The Principal Madrid Hotel

"At the Principal, elegant corridors lead to equally elegant rooms with subdued color palettes and swanky furnishings. Executive rooms look toward the interior courtyard; the prized Premium rooms peep the famous street in front. The Deluxe and Superior rooms—which both have views of the Metropolis building—are the most sought-after options in the house; like the suites, they also include free access to the sauna. Black-subway-tile bathrooms have ample vanity space, drenching rainfall showerheads, and Finca Gayeta toiletries from Mallorca. Principal is ultra chic through and through, with a hip location and views that can't be beat."

"The Principal Madrid, a majestic hotel with extraordinary views from private terraces, offers more than 70 luxurious rooms, providing a perfect culmination to a day in Madrid." - The MICHELIN Guide

"This significant new arrival might be right on a corner of the Spanish capital's arterial Gran Vía, but with its discreet entrance down a side street, it still feels a bit secret. It's a topsy-turvy place with check-in on the sixth floor in the brilliantly curvaceous, open-plan reception-restaurant-bar Atico. This is a space made for lingering: decorated in rich charcoal, coral, and forest green, with velvet curtains, wingback chairs, a marble fireplace, and bookcases loaded with leather-bound tomes. Off to one side, there's a small balcony dotted with olive trees beneath which to eat churros for breakfast. On the other, there's a pergola-covered terrace for lunch and dinner, where the menu swings from the creative (upside-down red-tuna pizza) to the classic (perfect ham croquettes). It's overseen by innovative chef Ramón Freixa, whose restaurant at The Principal's sister Hotel Unico has two Michelin stars. The 76 bedrooms below this sociable scene have Jackson Pollock–esque artworks clustered above the beds and a palette of moody greys. Gin's the thing at the bar (as it is across the whole city right now): goldfish bowls of the stuff, tinkling with ice and splashed with tonic, preferably drunk at the rooftop Terrazza, with views stretching north over boutique-packed Chueca and south towards the Prado. This is the first really smart hotel to open slap-bang in Madrid's tourist hub in ages, and without a tour group in sight. —Ramsey Qubein" - Lauren Burvill

"Intimate and well-positioned on the Broadway-esque Gran Via, this five-star hotel is easy walking distance from expansive Retiro Park and the peachy-hued Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. It’s a prime location for first-time visitors, and with just 76 rooms, it’s one of our go-to boutique properties in the city for warm, thoughtful service." - Travel + Leisure Editors

"Lobbies are for amateurs. Let the unimaginative chain stays and the lemmings of the luxury hotel industry have their check-in desks, their cavernous foyers, their impersonal seating areas awkwardly arranged throughout the front rooms. The Principal Madrid —one of the Spanish capital’s newest hot spots and the latest venture from hotelier Pau Guardans’ Único Hotels group—knows better. Drawing inspiration from the private clubs frequented by artists, writers, aristocrats, and bons vivants of nearly a century ago, this Spanish Renaissance–style residence (built in 1917) starts the guest experience with a quick trip up to the top floor, where you emerge from the elevator into an unpretentious living room of sorts, a refreshing drink and panoramic views of the city’s belle epoque rooftops awaiting you. As if a room were kept ready for you at all times, your bags will have magically been whisked away to your understated abode, its soothing hues and clean-lined designer furnishings a welcome respite from the bustling city outside. But why retire already to your room when your arrival drops you straight into the salon of Madrid’s cognoscenti? Here the city’s cool and creative types sip cafés con leche by day and cocktails by night, dine on tapas by a top Spanish chef, and lounge in one of the most effortlessly comfortable spaces known to hotels. The only place that overshadows it—quite literally—is the next floor up: with its fountainside lounge area and Parisian café–style deck, the rooftop terrace just might boast the best sunset views in town."