FlyerTalk Forums - Hotel Círculo Gran Vía, Autograph Collection

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- - Hotel Círculo Gran Vía, Autograph Collection - Madrid, Spain [Master Thread] (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-marriott-bonvoy/1845860-hotel-circulo-gran-via-autograph-collection-madrid-spain-master-thread.html)

I've stayed here within the past month. As others have said, it's a great location and very convenient to all the activities in Madrid. I was upgraded to the Circulo Suite which is very large. The breakfast was a continental breakfast with fruit, meat, cheese, and pastries. They also offered an egg dish. On my last visit to Madrid I stayed at Palacio del retiro and liked it as well. For what it's worth, the Palacio had a better breakfast but my upgrade at Circulo was better.

it is attached to a casino but I didn't see any impact from that other than reminders that this is an adults-only property.

Thanks for the update, booked at the Palace for now, will relook at the other Marriott properties.

Had a great stay here last week.

- very good breakfast with excellent pastries. Small selection but high quality
- upgraded to a junior suite which had a very nice jetted tub

Would definitely stay here again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melodsal (Post 31574669)

It is good to hear that they improved the breakfast experience. When I was there about two months ago the breakfast spread was not worth its price and the staff behaviour during the breakfast was not on the same level as the hotel (very slow service, do not speak english, ...).

Quote:

Originally Posted by HRSPGPutnik (Post 31575338)

My experience in July was similar to yours. The breakfast was definitely subpar for a high-end Spanish Hotel. The fruit selection was fairly Limited ... I think mixed fruit in a bowl. But, I agree the croissant was good!

probably more details than necessary, but we spent Christmas week at the Circulo Gran Via and found it a wonderful modern boutique hotel in a perfect location to explore Madrid. our room was on the back side of the hotel, opposite from Gran Via and was very quiet. Staff was very friendly, helpful and efficient throughout our stay. A lot has been said that it is part of a casino but we hardly knew the casino was there - same building but walled or curtained off - a non-issue for us. Upgraded to a junior suite with SNAs which was a nice perk. Titanium, no lounge but was offered free breakfast or points - took breakfast, no longer have a buffet as pictured above cause of COVID, it was fine - pastries/croissants were very good, two omelete choices or eggs your way. coffee was superb. the dining area is also a small restaurant with limited menu at night but food was very good. bar is adjacent to the dining area, and from there you can access the casino. You can also easily score a glass of ice (heilo) to go at the bar. Neighborhood for several blocks around the hotel is safe. short walk down to the Puerta del Sol, and a short walk from there to Plaza Major - 15 min walk to Prado or the Royal Palace (should tour both, well worth it). All kinds of shops, cafes and restaurants in the area and side streets around hotel and Puerta del Sol.

Desk staff arranged for a nurse to come to our room to conduct COVID testing day before our return flight, took 15-20 minutes for both of us, and got certified results by email in an hour.

Angelita Madrid is an upscale wine bar/restaurant on the outside back side of building - EXCELLENT! the family that runs this farm to table restaurant grows everything on the family farm in the country. the desk staff at hotel got us reservations (online services showed no tables available). the Circulo address is Gran Via, 24. we found Vinitus Gran Via Madrid, a modern tapas place, a few blocks away at Gran Via, 4 - really enjoyed this place and its wide selection of tapas and small plates.

Gran Via Metro stop is catty-corner across the street (blue and green lines); Sol Metro stop is down by the Puerta del Sol (blue, red and gold/yellow lines) - Metro is clean, safe and very efficient - we used it a lot and enjoyed it - never felt unsafe, even at night. the blue line from Gran Via stop takes you to Atocha train station which has Renfe trains (we did a day trip to Toledo on the high speed train - 30 minutes each way and worth the trip.

The hotel staff arranged a car and driver for our early morning trip to the airport, very clean BMW car and professional driver, and we were charged only 30 euro! that is the flat rate taxi cab fare to the airport in Madrid.

Madrid is open, and everywhere we went people were glad to see us - a few folks even made comments that they have yearned for Madrid to open up to tourists again and asked us to spread the word that they are open. this was in the middle of the Omicron surge, but we didn't encounter any problems with closures, etc. in fact in a couple places we felt like VIPs - not exaggerating. Everyone wore face masks everywhere even outside and most had N95 or KN95 masks. Masking up was a non-issue for us.

Hope this is helpful, we will return, and soon!

We just finished an excellent stay at this hotel. I used Suite Night Awards to request an upgrade to the Circulo Gran Via suite, and it was confirmed 3 days before check-in.

We loved the suite! The living and bed rooms are the two sides of the circular main room. The only downside is that there isn’t a full wall separating them; this wasn’t a problem for us but could be for couples with a night owl who wants to stay up while the other goes to sleep. The lights on either side could be controlled separately, so that would help somewhat. Bathroom was off the foyer and had a shower with a waterfall shower head, jacuzzi, and toilet with its own door. Bath robes and slippers were supplied.

As mentioned, breakfast was included as a Titanium or I could have chosen 750 points. Breakfast consisted of an initial plate of bread, butter, olive oil, jam, salsa, and orange juice plus a tray of croissants and pastries. We could then order from a list of items. We really liked the Spanish omelette and cheese plate, and the scrambled eggs were pretty good too. The options weren’t anything close to the airport Marriott, but that is a massive conference hotel compared to this boutique property.

We took the Metro both ways to and from the airport. As mentioned upthread, the main entrance to the Gran Via stop is catty corner from the hotel, but there is also a stop on the same side of the street. It took 2 transfers but only about 35 minutes total to and from the airport. You could also enter the Gran Via station and use the underground walkway to Sol station to pick up the C3 or C4 train to Nuevos Ministeros to cut out a transfer.

The only issue we had was the WiFi. It was slow at all times and sometimes unusable. I wasn’t sure if the casino might be a downside, but other than accidentally entering through it the first day we couldn’t even tell it was there.

Overall, I wouldn’t hesitate to book this hotel again on a future trip although we might have spoiled ourselves by staying in the best suite on our first visit.

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Living room of Circulo Gran Via suite
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Bedroom of Circulo Gran Via suite
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View from one of the three windows in the suite

Okay hotel - no upgrade.

I'm Titanium/Lifetime Platinum... I couldn't get any upgrade. The hotel was mostly empty and had every room type available online to book. The front desk told me that's the only room they could offer but I could check back after Monday's guest check in. It's not really in the spirit of "a complimentary upgrade to the best available room, subject to availability on the day of arrival". The only amenity I received was a thank you note in the room.

Other than that the rooms were modern and clean with a nice shower.

Stayed here for 1 night last month and it was my first time in Madrid. First of all, the good: hotel is in a great location. Metro stop as someone else has mentioned is literally kiddy-corner from the hotel. It's in a very vibrant part of town, right along Gran Via. Rooms themselves were clean, modern, and well-kept. Staff were friendly and helpful. It was relatively good value, I paid 291 EUR.

Now, the not-so-good. While it's a nice hotel, it is labelled as Autograph Collection hotel, and while the restaurant area and bar area are quite stylish, the rest of the hotel felt a bit bland and cookie-cutter to be an "Autograph Collection." My SNA did not clear, but I was upgraded to a slightly larger room with a balcony facing Gran Via (I was staying during Spain's National Day so it was quite noisy outside at night). The room was comfortable but the color palate was very monochromatic- tan, beige, light brown. The taxi that the hotel ordered to drive me to Bajaras was 40 EUR.

Would I recommend this hotel? Sure. It's nice, simple, straightforward, clean, reasonably priced. But as an Autograph Collection, it's a bit boring. Maybe works better as a Renaissance.

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I enjoyed Circulo Gran Via more than I expected to - the staff was friendly, they gave a nice upgrade, and the breakfast tasted far better than it looked. Here are my impressions:

Upgraded to a Suite, 1 King - the one I received ended up being a top-floor suite (full suite) with a large terrace - unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out how to open the terrace doors and didn’t have time to call down for assistance
Staff was noticeably friendly for Spain - even escorted me to my room
The entrance to the hotel is separate from the casino, so there are no ID checks or anything like that besides the normal check-in
Significant amount of times to scan your room key - elevator call buttons on the restaurant floor, in the elevator itself, and in a door that separates the elevator lobby from the room hallway
Room styling looks like an upmarket AC hotel - lots of wood tones - it’s not a bad style
Bed was comfortable with plush pillows, plush mattress, and somewhat plush covers (not overly thin)
Shower had lots of options - high-pressure setting on wand was good
No streaming options on the TV
No issue with 3 PM checkout that I requested
No in-room Ambassador welcome gift or note
Housekeeper did give me 4 turndown chocolate squares
Breakfast for Elites seems to be the full breakfast - small continental buffet with a la carte hot options - omelet was soft on the inside and tasted good, pancakes with caramel sauce tasted better than they looked, lattes were of good quality

Visited Madrid many times and finally gave the Circulo a go.
Very nice!
Was upgraded as Titanium to a Junior Suite, on the quieter side street. The shower with jacuzzi was excellent, ultra modern and spotless. Separate toilet room. Room itself was large; bed was great. Welcome Gift of cookies in a Madrid-themed box which was a nice touch. Walk in Robe was nice to store bags and keep them out of the way.
Hotel location can't be beat, and is very secure with multiple staff members in the lobby at all times.
Loved the wood finishes and the shower gel/shampoo products. Room could be blacked out and bed/pillows very comfortable.
Staff are super friendly - from ice deliveries to turndown service, everyone is polite and smiling.

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