StarwoodGuy: Westin Palace Madrid

     On the day of our departure from Lisbon, my high school friend and I toured around Lisbon before heading in an UBER from my hotel to the airport. Once there, check-in and baggage drop off was simple and efficient before a fast two minute trip through security. After we stopped in at the Blue Lounge for some snacks before she headed off to Dusseldorf. I had extra time and my flight was delayed so I made my way over to the other lounge, the ANA Lounge to take a look. It was definitely larger and more sophisticated but I just had a quick glass of wine before making my way to the gate.

    The flight was just over an hour with a quick meal service in Business Class with the same European 3 seats with the middle blocked off in Biz. The bags came quite quickly upon arrival and then it was a taxi ride for 35 EUROS to the Westin Palace Madrid in the heart of the city. The driver asked where I was from, I said Canada, and then he asked me lots of questions about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and why Canada and the USA are so different, but his English was a little broken and my Spanish needs some serious improvement so he called a friend who translated for us as we drove into town.

    Upon arrival, the stately Westin Palace welcomes you right next to the Fountain of Neptune and the Prado museum. I checked in and had a nice welcome to a large suite overlooking the courtyard and an outdoor bar below. There was a nice welcome gift waiting of some chocolates and sparkling water. I headed out for a sunset walk around the main park next to the hotel and some of the downtown sites before heading to bed early.

    The next day I was up early and had a morning stroll to the beautiful park with a coffee from the Starbucks located at the side of the hotel before a cardio workout in the gym. I then heading down to breakfast in the amazing rotunda style room. I did some work while I ate before leaving the hotel on a long walk following the concierge’s advice. Madrid is a large city with plenty to see, so I made my way through some of the historic areas before making it to the Palace and main church I had been to years earlier on my backpacking trip, and then cut in through the main shopping district. The tour groups and crowds were borderline insane, and this was only mid-May. As a contrast, my morning walk in the park had been almost empty, but the night before at sunset the park had been packed. As always in Spain, sleeping in is common as is staying up late, so if you can manage it and are not in the party mindset wake up early and do as much of the parks and outdoors aspects as possible with most museums and other indoor venues opening at 10:00 am already with long queues.

    After three hours I made it back to the room, had some coffee, and then did another quick cardio workout. I went for a short stroll before going to the Prado museum for a walk through during its free time prior to closing. I was exhausted so I just grabbed a baguette and some brie from a shop next to the hotel and had that in the room before passing out. I had been told that it might be a big night that evening as Real Madrid would advance or not? Or something along those lines, my knowledge of football is limited in most countries. Everyone in town was sporting their Real Madrid jerseys throughout the day and even though I was in bed by 11:00pm and had ear plugs in I could here the partying all night long.

    In the morning I was up at 5:00 am with complimentary coffee delivered to the room before a workout in the fairly sized gym with a great view of the sunrise before showering and heading down to breakfast, my train being at 10:00 am to Seville.

    The Westin Madrid Palace was a wonderful hotel with an excellent staff and location as well as good rooms and amenities. The city was very busy as one expects so attempt to do tourist options as early as possible to beat the crowds and the heat, and keep in mind that many of the museums offer free hours each day of the week to cut down on costs.