he hears there might be something between Bella and a mystery Italian man,” says Mark. “Jealousy brings him back to Portofino, but the way he tries to make amends with Bella falls very wide of the mark.”
Lucian Ainsworth (Oliver Dench)
“Lucian has had a bleak year in London, while being in a job and a marriage that both have very little love,” says Oliver, who’s the great-nephew of Dame Judi Dench. “He goes back to Italy to help Bella with the spa, but is it a useful excuse to take a break from his marriage?”
Rose Drummond-Ward (Claude Scott-Mitchell)
“Rose is still very much under the influence of her mother, Julia [Lucy Akhurst], and she’s entered into a marriage with Lucian that she knows is loveless,” says Brassic star Claude. “She has quite a lonely arc, but you do get a glimpse of her fighting spirit this time.”
Claudine Pascal (Lily Frazer)
“Claudine is a wonderful character who calls the shots from the get-go,” says Lily, who’s starred in Cuckoo and Ladhood. “She’s making movies now, but also dancing and singing. Paparazzi are following her everywhere, so she escapes to Italy on a fabulous boat.”
Vincenzo Danioni (Pasquale Esposito)
“Danioni and Cecil start a business together with someone in America – an illegal business, of course!” says Ripley star Pasquale. “Danioni wants to be richer and more powerful, but things happen that he can’t control and you see fear, anger and pain. The cracks appear.”
Betty Scanlon (Elizabeth Carling)
“It’s been a big move for Betty: the language, the heat and a new kitchen,” says ex-Casualty star Elizabeth. “But she’s settled now, and although hotel maid Constance March [Louisa Binder] has been given more responsibility, Betty will always be in charge of the kitchen.”
Is there a trailer for Hotel Portofino season 2?
Yes! You can watch a US trailer for the new second season here...
