Just spent 4 nights here for a work trip. As you would expect, everything is brand new inside and quite nice. Paid an average of 285 EUR per night including taxes.
Location:
Decent enough location two metro stops or a nice downhill walk from the Plaza de Espana, the area is a bit quieter and less touristy. Getting there was easy from the airport, the hotel is literally about 50m from one of the exits at Arguelles station. Google maps will tell you that the fastest way from the airport is to change at Mar de Cristal as it’s only one change, however there are a lot of stops between MsC and Arguelles so the other way is to take the airport metro all the way to Neuvos Ministerios and change there to line 10 for two stops and then again at Alonso Martinez for another 2 stops. There’s an El Corte Ingles department store next door with a supermarket in the basement, and also a Carrefour market across the street.
Property:
As I said it’s freshly renovated so everything is nice and new inside. The lobby is bright and airy with lots of natural tones. There’s two wings of rooms, one lower wing which has around 7 floors and another with 14, both wings have their own set of elevators. There’s a gym onsite and an M Club (will cover later). Having not stayed at a European Marriott before I am not sure how this property fits in to the design standard, but I was getting definite APAC Courtyard vibes with the décor and the use of wood tones throughout.
Lobby
Lobby
Staff:
Everyone was nice and friendly although I didn’t interact with staff too much to be honest. Lounge staff were excellent.
Elite Treatment:
As titanium was upgraded from the base room to a top floor panoramic superior room. Breakfast included in rate so offered points at check-in or a $10 one-off F&B credit (took the points). Lounge access with the option to take breakfast in the lounge (never did). Welcome fruit plate in room on arrival.
Room:
Was upgraded to a panoramic superior room on the 14th (top floor). The room felt quite big for a European hotel, especially the portion between the door and the bed which was very wide. Bed was comfortable and a turndown service was offered each night. Decent size desk and a big TV with streaming functionality.
View from the 14th floor
Notice that the bathroom door needs to be closed in order to use the sink/shower
A few gripes on the room however. For a freshly-renovated hotel, not having any international plugs is a bit of a miss, even just one in the bathroom for shaving/toothbrush would be nice. Each power socket did however have USB-A and USB-C although they’re not that obvious (I didn’t notice until the second day).
The bathroom setup is quite strange whereby you need to fully close the bathroom door in order to fully use the basin or access the shower. And while we’re on the shower I wasn’t a fan just having a half divider, there’s no door which means the bathroom floor inevitably gets wet whenever you take a shower. There a complimentary bottle of water in the room on arrival but it wasn't replenished every day (2 out of 4), can't be sure if that's a miss by the housekeeping staff or on purpose.
Breakfast:
Breakfast was included in my rate, and that’s good because I’m not sure I would pay 28 eur for it. Standard selection of pastries, breads, cold cuts, eggs/beans/hash browns, cereals, fruit, and even churros with warm chocolate sauce. No made-to-order eggs.
Lounge:
The lounge is open 24 hours. Breakfast is offered in the lounge although not sure if that’s the only option for elites; the selection would be smaller in the lounge for sure just due to the size. Alcohol (beer, wine, sparkling) is on offer until 10pm and there are rotating snacks throughout the day with a decent hot selection in the evening. During the day there’s various breads with cold cuts and some tapas-style things, plus small salad bowls. Good amount of seating and lots of light coming in. I never encountered more than about 5 people in the lounge at any one time. Lounge staff were great especially the gentleman on the afternoon shift who proactively offered to get me a drink and some toasted bread when I arrived. Lounge didn’t appear to be staffed after 10pm but you can still pop in to get water, soft drinks, tea/coffee.
Late afternoon on a Saturday
Afternoon spread
Evening spread
Evening spread
Good:
Fresh and new inside
Good lounge
Large rooms
Convenient to/from airport
Neutral:
Somewhat of a walk to the main tourist areas
No pool
No international sockets
Bad:
Bathroom design
No shower divider
All in all a decent property especially as it's still in very good condition. I was working so didn't get to use the lounge and other facilities as much as I would if I were touristing, but I'd say this place has everything you need as a base in Madrid.