dankyone

If you have never been to Madrid and will be unfamiliar with the Metro and the street once you get to Banco de Espana, I would not even consider this. If you do know the city and have little baggage, it really wouldn't be a problem--but I would hate to arrive from an intercontinental journey and then face the awkward Metro journey. Taxi will take you door to door in about 20 minutes, you will get a much nicer introduction to the city, and is money well spent IMHO.

When I lived in Madrid I took the metro to and from the airport all the time, but now when I visit as a tourist it is 100% taxi.

bpoe19

I'm going to disagree with you on this one--I've never been to Madrid before and found it extremely easy to use the metro arriving from an "intercontinental journey". In fact, if you go to the Madrid metro website before you leave, you can print out the grid map AND put in your destination and it will give you the entire route to take to get there. All you have to do is follow the colored lines on the metro map to see which direction to go towards and each station has very easy to follow signs in Spanish and English. 30+ euro vs 2 euro per person for an extra 20 min is a lot. We got out of the Banca de Espana station and I asked someone on the street where the Westin Palace was at and they pointed me in the right direction...5 min later we are in the hotel. Like I posted before, if you follow the Marquez de Cubas street sign when you get to Banca de Espana and exit on that side of the street, you just walk straight back on that street and you are staring at the Palace.

Centurion

I a currently at the Madrid Westin Palace and it is a Grand hotel. The GM gets 5 stars. The Westin Palace hotel gets 5 stars. Words I would use....Charming, Elegant, Grand, Beuftiful, Historic

The only two negatives which I can understand from a hotel business point of view would be:

The fact that I have to go the business center for free wifi to use the internet versus paying 18 Euro for 24 hours wifi access in my room. Hotels must make revenue somewhere after losing phone call revenue but 18 Euro from an American seems high But the staff is professional prompt and polite. You get 30 min per day per room.

The Palace has no pool but the hotel was built in 1910 so you must understand you just can not pop in a swiming pool.

But sure to check out the grand stained glass dome off the entrance lobby which reminds me of George Eifle and his famous dome in Nice at hotel Negresco.

The hotel is located near what I believe we in the United States we would call our Congress. So while I stay at the Madrid hotel they have hosted polical event, chemical convetion, and a wedding and I still feel welcome. I would recomend this hotel for business or pleasure . The hotel currently has a Lowe store (Think Louie V) in the lobby and looks like they are opening a couple more high end stores. If you like fine hotels with history this is the place to stay in Madrid. Just check out a little history musuem room they have tucked away with mementos of famous people from Rolling Stones to ....Famous authors.

singtx

Stayed here for three days this weekend as well. Busy hotel with people coming and going at all hours. Great check-in and scored a jr suite for the three nights. Everyone was great who we encountered and always helpful.

Huge room and bathroom compared to other hotels we have stayed in. Close to great bars/tapas, jazz bars, restaurants, sights etc.

The decor is tired and needs updating. Some mold issues in the restroom...The construction in Madrid is everywhere and out front of the hotel, but we never heard anything at night.
Gym is huge and great...no bottled water to take. They replenished the water in the room daily and at night. free 30 minutes of internet use at business center daily.
We had a good time, but with so many new hotels we would most likely stay elsewhere, but you cant beat the C&P rates and quality of this hotel.

Los Gatos is 1 block from the hotel and they are the nicest people! Owner poured us free drinks all night!!
We went everywhere to eat and it was all walking distance from the hotel.
Happy travels!

Sagy

Just wanted to give credit to the staff at the Westin Palace especially to Aurelia (Westin Host).

Before checking into the hotel, I was pickpocket on the Metro. Yes I was aware of the possibility; yes I had my cash, credit card and docs split and in secure places, etc. Anyway, they got the majority of my cash and a backup credit card from a buttoned pocket - it was literally a bump and gone...

The hotel staff were very understanding and got me the required paperwork as well as called the police so I can file a report. As soon as Aurelia found out about the pickpocket she took charge of helping me. When they police showed up they said that I had to go to the police station to file the report. Aurelia walked with me to the police station explained what happened to the police officers (my Spanish is extremely poor and their English was not much better). She also assisted me in dealing with the police paperwork and most importantly tried her best to make me feel better and not be too down on myself for letting this happen.

BTW, I also got upgraded to an executive suite room (this was done before I checked it). This has got to be the best upgrade I ever got.

whitedoor

Amazing they stepped in like that and took care of you. Good to know for future stays.

dtremit

Just arrived at the Palace and had almost the exact same experience Sagy did -- lost one of my two wallets (but thankfully not my passport) in the Metro, boarding a train at Manuel Becerra station. The pickpocket grabbed the cuff of my pants -- I thought at first it was caught on something -- and by the time I realized what was going on my wallet was gone. Very thin wallet in my front pocket; they didn't take the adjacent passport, which makes me think they were most certainly professionals. While I was at the police station filing the report, another English-speaking tourist came in to do the same.

I have traveled extensively on subways in cities across Europe and the US, but in all honestly I would not use the subway for airport transfers to the Palace again. For one thing, getting to Banco de España requires two transfers, and the L2 has a lot of stairs -- making it difficult to handle large bags. But more importantly, I think having a suitcase in tow makes you far too easy a mark for pickpockets -- you're too obviously a tourist, and you don't have your hands free to guard your pockets.

Aurelia was on hand to help me deal with the situation and was fantastic -- sent for some water and found me the local number to cancel my AmEx, showed me to my suite, sent up a copy of the police report form to fill out, and sent another staff member to the police station with me to file it. Absolutely top notch service in all respects; they really understand customer service and are a credit to Westin and Starwood.

Condition One

I'm wrapping up a 5 night stay for New Year's, and as other people have mentioned, the staff and location of this hotel are excellent! I was upgraded to an Executive Suite (x23 room) with a gorgeous view of the Neptune Fountain. It's a very easy walk to La Puerta del Sol and the metro station. Taxi to the hotel ran about 35 Euros.

Breakfast downstairs is 32 Euros, and Internet is 18 Euros/day. You are allowed 30 minutes of internet usage in the Business Center each day.

I took a day trip to El Escorial and Segovia (too lazy for Toledo today). The concierges seem to push the guided tours when you ask for directions, but will eventually offer up train and bus information.

As a side note, if you speak Spanish (or are learning), many of the staff are more than happy to continue their conversations with you in Spanish. Others will automatically switch to English if they detect that it's your primary language.

thepointsguy

Stayed here over New Years Eve right next door to Condition One in 624- junior suite- but with a balcony. There are only a handful of balcony suites at the hotel, so I was very excited to get one. Overall, I love this property- always solid upgrades and in a great area of Madrid (walking distance to Sol, Chueca- next to museums, etc).
The balcony was locked and I had to sign a form each day in order for a maintenance man to open it. As you can see from the pics, it was well worth it Going to leave my stay report mostly to pictures- feel free to ask questions.
PS I was on a C+P rate, so $90us plus 4,800 points a night, which IMHO is a fantastic deal and is one of the key things that keeps me with SPG (over Hyatt).
Outside


Ornate hallways- lots of green marble

Entrance of the room- marble flooring

Sitting area with platinum red wine amenity

Living room (lack of plasma was surprising)

View of the balcony from inside (door was locked)

Master bed

Lots of closet space/ safe

Master bedroom windows looking onto the plaza/fountain

View from windows

Granite shower

Tub

Frosted door to toilet

Balcony access at last!



Balcony was right below the sign.. these pictures will never show how spectacular the views were..

SkyTeam777

I know this hotel completed a total renovation last year, but were there any renovations that lasted until the end of 2009? Or are there any parts of the renovation that are still to be completed in 2010?

why fly

great hotel great location and great upgrades.^

ba739

Any deals on this hotel ? I don't have enough points to take the advantages of the 4800 points deal.

srk123

I've booked a 4-nt award stay at the Westin Palace Madrid next month, using points and cash (4800 points + $90 per night). Is the place and location as nice as the web site depicts it? Any advice what type of location within the hotel I should ask for, even though I don't have any elite status with Starwood?

thepointsguy

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...er-thread.html

Braindrain

Location is superb. Right in front of the Prado.