Westin Palace Madrid

No question this is a gorgeous hotel and the hotel staff are very service oriented. They gym is average and there is no pool. Beds are just okay. Closet and drawer space is limited. Breakfast buffet is very good but other meals in the restaurant are just average. Restaurant service is below average and waitstaff is not helpful or friendly.

There's nothing like a new hotel. Attentive staff, super quiet and effective AC, lots of counter space in bathroom, great location, delicious breakfast buffet, great shower pressure, and must be repeated, incredibly attentive staff. We arrived in the room and within seconds the phone rang to confirm if we liked the room, at which point the concierge delivered our luggage within a minute. Decent modern plugs in room, clothes steamer in closets, tons of closet space, beautiful hangers, lovely soap and lotions. Sophisticated night lighting that is well designed for middle of the night needs. Large bathroom. Also, hall lighting outside room is dimmed at night but brightens as you walk along. Value was high (we got an intro rate booked a while ago, but more recent prices are higher.) Cons - elevators broken/slow (we walked down stairs rather than wait); large tour group there (not horrible but they made the hotel feel crowded and bit more commercial). We would definitely stay here again.

This former Westin property has been totally renovated and renamed The Palace. It is a gorgeous hotel. Our spacious room is exquisitely decorated. The bed is great. The bathroom is superior to most hotel bathrooms I’ve ever seen. Can’t beat the location. This place is a home run for the Bonvoy management group.

We arrived early afternoon from our overnight flight so fully expected to have to wait for a room. Juan, the person at the check-in desk, couldn't have been nicer. He said he would try to find us a room right away and then checked to see if he could get us an upgrade. He did. Not only could we get to the room right away, he gave us an upgrade to a lovely suite! Most fantastic! There was a separate living room, bedroom, separate dressing area, and a huge bathroom. The room was exceptionally clean and the bed was very comfortable. The bathroom had every amenity we could think of. Great shower. Nice separate little room for the WC. We had an early supper in La Cupola--actually I think it was tea time. The croquettes were the best I have ever had. The breakfast buffet was delicious and very generous. Loved every minute of our too short two night stay.

Unfortunately I had a very disappointing experience. When I arrived at the hotel there was no one there to help me with the luggage. At check in I asked expressly if I was going to get a nice room and the answer was yes. When I get to the room, still without help with my luggage I find myself with a very small room, probably 15 sqm which is ridiculous when you pay USD 900 for one night. I complained and I got a much nicer room which was bigger and comfortable. The woman in the reception should have explained this to me before sending me up to the room and lose valuable time for changing rooms since I had a meeting shortly after my arrival. Then I found out that the boy who had helped me changing rooms had done something to the door lock so I could not close the door. Called again and someone came to fix it. Was getting late for my meeting. Then I wanted to take a shower and the temperature controller did not work and fell off and landed on the floor. Called again and they fixed it. Then I realised that the shoehorn was missing and called again and asked for it to be replaced. They never did which made it complicated to get into the shoes. In the morning when I wanted to have breakfast I was told there was no table in the main hall but showed to a small room where they wanted me to sit next to a man in a tank top showing his hairy armpits. Not very appetizing. I asked if they did not have cloth rules for the restaurants but did not get an answer. I refused to sit next to the man and then the woman took me to the main hall where there were several empty tables. Breakfast was nice but when I asked for a second cup of coffee it never arrived. You could clearly see that the staff was very stressed. You never saw a smiling face and no friendly comments. Hotel is severally understaffed which is surprising with their prices. For half the price they charge you can get much better hotels in Madrid.