Exploring a new city can be an exciting business, but there's no getting around the fact that it's also rather tiring. You may be battling crowds and queues to get into the most popular attractions, walking thousands of steps around museums, art galleries and charming streets, and steeling yourself to try and order food in a different language. What you really want in a hotel is the feeling that when you retreat from the busy streets outside, you're walking onto a cloud – somewhere wonderfully cosseting, where everything is easy and comfortable. If you happen to be in Madrid and looking for such a place, we recommend you make the Mandarin Oriental Ritz your destination.
Formerly simply The Ritz, the hotel opened in 1910 in the centre of Madrid, right next to the Prado Museum and a short stroll from the Retiro, the once-royal park that is now one of the city's most beautiful public spaces. The hotel's inception came in the context of King Alfonso XIII's plan to modernise Madrid (he was in fact a major shareholder in the Ritz's parent company), which saw a wave of beautiful Belle Époque architecture rise up around the city. It is said that the king wanted a version of the stylish Ritzes in London and Paris for his own capital, and he certainly got it – the Madrid Ritz quickly became a magnet for starry visitors such as Prince Rainier of Monaco, Frank Sinatra and Ernest Hemingway. A century of glamour later, and the hotel was bought by the group behind the Mandarin Oriental hotels, reopening in 2021 after a massive renovation.
One of the first things to wow the visitor to the Mandarin Oriental Ritz Madrid is surely the architecture. The grand façade is located on a graceful crescent of early 20th-century buildings on the Plaza del Lealtad, while the back of the hotel looks out over the grounds of the Prado. The spaces inside are soaring in their proportions: as you enter, a generous, marble-lined lobby leads into the Palm Court with its glass roof, where teas and casual meals are served. The rooms are high-ceilinged and spacious, with original mouldings intact. Outside there is a surprisingly large garden for the central location, with a charming terrace for lunch and drinks. The hotel's most recent makeover came courtesy of architect Rafael de La-Hoz and designers Gilles & Boissier, and it is both sensitive to the hotel's original context and ornate enough to appeal to the jet-setting class who now make up its clientele. Expect plenty of gleaming marble surfaces, gold detailing, and soft, silky fabrics.
Naturally there is plenty to amuse guests in the immediate environs of the hotel. It is located in Madrid's ‘art triangle’, the neighbourhood which houses the Prado, the Thyssen-Bormenisza National Museum, and the Reina Sofia Art Centre, and the attractive streets of the Old Town wriggle their way to the north and west, lined with appealing shops and authentic tapas and sherry bars. But there is also plenty to keep you busy within the hotel's confines. A glorious subterranean spa offers swimming, steam rooms and luxurious treatments that range from futuristic facials to relaxing massages.
The dining options are very much a reason to visit the Mandarin Oriental Ritz. The two-Michelin-star restaurant Deessa occupies a long, palatial room and terrace overlooking the garden. Serving tasting menus courtesy of head chef Quique Dacosta (who also runs the celebrated Dénia in Valencia, currently no.14 on the list of the World's Best Restaurants). The menus bring a taste of Valencia to the table, with dishes such as Albufera rice and the coastal dish fideuà served in inventive and beautiful ways. We would come back for the heavenly bread alone. There is plenty more to explore in the hotel whilst you're there: in the lobby you will find a champagne bar, which feels perfectly fitting in the midst of the white and gold interiors, while upstairs the Picture Bar offers an opulent space to unwind with a cocktail.
The rooms are a vision of quiet luxury, ranging from the Superior rooms which look out over the inner courtyard and Deluxe rooms with views of the city, right up to the magnificent Royal and Presidential suites, which occupy the hotel's turrets and feature round bedrooms with magnificent vistas. The style of the hotel is soothing throughout, with calm off-white tones on the walls, soft lighting, plenty of marble and stone in the bathrooms, and rich upholstery and bedding to sink into.
The best thing about staying in a hotel of this calibre, however, should always be the service, and this is very much the case at the Mandarin Oriental Ritz. That cosseting feeling of coming into a sanctuary in a strange city is partly provided by the interiors and amenities, of course, but the most significant part of it is the people. Here, there is a general sense that everything runs like clockwork, and not much can go wrong, from the helpful concierge who will book your museum tickets and ensure you can skip the queue, to the knowledgeable maitre d' in the restaurant who expertly guides you through the menu. Travel has never been so comfortable.
