One Of Madrid’S Oldest Hotels Has Undergone A Modern Makeover

Some 130 years after first opening its doors, the Madrid’s Gran Hotel Inglés has undergone a modern transformation and is now being reimagined as a sophisticated boutique hotel. Gran Hotel Inglés opened in 1886 and was Madrid’s first luxury hotel. This year the Gran Hotel Inglés reopened as a new member of Leading Hotels of the World, following a US$20 million makeover by the Rockwell Group, whose portfolio includes the New York Edition, the Ritz-Carlton in Boston and the W in Paris and Singapore. Rockwell drew inspiration from the hotel’s golden years of the 1920s with his remodelling process and the hotel is an ode to Art Deco style in shades of burnt orange, teal and silver. The lobby’s 20 foot-high ceiling glows with chandeliers, and vintage postcards of Madrid, which were discovered during the renovation, are on display in glass cases. To allow for more spacious accommodation, the number of rooms has been reduced from 72 to 48 (43 rooms and five suites). The hotel stakes a prime spot on Echegaray Street in Barrio de las Letras (Madrid’s literary quarter). It’s just across the street from La Venencia, reportedly Hemingway’s favourite sherry bar in the city, and is just a five-minute walk from Puerta del Sol – one of Madrid’s liveliest public squares.