The Palace Madrid

The Westin Palace now trades as The Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Madrid, the 1912 landmark on Plaza de las Cortes reopened in 2025 after a two-year restoration. It keeps 470 rooms and suites beneath a restored stained-glass dome, opposite the Spanish Congress and steps from the Prado.

"The restored 1912 grande dame opposite the Congress, now the Palace under Luxury Collection rather than Westin, with landmark dome dining but no pool."

Aggregate 9.2/10 on our editorial scale (Room & Design, Service, Location). Independently scored; see our methodology. This is our opinion, not an aggregate of user reviews.

Affiliate disclosure: we may earn a commission from bookings at no cost to you. We never accept payment for placement. Facts verified against official sources and the 2026 Michelin Guide in July 2026.

What makes The Palace Madrid special?

The most important fact first: the hotel long known as The Westin Palace retired that name in 2025. After a restoration reported at around 90 million euros, it reopened as The Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Madrid, still within Marriott but under the Luxury Collection banner rather than Westin. Guests booking under the old name are booking the same building, address and dome, now comprehensively renovated. Opened in 1912 at the wish of King Alfonso XIII, The Palace has always been one of Madrid's two historic grande dames, facing the Congreso de los Diputados across Plaza de las Cortes and sitting a short walk from the Prado and Thyssen museums. The two-year project restored the 1912 iron-and-glass dome, whose panes were dismantled and reassembled by specialist craftspeople, and reworked the public rooms, bars and bedrooms while retaining the belle-epoque bones. The result positions the property for a more design-led, dining-focused clientele than the corporate Westin era attracted. It remains a large city hotel rather than an intimate boutique, so expect grand scale, busy lobbies and a genuine sense of Madrid history rather than hushed seclusion.

Which room should you book?

The Palace offers 470 rooms and suites, down from roughly 800 when the hotel first opened, reflecting decades of consolidation and the recent restoration. Accommodation is arranged over the historic building's floors, with categories rising from entry-level rooms through Deluxe and Premium grades to a range of suites, several with views over Plaza de las Cortes or the Neptuno fountain. The 2025 refurbishment updated interiors throughout, blending the original early-twentieth-century architecture with contemporary furnishings, marble bathrooms and modern technology. Because the hotel occupies a century-old structure, room dimensions and outlooks vary considerably: some overlook the animated square and the Congress building, while others face interior light wells and are quieter but darker. Higher categories and suites deliver the most generous proportions and the best natural light. Expect the service infrastructure of a full-scale luxury hotel, including 24-hour room service, concierge and multilingual staff. Travellers who prize consistency across every room may find the older building's variation noticeable, so it is worth requesting an exterior-facing room at booking. For a heritage property of this age and scale in central Madrid, the renovated rooms represent a clear step up on the previous Westin-era product.

Where should you eat and drink?

Dining centres on La Cúpula Restaurant & Bar, set directly beneath the restored 1912 stained-glass dome that gives the hotel its signature image. La Cúpula serves international and Spanish cuisine throughout the day under executive chef Nuno Matos, with a circular bar offering cocktails, tapas and a wine list of more than 300 labels. The second venue is 27 Club, an intimate cocktail bar open Tuesday to Sunday evenings, trading on the hotel's long bar heritage and its association with Ernest Hemingway, who wrote of the house dry martini. Neither La Cúpula nor 27 Club holds a Michelin star in the 2026 Michelin Guide; the appeal here is setting, history and a lively social scene rather than a starred tasting menu. The former restaurant name La Rotonda, used before the restoration, has been retired in favour of La Cúpula. Breakfast is served at La Cúpula for a supplement. Sunday Opera & Brunch sittings pair live arias with the buffet beneath the dome. For starred cuisine, guests typically dine out, as central Madrid's Michelin restaurants are within easy reach of the Plaza de las Cortes location.

What is the spa and pool like?

The Palace is a heritage and dining hotel rather than a dedicated wellness destination. It does not operate a swimming pool, and it is not marketed around a large destination spa in the manner of some newer Madrid five-stars. A fitness facility is available in line with Luxury Collection standards, but travellers whose priority is an extensive spa, thermal circuit or indoor pool should weigh that against the hotel's other strengths. Guests seeking treatments generally use nearby independent spas, and the surrounding Barrio de las Letras and Retiro park offer walking and green space close at hand. In short, wellness is a supporting feature here, not a headline. The trade-off is deliberate: the restoration budget went into public rooms, the dome, the bars and the bedrooms rather than a wellness build-out. For a spa-led stay, other properties in this comparison, such as URSO or VP Plaza España, are better matched, while The Palace earns its place on architecture, dining and a landmark central address.

Where is The Palace Madrid, and how do you get there?

The Palace stands at Plaza de las Cortes 7, in the 28014 postcode, on the edge of the Barrio de las Letras literary quarter. It faces the Congreso de los Diputados, Spain's lower house of parliament, and sits within a few minutes' walk of the Prado Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Reina Sofia, completing Madrid's Golden Triangle of art. Retiro Park lies a short stroll east, while Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor are walkable to the west. The nearest Metro is Banco de España or Sevilla on line 2, with Atocha's mainline and high-speed station roughly ten minutes away on foot or by taxi. The immediate area combines government buildings, museums, theatres and the tapas bars of Huertas, so the setting is central, cultured and busy rather than quiet. This is arguably the strongest location in this four-hotel comparison for a first visit focused on Madrid's museums and historic core. Traffic and pedestrian activity around the square are constant, which suits sightseers but is less restful than the Salamanca side streets around Hotel Unico. Airport access via taxi is straightforward, typically around 20 to 30 minutes depending on traffic.

What do guests consistently say?

Guest response since the reopening has been largely positive, with particular praise for the restored dome, the sense of history and the central location for museums and sightseeing. Reviewers highlight attentive service, the theatre of dining beneath La Cúpula and the comfort of the renovated rooms compared with the older Westin product. Common criticisms follow the pattern for large heritage hotels: room size and outlook vary, with some interior-facing rooms noted as darker or smaller, and the scale of the property means public areas can feel busy at peak times. A breakfast supplement and the general Madrid five-star pricing draw occasional comment on value. Some returning guests still refer to the hotel by its former Westin name and note initial confusion over the rebrand and loyalty positioning within Marriott. On balance, visitors who come for architecture, atmosphere and a landmark address tend to leave satisfied, while those expecting a small, uniformly serene boutique or a full spa experience are the most likely to be disappointed. As always with a hotel of this age, requesting a renovated, exterior-facing room helps set expectations correctly.

Honest cons: who should skip it?

The headline caveat is the name: many travellers still search for The Westin Palace, but the hotel now trades as The Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Madrid, and Westin-era loyalty perceptions no longer apply. Second, this is a large hotel of 470 rooms, so it delivers grandeur and bustle rather than the intimacy of a boutique such as Hotel Unico or URSO. Third, wellness is limited: there is no swimming pool and no headline destination spa, which matters for guests who want a thermal circuit or indoor pool. Fourth, the historic building means real variation between rooms, and interior-facing rooms can be darker and smaller, so an unspecified booking is a gamble. Fifth, pricing sits at the top of the Madrid market, and extras including breakfast add up. Finally, the Plaza de las Cortes setting, while superbly central for museums, is busy with traffic and pedestrians and is less tranquil than the Salamanca side streets. None of these are flaws in execution so much as the trade-offs of choosing a grand, century-old, city-centre landmark over a smaller, quieter, wellness-led alternative.