Madrid's oldest hotel, dating to 1886 — the first in the city to have its own restaurant and electric light — reopened in 2018 as a 48-room Art Deco five-star.
Gran Hotel Inglés opened in 1886 in the Barrio de las Letras, Madrid's historic literary quarter, and quickly became a gathering place for writers and artists — its guest list over the decades reportedly included figures like Virginia Woolf. It fell into disrepair through the mid-20th century before an extensive 2018 renovation, led by New York's Rockwell Group, brought it back as a 48-room Art Deco boutique hotel, drawing inspiration from the 1920s rather than trying to freeze the original 19th-century interiors in place.
Barrio de las Letras (the literary quarter, named for Cervantes and his contemporaries, who lived and are buried nearby) — walking distance to Puerta del Sol, Plaza Santa Ana, and the Prado museum cluster.
Travellers who want a smaller, design-led five-star with genuine history over a big international chain — this is a 48-room hotel, not a 300-room one, so expect an intimate rather than grand-scale experience despite the five-star rating.
The hotel's library holds a first-edition Cervantes among its collection — a nice detail given the neighbourhood's literary history. Some rooms open onto a quiet interior courtyard, worth requesting if street noise matters to you.
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Adapters, packing cubes and the other things you always forget until 11pm the night before.
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