76 rooms in a 1917 building on the corner of Gran Vía. The rooftop has the best view of the Metropolis Building in Madrid. Ramón Freixa runs the dining; Small Luxury Hotels keep the rest.
"On Gran Vía, looking directly at the Metropolis Building. 76 rooms in a 1917 building, a rooftop terrace that everyone in Madrid wants a table at, Ramón Freixa-overseen dining. Best value-to-position ratio in the city centre."
The Principal Madrid occupies one of the most photographed corners in Spain — the meeting of Gran Vía and Calle Marqués de Valdeiglesias, looking directly at the Metropolis Building, the 1911 Belle Époque office tower with its winged Victory statue that has come to stand for the city itself. The hotel building, completed in 1917, was originally the headquarters of an insurance company; it was converted to a hotel in 2015 and joined Small Luxury Hotels of the World shortly after. The conversion was conservative — the marble lobby, the cage lift, and the original staircase were all retained — but the rooms above, all 76 of them, were taken back to the brick and rebuilt to a contemporary five-star specification.
The rooms are smaller than the Madrid five-star average — Gran Vía buildings of this era simply do not produce the floorplates that Centro Canalejas or the Salamanca palacetes provide — but they are well finished, with grey-and-cream palettes, marble bathrooms, Bose audio, and the small details (a properly appointed mini-bar, in-room espresso, blackout curtains) that boutique hotels at this price point often omit. The corner Junior Suites and the Suite Marquesa are the rooms to ask for: the corner units have two windows on Gran Vía and a third onto Calle Marqués de Valdeiglesias, and the Suite Marquesa is a 70-square-metre two-room arrangement with a separate sitting area and the best bathroom in the hotel.
The address that Madrid actually knows the hotel by, however, is not the room product but the rooftop. Ático Restaurante & Terraza on the sixth floor, with a separate seventh-floor sun terrace above it, is one of the three or four most-requested rooftop dinner reservations in the city. The kitchen is overseen by Ramón Freixa — the two-Michelin-star chef whose flagship is at Hotel Único Madrid — and runs a more relaxed Spanish-Mediterranean programme than the parent restaurant. The terrace itself is what guests come for: the Metropolis Building winged Victory at eye level, Gran Vía's 1920s skyline curving north, and a cocktail programme that has Madrid locals making weeknight bookings four weeks out.
The hotel sits within the price band that Madrid's design-led five-stars (BLESS, EDITION) occupy at the top end and does not try to compete on volume of amenities — there is no large pool, the spa is a single-treatment-room affair, the meeting space is limited. What the Principal does deliver is the most central genuinely-five-star address in Madrid that does not cost over €600 a night; a rooftop that justifies the booking on its own; and a service team that has settled into the SLH standard properly. For a long weekend in Madrid where the rooftop dinner is the centrepiece of the trip, this is the address to consider first.
For the solo Madrid weekend that wants a five-star room without a five-star bill, the Principal is the best-positioned option in the city. The Junior Suites are large enough for a long stay, the rooftop bar is the one place in Madrid where dining alone in a beautiful setting is unremarkable, and the Gran Vía location means Plaza Mayor, the Royal Palace, the Prado, and the Reina Sofía are all within fifteen minutes' walk. Bring a book. Eat at Ático twice.
For business stays where the meeting is in central Madrid rather than the AZCA financial district, the Principal works as well as the larger five-stars at a meaningfully lower price. The location is unbeatable for any meeting between Sol and Cibeles; the WiFi and in-room work hardware are appropriate; and the rooftop bar is a strong client-dinner card to play. Skip the meeting room — book a corner Junior Suite and use the sitting area instead.
An anniversary at the Principal is the right call for couples who would rather spend the difference between this and the Mandarin Oriental Ritz on dinners and tickets. Book the Suite Marquesa, arrange the rooftop dinner reservation eight weeks in advance, and ask the hotel about Teatro Real tickets — it is two hundred metres away. A more personal stay than the larger flagships, in a building that has more visual character than most.
Calle Marqués de Valdeiglesias 1
28004 Madrid
Spain
Corner of Gran Vía, opposite the Metropolis Building
76 rooms, including suites
Deluxe Rooms from €400/night
Junior Suites from €600/night
Suite Marquesa from €1,200/night
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Building: 1917, hotel since 2015
Ático rooftop restaurant & terrace
Sixth-floor lobby terrace
Ramón Freixa-overseen kitchen
Small Luxury Hotels of the World
WiFi included throughout
From €400/night. Corner suites and the Suite Marquesa book six weeks out for spring weekends.
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