Review of AC Palacio del Retiro, by Isabel Clift

Originally designed as a family home and offices in the early 20th-century, AC Palacio del Retiro boasts a great central location in Madrid's Golden Triangle, facing the lush Parque de Retiro. Decor is hip and humorous, without slipping into gimmickry: an arched black marble entrance hall is flanked by a beautiful modern restaurant and lobby bar, while stained glass windows line spiral staircases. The atmosphere is suitably sophisicated.

The facilities

The former office space on the ground floor has been converted into a smart dove-grey lounge and restaurant. Indice serves select Mediterranean meals for lunch and dinner and a continental buffet breakfast. The bar is moodier, with boxy black leather chairs, lacquered tables and monochromatic wallpaper.

Zona, the hotel's subterranean black-walled spa, offers any and every face or body treatment you can think of, as well as a hammam, tanning and a sizeable jacuzzi tub. A gym is there for those who can't face a jog in the park.

The rooms

The AC Palacio del Retiro has just 50 guestrooms, making a stay feel all the more intimate and exclusive. Every room has its own pitch-perfect balance of Edwardian and contemporary design: expect elegant original doors, high stuccoed ceilings and latticed windows (noise from the street is hushed by double glazed interior windows). Another treat are the generously sized, thoroughly modern bathrooms; all with separate tubs, shower cubicles and WC rooms - a rare find in a listed building.

A particular second floor gem is the suite overlooking the old family dining patio in the atrium (lovely in itself, with traditional Andalucian tiles and a decorative fountain). Inside, a 2.4 metre bed ups the va-va-voom factor, while ornate relief work around the mirror and a flowery fresco above the door are delicate reminders of the building's history.