Suites & Eats
£64-million restoration in 2017 under Mandarin Oriental while the Ambassador Hotel has been reworked nicely as Gran Melia Palacio de los Duques. Urso will get a twin hotel when Totem opens in June –W and Four Seasons also open in 2018 author: April Hutchinson
Madrid O
pening just a year ago, it hasn’t taken long for Pau Guardans’ 76-room hotel on the city’s Gran Via to establish itself as one of
the coolest places to stay and achieve that difficult feat – being popular with locals too. It’s due to having one of the best rooftops in the city (including spacious terrace and bar), cuisine from Ramon Freixa and desirable design in guestrooms and public spaces, including Atico. This combined lounge, reception, library and dining area flows as one zone up on the sixth floor; it’s like being welcomed into a friend’s penthouse, in fact that’s what Atico means in Spanish. Of course, it’s a friend with impeccable taste, and one who likes tangerine- coloured drapes, worn-looking Chesterfields, velvet armchairs, Turkish rugs and fresh flowers.
The ground-floor mini-lobby entrance is a little
cramped, but it does give a teaser of the style to come on the upper floors; grey-black walls, intricate lighting and imposing portraits of stern faces. Sadly, it’s a bit of a confusing process too, with check-in taking place upstairs. As well as Atico, there’s La Pergola, a glassed-in
sun-room, and look out for the Pret-a-Portea afternoon tea designed by Freixa too. Location-wise, this is a fantastic spot for culture
vultures (the hotel also has its own app – Guia Punto – created by Guardans to highlight his favourite places), with the Prado and Thyssen- Bornemisza galleries a 10-minute stroll away. Rooms from £175pn,
theprincipalmadridhotel.com
Barcelo Emperatriz Before long in Madrid, you realise that eating little violet-coloured flavoured sweets is almost an obsession, with these candies so associated with the city. With that in mind – and the fact that violet was the favourite colour of Eugenie de Montijo, the last Spanish Empress who was the inspiration for the design of this new 146-room hotel – it’s no surprise the colour features prominently. The restaurant, Mutis needed some atmosphere injecting in the evening, but the avant-garde menu followed the theme of the hotel nicely, including a violet-themed dessert. Rooms from £173pn,
barceloemperatriz.com
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Shopaholics will love Madrid, so recommend they stretch the euros on Calle Serrano, for high-end boutiques, and Calle Jorge Juan for some chic quirky stores.
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TTGLUXURY.COM SPRING 2016 DESTINATIONS
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Hot table Suggest Urso’s elaborate series of Table-By pop-ups before it ends in June; the restaurant is transformed each time a chef visits. The 78-room hotel’s Natura Bisse spa is also excellent. Rooms from £140,
hotelurso.com
Ritz pickings The 167-room Mandarin Oriental Hotel Ritz, Madrid is one of the city’s most storied hotels; even if not staying, suggest an atmospheric afternoon tea (£22) in The Hall. Rooms from £207,
mandarinoriental.com/ritzmadrid
Serious style Hotel Unico is the older haute couture sister of The Principal, set in upscale Salamanca. It has 44 rooms and two- starred Michelin food by Ramon Freixa. Rooms from £200,
unicohotelmadrid.com
gardening leave Created out of three elegant buildings, one of the highlights at the 51-room AC Santa Mauro – part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection – is its garden, offering a soothing city respite, something which can also be found in its spa. Rooms from £200,
marriott.com
Don’t leave without: One of the most famous art galleries and museums in the world, an afternoon soon slips by at Museo del Prado – Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights is especially memorable.
Sometimes overlooked in favour of more avant-garde Barcelona, Madrid is the elegant older sister that demands fresh eyes. Hotel Ritz, Madrid is to undergo a
Writer’s choice
4 of the best
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