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I’m looking for a hotel in September for a couple of nights. Amex Plat so basic status in some chains and could consider FHR options.
What’s good. What’s great?
I’m fresh off a stay in Madrid 2 weekends ago. I stayed at the Marriott Madrid Auditorium close to the airport as it was £80 a night when I booked and has IMO one of the best Marriott lounges in Europe. The cost of a cab to and fron the city centre once a day was still less than the crazy prices in the city centre. However….I did miss staying in the city.
Last July I stayed at the Aloft at Callao/Gran Via. Great location, and I got one of the (now sadly unavailable) top floor rooms with large terraces. Breakfast was ridiculous though; served in some hipster games room where you perched on stools with side tables. They also tried to play me with 4pm check out not being possible (As a Titanium I was having none of it).
Previously for work I had a one night stay at NH Collection Colon which I thought was really very good; location, room size and furnishing finish, breakfast. It has an outdoor pool and sundeck I did not get to use.
On my latest trip I dipped into a few other hotel lobbies to take a look. Thumbs up to Innside Gran Via, Hyatt Centric Gran Via, Indigo Madrid (not the Princesa one), Westin Palace. The brand new JW Marriott although smart and swish left me feeling it was a bit up itself based on the lobby bar experience. The lobby is also oddly tight for space around check in desks.
Overall there’s loads of great hotel options in Madrid for all price points. No better city to deploy one of your Melia Gold 20% vouchers in. And always worth checking Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts for special offers.
I agree about the Marriott Auditorium. For the price (nowadays prices in Madrid are really high), the quality is really good. The food and drinks at the lounge, including the breakfast, are high quality. The problem is that it is in the middle of nowhere. I use it to stay when connecting at Madrid airport for one night.
One of my personal preferences is the Intercontinental. Although it is quite dated, very often it is well priced (especially with points, usually 30-40k a night) and I love the breakfast (fresh orange juice, nice sparking wine and good jamon serrano) and service. As diamond ambassador, I always got at least one category upgrade. The location is also really good, close to Serrano, Ponzano (where there are many good restaurants) and good connections to any other part of the city. Last time I stayed there in January, we went for dinner to BiBo restaurant (just in front of the hotel), to spend the Amex £150 credit, and really enjoyed the food and drinks (the bill came to about 60 euros per person).
If you want more high end, look at Santo Mauro (a Marriott Luxury Collection) hotel, it is close to the Intercontinental and part of Amex FHR. I have never stayed because it is too expensive for my budget, but the photos look amazing.
I personally don’t like to stay in the city centre (too busy and loud), but that is because I lived few years in Madrid and usually go there for business or to meet family/friends and enjoy the food, not to do tourism. The best restaurants are definitely not there.Thank you both. Very helpful. I will take a good look at your suggestions and let you know what I book!
NH Suecia – 5* bang in the centre for museums & restaurants (but on a quiet side road) with a fantastic buzzing rooftop and also a great underground bar.
While the location and decor definitely won’t suit everyone, we also like the Intercontinental. It is just around the corner from my favourite Sorolla art museum and a pleasant walk or short bus journey to the others. As gtellez says, it has good transport connections, so you can still easily get to anywhere in the city centre, as well as the airport. It is obviously very different to staying in the tourist areas but we also happen to prefer it. The good Mercadona supermarket nearby has even proved useful a couple of times.
The staff are very helpful, and we have also always been given some type of upgrade with Ambassador and status, whether booking with points or via Emyr. If you decide to stay there and aren’t using points I would definitely recommend booking via Emyr.
We had a very good stay earlier this year at the fairly new Thompson Madrid. Very central but not on a main road. Amazing breakfast.
Hyatt Prive benefits if you book through Emyr. The hotel really looked after us.
We did a Thompson review if you search. I like the Hyatt Centric too.
Me and the wife visited Madrid in January and was pleasantly surprised. We stayed at Intercontinental Madrid and tbh reading some reviews, we weren’t expecting too much.
We didn’t rate the club lounge too highly (there wasn’t too much food), but the breakfast in the main restaurant was fantastic.
As another posted mentioned, there is a quality restaurant across the road that we used as part of our platinum dining credit. I highly recommend it.Keep us informed which hotel you do choose.
I’ve stayed at VP Plaza España Design about 5 years ago. It was very modern, clear, big rooms. And mini bar was free.
Please check recent reviews to see if it’s still well rated.Had a great stay at the Doubletree Madrid Prado, although it was pre-Covid so a while back. Nice little neighbourhood, easy to walk to the main sites. Hotel room was a decent size, hotel is a ’boutique’ size / style. Easy walking distance to some nice restaurants which the hotel recommended.
Just reviving this thread, as I have an upcoming stay in May
Considering staying at either the Radisson Blu or Radisson Red, making use of the new VIP status and decent upgrades several people have had in another thread
Also slightly cheaper than the Marriott Aloft and a fair bit cheaper than the Doubletree which all seem to be around the same kind of quality
Would be getting breakfast included at Radisson or Hilton via statusIf anyone has any other suggestions would be interested
Just going for a weekend stay , so any kind of 4* would be fineI have a booking at the IC Madrid in August – prices are traditionally lower in the height of summer but I also got a really excellent deal via Emyr – upgrade, breakfast, $100 credit or lounge access, plus Prado tickets if you book 3 or more nights.
I don’t think the location is as convenient as some but we’re happy to use public transport (or walk if it’s not too hot!)
*You can book via the Virtuoso website now and Emyr still gets commission.
If you can tear yourself away from the chains with their status benefits, I’ve stayed in this very nice ’boutique’ hotel: https://www.7islashotel.com/es/
Central location tucked just off Gran Via, pleasant lobby/bar area, and really nice breakfasts in a country where breakfast isn’t a big thing.
If you can tear yourself away from the chains with their status benefits, I’ve stayed in this very nice ’boutique’ hotel: https://www.7islashotel.com/es/
Central location tucked just off Gran Via, pleasant lobby/bar area, and really nice breakfasts in a country where breakfast isn’t a big thing.
To me, ’boutique’ hotel means no desk to work at. The last boutique hotel I stayed at had a single socket in the main room and just one more in the bathroom. Since my phone was plugged into the single socket in the bedroom, I had to charge my Apple Watch overnight by plugging it into the other socket above the toilet and resting the watch on the cistern. In the morning I woke to find my brand new Apple Watch had fallen off the toilet, landed on the hard floor and cracked the screen 🙁
I’m happy to stick with the chain hotels.
Quite, give me space and amenities over chintz any day, lol. Hoping our parador stays in October will have the former, as there are very few chain hotels on the route of our road trip.
Quite, give me space and amenities over chintz any day, lol. Hoping our parador stays in October will have the former, as there are very few chain hotels on the route of our road trip.
Hope you are visiting the parador in Cuenca as you are going to Valencia – Cuenca is a rather beautiful perched village with a surprising number of churches and museums. The parador is in a beautiful old monastery and next to a rather unusual museum. It closed on New Year’s Day for refurbishment but they seemed to suggest it would reopen quite shortly.
There are plenty of boutique/non chain hotels that are non chintzy, cheaper and better than their boring chain cousins. In Spain, Room Mate, essentially hotels without all the fripperies one doesn’t need in a city is a great option and again beats a dreary chain on price and quality every day.
VLC is a separate trip – our travel is very Iberian peninsula-focused this year!
Cuenca is not on the list, however we are stopping off Salamanca, Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz (the pronunciation of the 2nd two causes my OH no end of difficulty!), which all have the kind of historic accommodations I’m certain you will approve of, @JDB!
@Pangolin I solve the one plug socket issue by permanently having a UK 4 gang extension lead in my suitcase. Then I only need one adapter and can plug in up to 4 items to recharge. I am mindful not to overload the socket but it’s fine for charging tablet, mobile phone and electric toothbrush. Don’t travel with a laptop these days as only a leisure traveller.
@Pangolin – I think maybe you just haven’t chosen the right ‘boutique’ hotels which are also described above as being “chintzy” which isn’t the reality, and anyway chintz designs and things like arts and crafts are very in fashion. Fine, if you like chain hotels but to diss ‘boutique’ or small independent hotels is unreasonable. It’s the difference between battery/caged eggs and free range eggs. I prefer the free range version of hotels particularly as, unlike the eggs, you get much better taste and overall experience at a lower cost. But each to their own.
The funny thing about chains that we observe is that they have become really rather expensive and poor value vs their chain friends and particularly for the likes of RC, WA, St R vs genuine luxury (only) groups.
The rooms in some boutique hotels are much more battery than free-range!
The rooms in some boutique hotels are much more battery than free-range!
I’m afraid that, if that’s your experience, you are picking the wrong ones! When I see reviews here of these standardised hotel room boxes with a window one end and mostly dark I know straight away, no thanks. A loo with a door or not becomes a bit academic. Clearly many don’t mind paying the chain premium.
There’s also the Airbnb or similar option which often beats a hotel hands down for location, style, space and cost. Luckily for the chains, they are clever at keeping people on their treadmills. Good for us independent thinkers too!
I have to agree with @JDB on this one! I use chains, Hyatt being the front runner, but I do not let the tail wag the dog, I’m not blinded in trying to achieve status.
I also use small boutique and independent properties when it suits.
I have always admired the personal touch, and the enthusiasm and kindness that is emitted from the majority of staff at these properties, they want to be there, and do not smile because they have to, also they are not eagerly clock watching, waiting for their shift to finish, as in a lot of cases at the main chain properties.
For Madrid, I tend to pick between my preferred hotels. This is dependent on what the trip is for.
A night before a flight elsewhere via a positioning flight. I will select the Hilton Madrid Airport. Good rooms, well appointed, easy walk to a couple of local bar/tapas restaurants (or 15 minutes more to a shopping centre and some chain restaurants if that is your prefrence).
If staying for a couple of days, Melia Madrid Princesa would be my preferred option as the Grand Premium Level rooms are very well sized and appointed and the Level lounge is a great option for relaxing if shooting back and forth in the city.
For an expensive stay of at least three nights, it will be Gran Melia Palacios de los Duques. Rooms are slightly smaller than Princesa, but the service and Red Level lounge are far superior and I enjoy the space within the hotel, and centrality the hotel has.
Anything longer, or with more than 2 people, and I tend to choose an apartment in the centre. Simply because I can find one with the amenities and location I w-ould require. Plus, it also means I can buy food from the markets and cook breakfast and dinner, whilst eating out at lunch.
@Pangolin Except that many chains are also removing work desks and replacing them with coffee tables!
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