Winter Palace - Season 1

André Morel has always dreamed of owning his own hotel with his wife Rose. In their home village of Champaz, André finds a dilapidated building. He wants to install electricity and central heating to make it the first winter hotel in Switzerland. His dream: to offer winter sports, literary events and other avant-garde and refined leisure activities. He also persuades the renowned chef Voclain to take over the kitchens. André looks for financing and finally obtains the support of the British Lord Fairfax. Will André be able to overcome the hostility of the villagers, the dilapidated hotel and the ghosts of his past to welcome the new clientele?

After a tragic event, half of the hotel staff resigns under the influence of the local priest, Jean-Baptiste, who sees the hotel as a symbol of annihilation and fears losing his power over the villagers. André and Rose struggle to keep the hotel running with their demanding customers. Isobel sets out to climb the dangerous Aiguille d'Or mountain, where André's father had fallen to his death. She chooses a violent and dangerous local as her guide and the adventure ends in disaster. Isobel finds herself caught up in a horrible crime. Her recklessness will also jeopardize her friend André's entire business.

André promises his international clientele that their stay will be free if their demands are not met. A risky offer, which could lead to the hotel's bankruptcy, but typical of André's audacity. Lord Fairfax's bubbly daughter, Lady Isobel, is meanwhile courted by another guest, the wealthy railway baron Lance Raney. She who, however, only has eyes for her old friend André, much to Rose's dismay. André will face a difficult choice: help a member of his family or destroy him for the sake of the Winter Palace?

A police inspector arrives to investigate a disappearance. A distraught Isobel confesses to André the horror of her rise and that she has lost the locket he gave her when she was young. He promises to cover his tracks, but cannot find the locket. Someone else stumbles upon it. Lord Fairfax tells André that he has gone bankrupt and that there is no more money. The guests threaten to leave if André does not pull out all the stops. André then plans a magnificent gala dinner under the direction of chef Voclain. Will he stay sober long enough? Disaster strikes when the detective finds a body and a piece of evidence that could destroy them all.

The detective leaves Champaz. Chef Voclain panics when his arch-rival, the famous chef Escoffier, arrives at the hotel and is about to give a negative review of the hotel. Isobel refuses Raney's offer of marriage, even after he threatens to reveal what happened on the mountain. Voclain's gala dinner takes a psychedelic turn and the guests have the best night of their lives. André must then come up with something even more extraordinary to celebrate New Year's Eve 1900. Why not organize the very first Winter Games... at the Winter Palace?

While André is immersed in preparations for the Winter Games, Rose suspects she is pregnant. She decides not to tell André until she is certain. Isobel persuades André to climb the Aiguille d'Or with her. Photos of their climb make headlines around the world - fantastic publicity for the Winter Games! Despite the danger of the climb and his attraction to her, André puts his ambitions for the hotel before everything else and agrees. As he makes his way up the mountain, they are caught in a deadly avalanche, with disastrous consequences.

When Isobel and Andre return from the mountain, Rose is suspicious. Lance Raney has learned of the Lord's bankruptcy and is trying to take control of the hotel. Rose feels betrayed by Andre and, behind his back, carries out her own putsch. In the village, Raney persuades the priest JeanBaptiste to become his ally and convinces the inhabitants to sell him their land for his railway project. But Andre resists. The villagers, furious, go to the hotel to shed blood if Andre refuses to sign their contract. Meanwhile, Rose takes advantage of her pregnancy to propose a deal to Isobel.

In the rubble of the hotel, Andre confides in Isobel that he will never be with her. It will always be him and Rose. He eventually gives his shares to Raney, for Rose's sake. Raney makes her the new manager and Andre is ousted. The hotel is restored and the Winter Games begin. But when Andre takes action after learning that Raney lied to the villagers, Raney vows revenge. He threatens to destroy Andre, the hotel, everyone and everything in it. And he has the means. How will Andre and Rose get out of this hole?