Hotel Indigo Madrid ★★★★

The hotel was easy to get to from the airport on the metro, and that was the last time we needed to use it during our stay. We arrived at a tall modern building just literally 20 metres from the ornate Gran Via, the ‘spine of Madrid’ created early in the 20th century to link the historic heart of the city with its newer attractions. After many years of political name changes of different parts of the street, in 1981 it finally became officially the Gran Via, the Great Way, or unofficially the street that never sleeps, the Spanish Broadway … you choose the epithet you like! We like them all, and we liked the look of the hotel.

Bright, artistic and slick, the entrance area brings the immediacy of the Gran Via inside through giant photo-murals on the walls. Furnishings are modern and upbeat and the whole atmosphere is jazzy fashion fused with comfort. Friendly and helpful reception staff greet us with a free cocktail – a fun way to start our hectic few days. The bedroom is on the small side, but we did not expect anything different in the heart of the city. It was well big enough to accommodate a fabulously comfortable bed, and a work desk, coffee, mini-bar, safe and iron, TV and phone docking station. We had everything we needed. The bathroom had a fabulous shower, and nice cuddly bathrobe.

As the day was getting late we decided on dinner in the hotel, and to save our sightseeing energy for the next morning. We also knew we would have a massive choice of the best tapas bars and Spanish cuisine in the city and therefore very happy to sample the Italian fare in the hotel’s Gastrobar. We gathered they were proud to have a new Italian chef, Andrea Tumbarello, and his Mediterranean / Italian creations looked lovely and tasted even better. Staff were attentive and friendly. Overall a lovely and relaxing evening, rounded off with a nightcap on the romantic rooftop terrace looking out over the sparkling lights of the street that never sleeps. We, however, did, very well! The room was quiet and the bed soft.

In the morning, a pre-breakfast swim in the pretty rooftop pool was an amazing experience, floating out in the open air under the blue Spanish sky with the rooftops of the city spread around us. What a treat to be able to sunbathe on full-size sunbeds by the pool high up in the middle of the city! Breakfast in the hotel was impressive too – good choice, all fresh, and as usual in this hotel, the friendly attentive staff.

And so we began our jam-packed few days of shopping, sightseeing, eating, exploring the city centre. We began by simply admiring the architecture in the Gran Via, a rich mixture of Moorish Revival architecture, Art Deco and Plateresque. Grand upmarket emporiums, huge old cinemas, some now converted into shopping arcades, cafes, restaurants, boutiques and bars, all squeeze themselves into the grand-scale architectural mix of the street. Most ornate and impressive of all of them is the Metropolis Building with the statue of the winged Goddess Victory. The next days passed in a whirl of sights, colours, sounds and delicious aromas of Madrid, with always our lovely Hotel Indigo Madrid just around the corner for total relaxation when the energy ran out. We had really made the most of our happy coincidence.