InterContinental Madrid

Something happened to change this hotel. Is it new ownership or is it a change in attitude? In earlier times, the hotel was a welcoming respite. Should a reader need aid, I suggest writing directly to Mr. Giuseppe Vincelli or Mr. Juan Carlos Caballero.

Amazing location, super good neighborhood and you can do everything by walking. Close of the best Corte Ingles and stores of the city. I booked a suite so I had access to the checkin-checkout and facilities of the Intercontinental Club, a private area with private breakfast, and during the whole day coffee, water and snacks. Super spacious room, very good experience.

So glad to be back at the hotel. So happy to see all of the staff again. Look forward to coming back again, several times. The morning breakfast is superb. The hotel has definiteky become a 2nd home. Tibor just learned that we're Royal Ambassador again. Best, Dr. Mann Profesor de Historia

Opened in 1953 on the site of the Palace of the Dukedom of Aliaga, InterContinental Madrid has been the temporary residence of stars through the years such as Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Ava Gardner, Bette Davis and Charlton Heston, as well as numerous politicians and ambassadors given the property’s location in Salamanca. It’s a 3-minute walk up to the Gregorio Marañón metro station, or a 5-minute walk down to the Rubén Dario station. For the more adventurous, Plaza Mayor is roughly 40 minutes’ walk away. Arriving into the hotel’s modest initial lobby where reception is somewhat awkwardly located off to one side, we were quickly escorted up one floor to the Club lounge for check-in. The receptionist was quick to offer an upsell to the Presidential Suite for EUR500 per night (apparently the premium is usually EUR3,000 per night), as well as offering a EUR30 discount on the usual Ambassador renewal price of EUR200. Both were declined – the latter because I usually use points to renew my Ambassador membership, and the former because I’m sensible). We were soon heading up to the sixth floor and our Ambassador Suite, a two-category upgrade from our booked Premium room with Club access. The hotel was last fully refurbished in 2003, and those two decades of use are now sadly showing. This was my third stay (the previous two stays being in 2012 and 2016), and whilst maintenance has generally been kept on top of over this period, the dated interior design was more noticeable than ever this time around. Our suite had a slightly awkward layout with the entrance door depositing its passers-through into the living room via a small lobby, the bathroom off to the immediate left, and the bedroom accessible to the left at the end of the living room. The bedroom was let down significantly by the presence of a column in the middle of the room at the foot of the bed. The floor plan affixed to the rear of the entrance door revealed that at least another two rooms per floor were afflicted with the same problem. The narrow living room comprised of a wardrobe, desk, sofa and two armchairs facing a wall-mounted TV. Some scatter cushions for the sofa and armchairs would’ve been welcomed, as the seats were a little firm. A stocked minibar was located in the far corner (possibly in the same unit that a CRT TV would once have occupied). A Nespresso machine was provided, along with hot chocolate which was a thoughtful inclusion. Despite teabags being provided, a kettle was not – although one was delivered to our room promptly on request. A welcome note (featuring a nice vintage photo of the hotel) and a couple of small complimentary bottles of mineral water were waiting for us on the coffee table, and these were joined by a bottle of cava when we returned to our room later that first evening. In the bedroom, a king size bed was complemented by an additional armchair, this time with ottoman. A TV was placed atop a chest of drawers, at an awkward viewing angle from the bed. Power and USB-A sockets were available only on the right-hand side of the bed which was quite inconvenient. Turndown service was provided, during which both the complimentary water bottles and teabags were replenished. Both the living room and bedroom offered views over the Paseo de la Castellana, although the windows themselves are quite small. The bathroom was generously sized, with two basins (one with quite low water pressure), a walk-in shower, bath and separate toilet room (including bidet). The usual (for InterContinental) Byredo amenities had not yet made it to the Madrid property during my July 2023 visit, which meant we enjoyed the small bottles of very nice L’Occitane amenities. Agraria (InterContinental’s favoured amenities brand prior to Byredo) never seemed to appear at this property. The bathroom was fully stocked with extras often now available only on request such as dental and shaving kits, mouthwash and a loofah. Bathrobes and slippers were also provided, as one would expect. The Club InterContinental on the first floor is spacious enough never to feel too busy, but small enough to still feel relatively exclusive. The lounge is a long and thin space overlooking the front of the hotel. A bookable meeting room can be found at the far left hand end of the lounge, adjacent to which is a small business centre (if a single PC can be described as such). The central area nearest the entrance contains mostly lounge seating (sofas and armchairs) arranged in groups, with dining tables for two along the windows. Beyond the buffet to the right is the largest concentration of dining tables in the lounge, plus a couple of additional sofas at the far end near a TV perched on an undersized table. These last sofas are quite close to the hot buffet, which itself looks a little rudimentary given the hot plates are balanced on tables. Overall, the lounge has a nice atmosphere, with comfortable décor and plenty of picture books to browse. I did, however, find the background music to be a little loud at times. Toilets are located outside the lounge, just across the corridor. We arrived at the hotel between food service times, and so got to see the all day offering; individual plates of selected patisseries, leftover yogurt pots from breakfast, whole fruit and individually plated nuts and crisps. The selection is probably a little more than you would typically expect between full meal service times. This was swiftly changed for afternoon tea which saw a more extensive cake and mini dessert selection added to the mix, as well as two types of sandwiches (also individually plated). The selection of sandwiches was weak, but those with a sweet tooth wouldn’t have been disappointed, even if there were no scones and therefore the offering couldn’t truly be called afternoon tea. During the evening, the food selection grew to include individually plated salad, a meagre single canapé added to the afternoon tea sandwich plates, and four different hot options (typically meat, fish and two different vegetarian dishes). The hot options were surprisingly hearty and of good quality, and the choice changed each evening of our stay. A small self-service bar comprised basic spirits, two red wines, two white wines, one rosé and cava, in addition to a selection of four beers. Service was limited with no proactive offering of drinks and plates that took some time to be cleared. For those wanting to eat something more substantial in the lounge, a chargeable menu (perhaps the same as the restaurant or room service menu) was available to order from. Whilst breakfast is offered in the lounge, we chose to enjoy the more extensive selection available in the El Jardin restaurant, which is included for Club guests. Located on the ground floor, to reach the restaurant you have to pass through the hotel’s main lobby area. This is a grand but dated affair, with plenty of varied seating both under the central chandelier surrounding the grand piano, and in wings to the left and right. The art deco Bar 49 is also located off the main lobby, which looked like a comfortable spot for an evening drink. The breakfast buffet at El Jardin was reasonably comprehensive, with drinks offered at the table and egg dishes available to order. An outdoor terrace in the hotel’s central courtyard was a slightly austere setting for breakfast that didn’t seem to appeal to many of our fellow guests; we agreed and opted to sit inside to the rear of the main lobby in a sort of overflow area, separate from the main buffet area of the restaurant. The restaurant’s demise isn’t very well defined, perhaps lending itself more to the Sunday brunch it’s supposedly famous for. The property is light on other amenities, with only a gym, small spa and sauna. There is, sadly, no swimming pool. With a 16:50 flight, we didn’t need to use the 16:00 Ambassador late check-out, although the very slightly extended check-out we did use required our keycards to be re-programmed on the last day of our stay. Ultimately, InterContinental Madrid is a classic, comfortable property with generally solid service and spacious rooms. Now a little past its prime, a tip-to-toe refurbishment is overdue, which once complete would no doubt again position the InterContinental as one of the city’s top hotels.

We have always had excellent experiences staying at the Intercontinental Madrid and this time was our best. We used the hotel’s car service for airport transfers and found it to be very professional and exceeded our expectations. We greatly appreciated the wonderful upgrade and the hotel rewarding our loyalty to the Intercontinental. As I have mentioned in previous reviews, we are very satisfied with the Intercontinental’s recognition of Royal Ambassadors Diamond Elite members. The food was terrific and the service at the Club Lounge was very good. We also greatly appreciate the fantastic job the chambermaids did each day and doing our room early in the morning. We are so grateful for the quality of service, how professional the entire staff was and the most enjoyable stay we had. Finally, the gentlemen (portals) who assisted us in getting a taxi everyday to attend our business meetings were so pleasant and helped us significantly. We have no Spanish and they made sure that the drivers knew exactly where we needed to go. We did not encountered any problems, but only a friendly staff who helped us frequently with a kind smile. Much appreciated to all the team members!