Madrid's Gran Hotel Conde Duque is a calm sanctuary in a bustling, cosmopolitan city. Located in the peaceful, elegant Plaza Conde Valle de Suchil, the hotel provides an unexpected tranquillity in the middle of one of Madrid's busiest shopping districts. Although a large hotel, and part of a chain, the Conde Duque has its own unique style and class, more in common with smaller boutique establishments.

Staff are reliably friendly and professional and the location, just north of the city, is one of the best in Madrid. Visitors acquainting themselves with the area will probably first seek out the historic Plaza Mayor. The Plaza itself is a beautiful, unspoiled city square popular with tourists and locals alike, and the shops surrounding it are Madrid's best and most beautiful.

The facilities

The hotel is satisfied to be an elegant, luxurious base of operations rather than an entertainment in itself. It does offer all the services you would expect from a classy city hotel, as well as special access to a nearby golf course and a very fine massage service.

The rooms

The Conde Duque's 143 rooms are studies in elegance: oak-furnished and luxurious without being ostentatious. Many of the patterns have been retrieved by hotel owner Ruben Dominguez in his own travels abroad. Special praise is reserved for the bathroom's hydromassage power shower, but be aware that using the television, internet or radio will incur a sizeable extra "communications charge".