Gran Hotel Inglés — Madrid, Spain

Since 1853, the Gran Hotel Inglés hotel had entertained a kaleidoscope of VIPs from Virginia Woolf to Henri Matisse, but after 165 years, the grand old pile in Madrid’s historic Barrio de las Letras quarter was showing its age.
Happily, the Rockwell Group has just completed a stylish tip-to-toe renovation, keeping intact the fine bones of Juan Jose Sanchez Pescador’s original design whilst breathing new life and modernity into the public spaces and 48 rooms. The lobby’s 20ft-high ceiling sparkles once more with chandeliers, whilst the bedrooms are swathed in leather, wallpaper prints of vintage hotel postcards, and marble.
In-house restaurant, Lobo 8, meanwhile, frames oak columns against chef Willy Moya’s comforting menu of traditional tapas and Madrilenian classics like calamari sandwiches, and braised bull-tail stew. A particularly nice touch is the hotel’s library of some 600 volumes curated by Spanish publisher Zenda, which are also available to guests on Kindles.
ADDRESS
Calle Echegaray 8
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
Nothing pitches itself into the premium realm with its new flagship Nothing Phone (3)
The Nothing Phone (3) is a serious creative tool that brings fresh design, new features and a commitment to keeping tech fun
-
Nothing takes its first step into high-end audio with the new over-ear wireless Headphone (1)
Created in partnership with KEF, the Nothing Headphone (1) is designed to shake up the sector and present over-ear audio in a wholly new way
-
In Copenhagen, Charlotte Taylor gave us a glimpse into the mess of real life
At 3 Days of Design, Charlotte Taylor staged ‘Home from Home’, a group exhibition in collaboration with Noura Residency, showcasing the chaos of the everyday, from unmade beds to breakfast leftovers
-
The most stylish hotel takeovers to pop up at this summer
From Capri to Ibiza, luxury fashion brands are taking over seaside resorts with exclusive boutique pop-ups and bespoke poolside accessories
-
Ten lesser-known gems you shouldn’t miss in Madrid
Celebrated for its Beaux-Arts architecture, art museums and culinary creativity, Madrid continues to reinvent itself thanks to a buoyant cultural scene
-
Wallpaper* checks in at The Palace Madrid: an old soul with new sparkle
Once a haunt for intellectuals and artists, Madrid’s grand dame navigates a new era of luxury following a four-year-long renovation by Lázaro Rosa-Violán Studio
-
Sun-soaked European destinations to visit in spring
Dreaming of Florentine palazzos and Greek islands now that the weather is starting to turn? Check into one of these beautiful European hotels and holiday homes
-
Esperit Roca is a restaurant of delicious brutalism and six-course desserts
In Girona, the Roca brothers dish up daring, sensory cuisine amid a 19th-century fortress reimagined by Andreu Carulla Studio
-
Must-visit cinemas with award-worthy design
There’s more magic to the movies at these design-led cinemas, from Busan Cinema Centre’s ‘flying’ roof to The Gem Cinema Jaipur’s art deco allure
-
‘I explored Benidorm with an open mind’: the famous Spanish seaside town is captured in a new photo book
From neon lights to pink sunburns, photographer Rob Ball turns his lens on Benidorm to see what remains of a ‘pan-European holiday utopia’
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Brach Madrid: a hotel of love and passion
Brach Madrid, part of Evok Collection, is a charming city-centre bolthole designed by Philippe Starck