Madrid
A city with no coastline, no canals and no single building anyone crosses Europe to see, which has forced it to be good at the things you actually do on a trip: eating late, walking everywhere, and sleeping somewhere beautiful. The grand hotels sit within twenty minutes of each other on foot, almost all of them behind nineteenth century facades, and most of them have spent the last decade quietly building a spa underneath.
Hotels reviewed here
Four Seasons Madrid: seven buildings, one hotel, and a pool above the rooftops
The largest urban spa in the city, fourteen metres of water under a skylight on the eighth floor, and service that people who stay in a great many hotels single out. The best all-round address in Madrid.
Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid: the grande dame, restored to within an inch of her life
Two years shut, a restoration nobody wanted to put a ceiling on, and a marble spa dug out underneath. The finest ground floor in Madrid, and a room rate that expects you to use it.
The Madrid EDITION: the best rooftop in the city, three minutes from Sol
Ian Schrager's brand on Plaza de Celenque, with the largest luxury rooftop pool in Madrid, the strongest location on this list, and a rate that rewards anyone willing to avoid August.
Rosewood Villa Magna: the Madrid hotel the city actually drinks in
Mid-century rather than marble, on the Milla de Oro, with a Turkish marble hammam downstairs and two bars that Madrid has quietly adopted as its own.
URSO Hotel and Spa: thirty eight rooms in Chamberi, and the shrewdest booking in Madrid
A 1913 palacete with its wrought-iron lift and neo-classical facade intact, a Natura Bisse spa in the basement, and a rate that has not yet caught up with how good the neighbourhood has become.
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Madrid in three days, built around where you sleep
Most itineraries are a list of museums arranged by opening hours, which is how people end up crossing the city four times a day. Three districts, three days, and the sightseeing fitted around the eating.
The five best hotels in Madrid with a spa worth using
Madrid spent the last decade digging spas out from under its grand hotels. Five that earn the rate, what each one costs, and which to book for what.