Madrid Travel Guide: Best Hotels, Restaurants & Experiences

This former aristocratic residence along Paseo de la Castellana pairs a modernist granite facade with interiors of quiet refinement—mahogany paneling, stained-glass staircases, and an embroidered textile by Jacky Puzey. The top-floor Real Suite delivers terrace views, a grand piano, and butler service. Chef Jesús Sánchez oversees Amós Restaurant's Cantabrian menu, while Sense Spa draws on Iberian botanicals including bay leaf and orange blossom for treatments rooted in Spanish-Arabic tradition.

A 19th-century palace and 13th-century convent converge to form this lavishly restored Gran Meliá property, where rooms follow a Velázquez-inspired color palette ranging from Deluxe to Royal suite. Chef Manuel Arenilla's Restaurante Jardín de los Duques occupies the former stables, serving Habsburg-era flavors, while an Asian wellness area staffed by Thai therapists and a seventh-floor rooftop pool with whirlpool deliver panoramic city views and thorough relaxation steps from the Royal Palace.

Philippe Starck reimagined this 1922 Gran Vía building with interiors echoing Parisian cafés—woven leather ceilings, surrealist canvases, hand-stitched headboards inscribed with handwritten notes. La Capsule spa unfolds 400 m² of white-and-gold serenity: 20-meter pool, flotation chamber, oxygen therapy. The restaurant's open charcoal oven delivers Mediterranean fare inflected by Lebanese and Galician traditions. Four suites claim private rooftop terraces; every bathroom features moss-green glazed terracotta mirrors shaped by hand.

Built in 1885, this 32-room Relais & Châteaux palace gained renown in the 1920s as a stage for theatrical performances, and retains authentic portraits of Spanish royalty—including King Ferdinand VII by Vicente Lopez—alongside trompe l'oeil flourishes. Mario Sandoval helms the kitchen, serving diners beneath the stars in a flowered courtyard, while an English-style tea room overlooks the gardens, offering a tranquil counterpoint to the Prado and Retiro Park minutes away.

Ian Schrager's 200-room collaboration with Marriott anchors Puerta del Sol with signature white-on-white interiors punctuated by Jean-Michel Frank sofas and a single-slab marble pool table. The rooftop—Madrid's largest hotel pool—overlooks Royal Palace and Almudena Cathedral, sharing terrace space with Peruvian restaurant Oroya. Below, Jerónimo brings Enrique Olvera's modern-Mexican repertoire (mole negro, hamachi ceviche, lobster tostada) to a plant-filled dining room ablaze in pink and yellow.

Diego Guerrero's industrial-loft dining room in Salesas strips away convention with exposed brick, retro fixtures, and an open kitchen that connects diners directly to the creative process. The two-Michelin-starred kitchen fuses global ingredients into meats-and-grills cuisine that deliberately challenges comfort zones, deploying trompe l'oeil illusions and unexpected pairings across three progressive tasting menus. A Green Star recognizes the restaurant's commitment to sustainability within its boundary-pushing culinary vision.

Paco Roncero's two-Michelin-starred dining room occupies the top floor of a nineteenth-century building, opening onto a spectacular terrace. The chef channels Madrid's bar culture through an avant-garde lens—his calamari sandwich reimagines a street classic, while the Filipino of foie gras with white chocolate pushes boundaries in the starters. Three tasting menus (Esencia, Madrid, Gran Madrid) explore traditional capital gastronomy with Asian touches, all accompanied by wine pairings.

Tucked behind the Hyatt Regency Hesperia with its own entrance, this two-Michelin-starred dining room seats just two tables and a Japanese-style counter facing the kitchen. Chef-driven Omakase menus—Kõsei no Hi and Matsuri—showcase lightly smoked and charcoal-grilled seasonal produce, matured fish, and meats, all touched with subtle global influences. The intimate, clandestine atmosphere encourages constant interaction between chefs and diners, making it ideal for those seeking both technical mastery and theatrical engagement.

Chef Ricardo Sanz broke Spanish culinary tradition by pioneering Japanese-Mediterranean fusion, earning this elegant Wellington Hotel restaurant a Michelin star. His legendary huevos rotos swap the usual ham for bluefin tuna and Canary Island potatoes, while nigiri crafted with Ebro delta rice and carabinero prawn usuzukuri showcase meticulous technique. The tasting menu pairs brilliantly with sake, wine, tea, or beer—trust the sommelier—and finish with delicate mochis.

Javier Sanz and Juan Sahuquillo bring their Casa-Ibáñez pedigree to this intimate one-star dining room inside Hotel Urban, where ingredients from their own vegetable garden and small-scale producers across Spain anchor two tasting menus. The Clásicos route delivers explosive flavor—line-caught squid is a standout—while the longer Temporada menu pushes creative technique further. Impeccable sauces and aesthetic plating define the style; finish with a drink on the rooftop terrace overlooking Madrid.