Madrid hotel recommendation please

[Royback]

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?

[Blair Waldorf Salad]

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.

[gtellez]

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.

[Royback]

Thank you both. Very helpful. I will take a good look at your suggestions and let you know what I book!

[Michael C]

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.

[Lyn]

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.

[KevinC]

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.

[Rob]

We did a Thompson review if you search. I like the Hyatt Centric too.

[yorkshireRich]

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.

[Cranzle]

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.

[JD]

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.