Hotel Ritz by Jamie Dunford Wood

You know this hotel is going to be something special as soon as you spy the well dressed Madrilenos hiding from the torrid heat under the shade of the trees and to the tinkle of a cooling fountain - quite apart from what the name conjures up. This magnificent hotel hides behind its greenery (unless you approach from the other direction), and inside the 'cool haven' atmosphere is continued in a harmonious succession of grand spaces - a circular reception hall, with the grubby business of checking in discreetly off in one corner - although that doesn't stop them being snooty in that macho Spanish way; a massive but surprisingly homely and supremely comfortable drawing room/reception hall, pillared and sconced, with antiques and Venetian mirrors and tables, chairs and sofas dotted about amidst the potted plants, waiting to take your order for afternoon tea; dominant colours are peach, cream and gilt; a restaurant and terrace overlooking the shady garden,hidden from the street, with its starched linen and attentive service.

Immediately you notice the massive hand-woven rugs on the polished marble floor, floral and faded like a country house, and upstairs the corridors and rooms are covered in them wall to wall, in a variety of patterns and colours. The walls are in antiqued and paneled cream (by and large), with well framed pictures (antique colour prints) used sparingly - again, the wonder ful carpeting is the predominant note. Like its namesake in Paris, the Ritz in Madrid manages to create an utterly harmonious feeling of being at home in someone else's home, a feeling of being lived in, with comfortable, familiar furnishings, antiques or good repros, papered and paneled walls and the odd marble fireplace. Chandeliers and swagged curtains complete the look - Queen Isabella 2nd, c. 1870. Sofas and chairs are in plain velveteen colours so as not to muddy what's going on on the floor. Bathrooms can be smallish, and many are old fashioned, with huge brass shower heads half way up the wall. There are 165 rooms and suites in this 1910 hotel on six floors. Quietest are the interior rooms facing the courtyard, though most look out onto the street. Location-wise the Ritz is right on the edge of the heart of the old city and just across the street from the Prado and the Thyssen. Part of the Meridien group.

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