My fiance and I stayed at the Westin Madrid Palace last summer. After the 20 minute ride from the airport, we stumbled jetlagged into the beautiful lobby to check-in. Let's just say we didn't receive the most warm reception. No one offered to help us with our luggage, instead we had to lug it out of the taxi ourselves. Then, check-in was very perfunctory without any niceties or particular welcomes as a SPG Gold member. Overall, I felt as if they were doing me a favor by allowing us to stay there.

So, up we went to our Grand Deluxe room. I had to make two trips from the elevator to fetch all of our bags; I was a little miffed that no one offered to help. The rooms were quite nice and large by European standards: luxurious cream colors and elegant furnishings, including a Bang & Olufsen sound system. The bathroom as marble and was stocked with all the Molton Brown amenities. Finally, some where to rest! We crumpled down into the Heavenly bed.

Although I had used the Do Not Disturb notice, it was duly ignored when, at the crack of dawn, we awoke to hear housekeeping tapping on the door. By the time I got up, she was already halfway in our room! What?! She politely excused herself and left quietly. Luckily, this only happened once... but I was steamed!

It did get better. Like the night we sat out on the veranda and I ordered some little cakes with wine. The waiter charged me for the bottle, but winked when I mentioned about the dessert. One night, we asked the concierge for a special place for dinner for the two of us, and she sent us around the corner to El Rincon de Esteban just around the corner. The owner, Don Esteban Gonzalez and his crew treated us like a prince and princess that night. It was some of the best food we had during our trip (if not the priciest!). The breakfast buffet at the hotel had a lot of selection, including a chef to make eggs to your liking.

We didn't end up using the internet at the hotel's business center because it was over-priced (20 minutes for 8 euros... are you kidding me?), as was room access at over 17 euros. The great thing about Europe is the pre-dominance of Internet cafes. And we were soon on the Internet for only a euro or two. The fitness center in the hotel is okay, and includes free weights.

The location of the hotel is excellent, directly across from the Parliament building. The art museum is a couple blocks away.

I can't say this was one of the best Westin experiences I've had. What this hotel is doing in the Luxury Collection -- from a service standpoint -- is beyond me.

Review by flywithme

Posted at April 28, 2006 8:03 PM