debra

i have an oppty to travel to madrid late october...ive been there before, and absolutely loved the city and people and food, and (you get the idea) <BR> <BR>stayed at the intercontinental hotel that trip which was very ok, but i have an oppty to go more upscale... <BR> <BR>i am not a big museum person...i like restaurants, nightlife, and general city life that madrid offers...but i DO like luxury...want a romantic room convenient (via taxi or metro) to the plaza, etc... <BR>if you had a choice: <BR> <BR>the ritz <BR>the westin <BR>the villa magna (park hyatt) <BR> <BR>these were the top 3 recommended elsewhere; other suggestions very welcome <BR> <BR>thank you all in advance! <BR>

Graziella

Hi Debra, I would recommend THe Palace Hotel, one of the mosf famous hotels in Madrid, It has been totally remodeled and now belongs to Westin. We stayed there at his maintened its glamour, THis hotel was build by the late King Alfonso XIII ( with the Ritz) to house the guests to <BR>his marriage to the English Princess <BR>Maria Victoria ( I might be wrong about her name) /// it s location is tops across from the Prado. Very nice hotel.

Lori

We stayed at the Ritz and I was very pleased. Not only with the hotel, but the location was great from my perspective. They also had no trouble accomodating us on an early check-in (7am). I can't speak to the other hotels, but I chose the Ritz as the best after looking at various posts and the rants and raves section. <BR>

Cova

Hi Graziela, <BR>the name of the princess was Victoria Eugenia. <BR>And about the hotels, I said that it is a tie-up between the Palace and the Ritz. The Ritz has a garden and a lovely tea room, but I find that the Palace has a better location, just across the Parliament and near the Madrid of the Austrias. Just 10, 15 minutes walking from Plaza Santa Ana or Plaza Mayor. <BR>Rgds, Cova <BR>

Maribel

Debra, <BR>I know all 3, and I would choose the Westin Palace for these reasons: <BR>it's been recently renovated and just sparkles now, the Ritz, also a Grand Dame but smaller, more "exclusive", seemed to us to be in kind of an identity crisis, management-wise, and not as well run these days-we had mediocre service there at tea recently in the garden (and the small lounge is really hard on non-smokers)-surprisingly kind of take it or leave it- but very attentive, sharp service at the Palace, the location of the Palace is slightly better for walking to nice dining and doing a tapas crawl around the Cava Baja in Old Madrid, plus for a single person, it's always fascinating to just sit in the beautiful la Rotonda lounge area and survey the scene- easy to meet people. <BR>The Park Hyatt, right on Castellana Blvd. is modern and doesn't have the rich patina or history of the Old European style Palace and Ritz. <BR>And it's wise not to stay at the Intercontinental again until they complete their top to bottom refurbishment-the rms really needed sprucing up. <BR>You also might like the brand new, small and elegant Hotel Adler, in a great location in the upscale shopping district of Salamanca, on the corner of tony Velazquez and Goya-nice stores and great eats in this area, but a short taxi ride from old Madrid. View it at <BR>www.travel-in-madrid.com or <BR>www.lesein.es/adler/bienvenida.htm <BR>It's in a pretty fin de siecle building, was decorated by Spain's top, hot interior designer of the moment, Pascua Ortega, and only has 45 rooms-gorgeous suites. <BR>Have fun deciding-I'm sure you won't be disappointed really in any.

debra

Thank you all! the insights are very helpful, havent decided yet for sure (and i need to ck availability) BUT i feel much better informed <BR> <BR>muchas gracias!