"Basing yourself at Rosewood’s first Spanish property in Madrid’s upscale Salamanca quarter is like staying just off Fifth Avenue in New York—you’ll think the city is all designer boutiques and people in gilets if you don’t wander quite a lot further afield. A 1972 modernist structure re-opened in 2021 following the attentions of architect Ramón de Aranaas, its exterior has had a chic aluminum and brass-clad upgrade. The vibe inside is very local and knowing—black-framed floor-to-ceiling glass doors, tongue-in-cheek artworks smuggled among more serious pieces, and smart lounges you no longer have to book a table at. Regular restaurant pop-ups are intricate and designed to entice Madrid’s curious foodies (an alpine ski lodge with plentiful sheepskin on our early spring visit), while the on-site patisserie Flor y Nata casts intoxicating smells, all-day dining destination Las Brasas de Castellana serves wonderful traditional dishes, and flagship Amós, run by three-Michelin-star winning Jesús Sánchez, does skillful creative turns on Northern Spanish cuisine. Underground, there’s a small, stylish spa with a uniquely shaped hot tub, plus a sauna and steam room; up top is the last piece of the puzzle—the show-stopping Houses opened in 2022. Ask for Royal Anglada House for a seemingly endless space stretching over a long dining room and circular office and both indoor and outdoor kitchens, the latter on a wowee-terrace large enough to house a full corporate company’s Christmas party, with views out to the mountains beyond the cityscape (so you actually just need to head up to the ninth floor to see past Prada). —Becky Lucas"
