Palatial lodging one block from the Prado Museum This ornate 1912 building overlooks the Neptune Fountain, opposite the Prado and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums.
The 466 rooms are decorated in Belle Epoque style and feature plump Heavenly beds.
Guests mingle under the glass-domed rotunda, an original feature of the hotel, built for King Alfonso XIII.
This hotel has 466 guestrooms, all of which have been equipped with sound-proofed carpentry and double-glazed windows. All rooms are decorated in a classic but comfortable style with air conditioning, digital telephone system, voicemail, and modem Internet connections (surcharge). The Heavenly beds offer a custom-designed pillow-top mattress set, topped by a down comforter and five queen and king size pillows to maximize comfort. The marble bathrooms have anti-mist mirrors, razor adaptors, and bathrobes. What to expect: The 1912 palatial hotel was built on the former site of the palace of the Duke and Duchess of Medinaceli. A string of famous guests have stayed here from Salvador Dali to novelist Isabel Allende and movie director Richard Attenborough, but well-heeled business travelers tend to dominate. The entrance hall, decorated with murals of Italian Renaissance gardens, leads through to Rotunda Hall crowned with an Art Nouveau glass dome.
Amenity highlights: Club Neptuno fitness center is open 24-hours daily, and offers views over Retiro Park. The 18 modular meeting rooms are all soundproofed and some are wood-paneled with Venetian chandeliers.
Insider tip: Just 1.5 kilometers from the hotel is the fabulous Filmoteca Nacional (National Film Academy) - where a small fee wins entrance to a rich choice of art house cinema, including matinee performances and original language versions. Less high-brow, just 200 meters from the hotel, guests can explore the Hertas district, and its maze of tapas bars. The 18 modular meeting rooms and banquet lounges are soundproofed and equipped with microphones and audio-visual systems. Their total capacity is 800. Medinaceli Lounge, at 418 square meters, is the largest. The smallest rooms - Hemingway Lounge (42 square meters) and Mata Hari Lounge (55 square meters) are named after former hotel guests. In all meeting rooms, remote control digital touch screens operate automatically operating curtains, screens and ISDN Internet connections. Some of the rooms are wood-paneled, with Venetian chandeliers. All benefit from natural daylight.
The business center on the ground floor, adjacent to the front desk, has telephone and fax services, high-speed Internet access (surcharge) , telephone booths, and meeting area. Mobile phones are available for hire, and secretarial and translation services are available.
