Fodor's Expert Review Hotel Urban

A five-minute walk from Puerta del Sol and Parque del Buen Retiro (El Retiro Park), Hotel Urban blends buttoned-up business aesthetics with tropical accents in the form of Papua New Guinean artifacts and other rare museum-grade works. Public areas are distinguished by alabaster pillars, tile-and-gold-inlaid walls, and art deco banisters. The newly renovated rooftop pool (summer only) and cocktail lounge are decorated with palms and banana trees and make for chic sunbathing and photos. Rooms are decidedly more dated and less polished than public spaces, with green-marble bathrooms, dark-wood floors, and wispy charcoal curtains. Note to sybarites: don't miss the hotel's Michelin-starred CEBO restaurant serving exquisite regional Spanish cuisine.