Hotel Palacio Del Retiro, Autograph Collection - Madrid, Spain [Master Thread]
Oct 9, 2014, 1:28 pm
#16
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: BWI/DCA/BOS/
Programs: MR & SPG Plat, BA Silver, AA Gold, UA Silver
Posts: 175
I stayed here August 2012.
Overall Impression: Location very close to the subway station as mentioned above, across the street from the park. I found it to be ideally placed to museums and wasn't bothered by traffic noise or anything like that. There's also a hop on/hop off tour bus stop close by I believe. The rooms were impressively large for European hotels and had great character. Loved the architecture outside and the spiral staircase inside.
Elite Experience Check-in: My flight came in later than my parents, so they checked in first. They were greeted like an elite member and they opted for points for me.
Welcome Gift: Points or a voucher off room service.
Location Impression: A bit of a drive from the airport, and best accessed via taxi. I think it was 40-60 euros for the cab ride. As mentioned previously, I had selected this hotel because location wise it was a good jump off point to many parts of the city by foot. The park is great to explore during the day. I think its kind of creepy at night and would not venture there. Walking distance to subway station.
Room Impression: Above average size, nice hardwood floors (!!!). Bathroom was a good size and toilet is ergonomically sound and close to the TP (some hotel bathrooms have horrible TP placement). We had an issue with our tub not draining correctly while showering. Didn't use the TV. Great views! Wifi was complimentary with my status.
Hotel Impression: Charming. The lobby isn't very large and elevators aren't the best access so we did a lot of walking on the stairs. There's a bar downstairs, and I believe you can rent a scooter. Wish I had done that. The staff was very attentive to my needs.
Breakfast Impression: Incomplete. My parents took advantage of complimentary breakfast in the mornings. I slept in
Overall Impression: Location very close to the subway station as mentioned above, across the street from the park. I found it to be ideally placed to museums and wasn't bothered by traffic noise or anything like that. There's also a hop on/hop off tour bus stop close by I believe. The rooms were impressively large for European hotels and had great character. Loved the architecture outside and the spiral staircase inside.
Elite Experience Check-in: My flight came in later than my parents, so they checked in first. They were greeted like an elite member and they opted for points for me.
Welcome Gift: Points or a voucher off room service.
Location Impression: A bit of a drive from the airport, and best accessed via taxi. I think it was 40-60 euros for the cab ride. As mentioned previously, I had selected this hotel because location wise it was a good jump off point to many parts of the city by foot. The park is great to explore during the day. I think its kind of creepy at night and would not venture there. Walking distance to subway station.
Room Impression: Above average size, nice hardwood floors (!!!). Bathroom was a good size and toilet is ergonomically sound and close to the TP (some hotel bathrooms have horrible TP placement). We had an issue with our tub not draining correctly while showering. Didn't use the TV. Great views! Wifi was complimentary with my status.
Hotel Impression: Charming. The lobby isn't very large and elevators aren't the best access so we did a lot of walking on the stairs. There's a bar downstairs, and I believe you can rent a scooter. Wish I had done that. The staff was very attentive to my needs.
Breakfast Impression: Incomplete. My parents took advantage of complimentary breakfast in the mornings. I slept in
Apr 30, 2016, 5:04 am
#17
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: DCA
Programs: AA Gold, HH Diamond, UA Silver
Posts: 1,366
Any more recent stays at this property? I'm trying to decide between staying here or at a more centrally located property (the Catalonia Las Cortes). I generally prefer to stay at places where I earn points and have some status, but the past reviews on this thread and recent ones on Tripadvisor are quite a mix of positives and negatives, so I'm a bit uncertain of what kind of experience I'll have here. I'd appreciate hearing about any more recent experiences...
May 1, 2016, 10:26 am
#18
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Washington DC
Programs: UA 1K 1MM, Marriott PP (LT Pt)
Posts: 236
Yeah, I stayed here in January. I thought it was great; the location is a reasonable walk from the metro, and the general location is quite nice. My traveling companion arrived separately and said check-in was nice; when I arrived, they knew the story and were quick and friendly. We had no special requests or anything and just got a standard room (but that's fine with me; I try to spend my time outside it anyway, so I never ask for an upgrade).
The small spa space was under renovation while I was there, so I can't speak to it. I also didn't partake of the bar or restaurant outside of breakfast, but I thought breakfast was great; they have a decent spread set up buffet-style and then offer hot dishes at the table, ferrying them out from the kitchen. Every dish we had was tasty and I rather enjoyed the coffee and espresso beverages. (ETA: I had a rate that included breakfast, so I don't know what the complimentary offering for Gold/Plat is.)
The room was a little on the small side but it had great high ceilings and nice touches to the decor. As with the previous poster, I also ended up taking the stairs most of the time -- but because it was a nice stairway with stained glass windows and a cool old (nonfunctioning) elevator alongside to look at. The building itself is pretty neat; I spent a few minutes just wandering the halls checking the place out.
I'm not sure what tripadvisor says about it, and I'm too lazy to read the rest of this thread, but I would absolutely stay again if I find myself in Madrid.
The small spa space was under renovation while I was there, so I can't speak to it. I also didn't partake of the bar or restaurant outside of breakfast, but I thought breakfast was great; they have a decent spread set up buffet-style and then offer hot dishes at the table, ferrying them out from the kitchen. Every dish we had was tasty and I rather enjoyed the coffee and espresso beverages. (ETA: I had a rate that included breakfast, so I don't know what the complimentary offering for Gold/Plat is.)
The room was a little on the small side but it had great high ceilings and nice touches to the decor. As with the previous poster, I also ended up taking the stairs most of the time -- but because it was a nice stairway with stained glass windows and a cool old (nonfunctioning) elevator alongside to look at. The building itself is pretty neat; I spent a few minutes just wandering the halls checking the place out.
I'm not sure what tripadvisor says about it, and I'm too lazy to read the rest of this thread, but I would absolutely stay again if I find myself in Madrid.
Last edited by Shigernafy; May 2, 2016 at 7:37 am
May 1, 2016, 6:10 pm
#20
Join Date: Dec 2003
Programs: AA Plat Pro, United Silver, Marriott LTT, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,120
We were there in March. We thought the location was perfect. It was easy to walk to museums & restaurants, and anything that we couldn't walk to was a short subway or bus ride away.
Our room was a silent as a tomb, which is always a plus for me. Platinum status got us free continental breakfast which included coffee or tea, juice, fruit, and toast and croissants. I don't think it was supposed to include the delicious yogurt parfaits, but 4 out of 5 mornings we were offered them. You're not supposed to help yourself from the buffet (that's an extra charge) but once we were told we could make our own fruit plate from the buffet, and another day when I asked for something other than a croissant, I was told I could pick any bread from the buffet. There are no in-room coffee makers, and on 2 mornings we wanted coffee before our run in Retiro Park. They looked up our room number before providing the coffee, so we were sure we'd be charged, but I guess they considered it part of our breakfast and we were not charged.
The one negative was that the room has no storage space. Not a single drawer, and a closet rod that was literally less than 2 feet long. Not even a luggage rack. We were there for 5 days which made it pretty inconvenient as we had to stack our bags on the furniture. We asked for an upgrade to a larger room, but the hotel said they were full (I think this was true for at least part of our stay, and we didn't want to ask about switching rooms).
Anyway, we'd definitely stay again!
Our room was a silent as a tomb, which is always a plus for me. Platinum status got us free continental breakfast which included coffee or tea, juice, fruit, and toast and croissants. I don't think it was supposed to include the delicious yogurt parfaits, but 4 out of 5 mornings we were offered them. You're not supposed to help yourself from the buffet (that's an extra charge) but once we were told we could make our own fruit plate from the buffet, and another day when I asked for something other than a croissant, I was told I could pick any bread from the buffet. There are no in-room coffee makers, and on 2 mornings we wanted coffee before our run in Retiro Park. They looked up our room number before providing the coffee, so we were sure we'd be charged, but I guess they considered it part of our breakfast and we were not charged.
The one negative was that the room has no storage space. Not a single drawer, and a closet rod that was literally less than 2 feet long. Not even a luggage rack. We were there for 5 days which made it pretty inconvenient as we had to stack our bags on the furniture. We asked for an upgrade to a larger room, but the hotel said they were full (I think this was true for at least part of our stay, and we didn't want to ask about switching rooms).
Anyway, we'd definitely stay again!
May 1, 2016, 6:37 pm
#21
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2002
Programs: UALifetimePremierGold, Marriott LifetimeTitanium
Posts: 71,096
ehallison, this is what I have in the exec lounge sticky for the property. Is it still accurate? Let me know & I'll update the sticky. If there are changes please post. Thx.
* Madrid / AC Palacio Del Retiro, Autograph Collection / NO LOUNGE; free i-net (code provided); Cont'l brekkie for Gold/Platinum at 7:30 am, includes coffee, tea, juice, your choice of cereal and milk, generous fresh fruit plate, croissants and toast with jelly. You must be seated and served, which was explained at check in, to get the included breakfast. Do not select from the buffet unless you want an 14E upgrade. You can also order from the menu for eggs, etc for an upgrade. Free coffee and croissants are also available in separate area next to check in for early risers; 09/14 update
Cheers.
* Madrid / AC Palacio Del Retiro, Autograph Collection / NO LOUNGE; free i-net (code provided); Cont'l brekkie for Gold/Platinum at 7:30 am, includes coffee, tea, juice, your choice of cereal and milk, generous fresh fruit plate, croissants and toast with jelly. You must be seated and served, which was explained at check in, to get the included breakfast. Do not select from the buffet unless you want an 14E upgrade. You can also order from the menu for eggs, etc for an upgrade. Free coffee and croissants are also available in separate area next to check in for early risers; 09/14 update
Cheers.
May 2, 2016, 9:09 am
#23
Join Date: Dec 2003
Programs: AA Plat Pro, United Silver, Marriott LTT, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,120
Sharon, hmmm, we weren't offered cereal but we didn't WANT cereal so I'm not sure if anything has changed. Your write-up is probably the standard still, but I think the servers have some latitude in what else they offer. Hence the yogurt parfaits we received most days, and the couple of times we were told we could choose fruit or bread from the buffet.
As for the early-riser coffee, I'm not sure about that either, because both mornings we wanted coffee, they had just started serving breakfast. So we weren't directed to a separate area; we just sat down at an empty table and they brought us some espresso which we knocked back in about 30 seconds.
As for the early-riser coffee, I'm not sure about that either, because both mornings we wanted coffee, they had just started serving breakfast. So we weren't directed to a separate area; we just sat down at an empty table and they brought us some espresso which we knocked back in about 30 seconds.
May 2, 2016, 12:12 pm
#25
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: DCA
Programs: AA Gold, HH Diamond, UA Silver
Posts: 1,366
As for the early-riser coffee, I'm not sure about that either, because both mornings we wanted coffee, they had just started serving breakfast. So we weren't directed to a separate area; we just sat down at an empty table and they brought us some espresso which we knocked back in about 30 seconds.
Jan 27, 2017, 3:10 pm
#27
Join Date: Dec 2003
Programs: AA Plat Pro, United Silver, Marriott LTT, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,120
I'm sorry I didn't see this before; I just saw it because the thread got bumped and by now I have no memory of when the breakfast started! I guess your stay has come & gone; hope you enjoyed it.
Feb 20, 2019, 8:38 pm
#29
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Charlotte, NC USA
Programs: AA EXP; Marriott Lifetime / Annual Titanium; Massively Missing Starwood
Posts: 5,336
Ahh. Remember when SPG props had email addresses on the website so you could contact the hotel to ask questions? What a strange thing for a service company to do...allow the customer to contact you to ask questions about local bars, church times, etc.
So, anyone have an email address for this hotel? I've booked it, for a few nights...would like the upper end hotel to act like it and allow me to ask a question.
So, anyone have an email address for this hotel? I've booked it, for a few nights...would like the upper end hotel to act like it and allow me to ask a question.
Feb 20, 2019, 10:10 pm
#30
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Rancho Mirage, CA
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 321
Ahh. Remember when SPG props had email addresses on the website so you could contact the hotel to ask questions? What a strange thing for a service company to do...allow the customer to contact you to ask questions about local bars, church times, etc.
So, anyone have an email address for this hotel? I've booked it, for a few nights...would like the upper end hotel to act like it and allow me to ask a question.
So, anyone have an email address for this hotel? I've booked it, for a few nights...would like the upper end hotel to act like it and allow me to ask a question.
