Hotel Palacio del Retiro

The hotel is on calle Alphonso XII (Alphonso XII Road), alongside Retiro park in a very peaceful district, a stone's throw from Independence square and its famous monumental gate Puerta de Alcala, and not far from the Prado museum. The nearest underground station is Retiro (line 2). Madrid-Barajas airport is located 8 mi from there, allow 25 minutes for transfers.

Either to relax or keep fit, the hotel has a nicely decorated spa adorned with bamboo sticks, with a whirlpool bath, sauna, hammam and sensation showers and hot or cold hydro massage jets, as well as a gym (treadmills, bodybuilding apparatus, exercise bikes). You can also rest on one of two heated wooden deckchairs. All the facilities are free of use, as well as the soft drinks and apples left at your disposal. Joggers will find that there is no better place than the superb neighbouring Retiro park. Two computers are available in the lobby but you will have to pay to use the Internet (£5.30 an hour).

Accommodation tip:

The junior suites have a view of Retiro park.

The Palacio del Retiro is a superb building with a preserved white façade in the 'Art Nouveau' style, built in 1900, on 4 floors and housing 50 bedrooms. This boutique hotel inaugurated in 2005 has retained many of the original rooms and especially its spiral staircase, its rugs and remarkable stained glass windows. This hotel, a member of the Spanish AC Hotels Group and bearing the label of Small Luxury Hotels of the World blends together these modernist elements to a contemporary decoration and with the high-tech services and facilities. Open twenty four hours a day, the lounge-bar of the lobby is very stylish with its fluorescent counter, its lighting effects and subdued ambiance, to the sound of fashionable music. Relaxing in the library-lounge is pleasant, magnificently decorated with parquet flooring and chandelier.

Fitted with parquet flooring, the bedrooms are spacious, have designer decoration, uncluttered and in shades of dark grey, adorned with a large black and white framed photograph. They are equipped with discreet individual air-conditioning, a large free safe with electronic code, a mini-bar, a telephone, high-speed Internet and Wifi access (extra charge), a king size bed, an armchair with a footstool, a glass coffee table, a sofa, a desk and a flat LG screen broadcasting 25 channels. Room service is available around the clock.
The bathroom has a bathtub fitted with a handle and a flexible shower, a large separate tropical shower, a double sink, a separate toilet with a telephone, a professional hair-dryer, dressing gowns, slippers, a magnifying mirror, sophisticated hospitality products by the French cosmetic brand Algotherm, tissues, comb, toothbrush and shaving kit, to sum up, it is not essential to bring your own wash bag!
The presidential suite is remarkable with its bookshelf separating the lounge area from the rest of the room, its original parquet, its fire place and large bubble bath.

Meals are taken in a small room fitted with parquet flooring with a capacity of 25 guests. You will be served à la carte Mediterranean fusion cuisine. Breakfast is served from 7.30 to 11am, lunch from 1 to 3pm and dinner from 8.30 to 11pm. In fashionable musical ambiance, you can enjoy home-made cakes, freshly squeezed juice, cereals, cold cuts and cheese. The designer bar of the lobby is open twenty hours a day and smoking is allowed.