IBEROSTAR Las Letras Gran Via ★★★★

Madrid is a remarkable city, an endless hive of activity enlivened by a youthful buzz which reflects the Spanish capital’s infectious appetite for living life to the fullest.  The whole city seems to pulsate with energy around the clock, whether it’s the excitable chatter of tourists wandering between world-class galleries, historic monuments and chic boutiques, or the electrifying hum of locals congregating in tapas joints and cocktail bars long into the night.

For our latest foray into Madrid, it therefore seems fitting that we stay at the spectacular Hotel IBEROSTAR Las Letras on the Gran Vía, one of the city’s most vibrant and effervescent streets which best captures this inimitable, life-loving energy. What’s more, as our stay progresses we find we are perfectly placed within a stone’s throw of many of the city’s essential attractions, including the ‘golden triangle’ of famous art museums, the Puerta del Sol and the beautiful Retiro Park.

Not just about epicurean indulgence and late-night hedonism, Madrid is also a city with a superb artistic and cultural heritage, something which the Iberostar Las Letras Gran Via is eager to pay homage to. Indeed, ‘Las Letras’ is the name of the adjacent district where some of the city’s foremost writers have lived, and besides giving the hotel its name it has also inspired an intriguing literary theme. Famous quotations from Spanish literature are printed in huge letters on the walls of the corridors and bedrooms, and the hotel even boasts a private library to unwind with a good book when we need to escape the hectic city!

Apart from these quotes on the walls, the hotel’s aesthetic is dominated by a contemporary glamour which is in stark contrast to the old-fashioned elegance of the exterior. Bold colour schemes are combined with sleek modern fittings and the odd quirky touch, such as top hats floating mysteriously through the air in an interior courtyard. Our gorgeous Superior room is also supremely functional and comfortable, complete with a stunning bathroom and top-of-the-range modern luxuries.

Between lazy afternoons boating on the lake in Retiro Park, leisurely artistic circuits of the city’s top galleries and whistle-stop tours of the most famous monuments, each day in Madrid is whatever we want it to be. To stick with the literary theme, as Tolkien once wrote: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” At the end of the day though, without fail we wind up sipping a refreshing aperitif on the hotel’s chic roof terrace and gazing down at the manic street below – a most welcome luxury!

In fact it is such a luxury that we always linger longer than intended, but when we finally move on dinner is always an absolute treat! The Al Trapo Restaurant, led by Michelin-starred chef Paco Morales, is one of the real highlights of the hotel, serving up dish after dish of dazzlingly creative food which puts a contemporary twist on classic Spanish cuisine. For a lighter dinner or laid-back lunch, the chic Bocablo Lounge is another tantalising option, while the buffet breakfast provides yet more delicious food. With all this on offer and in the spirit of the hotel, I’ll leave you with one more literary quote, this time from Virginia Woolf: “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well”, all of which are guaranteed at the Iberostar Las Letras Gran Vía!