Westin Palace Madrid

Had a great stay here as they upgraded me to the Neptuno Suite, which is so big it's literally bigger than my entire apartment. As you know, the hotel is undergoing major renovation so the walk to your room from the lobby is very long as if you're walking through Alice in Wonderland's labyrinth. To make matters worse, there are only 2 small elevators to serve the entire 417-key property. As it's a very busy season right now, the wait for the elevators can exceed 15 minutes during peak hours. The room is spectacular especially the Neptuno Suite. But if you want to stay here, better wait until March 2025 when finally the hotel is rebranded as a Luxury Collection property: Palace Hotel.

Beautiful hotel that is under construction. Room was renovated but walk to it was pretty long so maybe avoid it until construction is completed. We stayed in Deluxe king size bed room, bed was comfortable and it was super clean. Room was renovated (#452). It was a bit awkward since there was not much space to open suit cases. Otherwise, service with luggage/taxi was excellent. Breakfast was excellent with variety of food that pretty puts this hotel on my list with best breakfast so far. Location was great as well. The only reason for 4 is the construction.

Stayed here in early December for the Christmas markets and light displays. I was aware they the property was under major renovation prior to booking. The temporary lobby is functional. Once the crystal dome is complete, check in will be a different and more luxurious experience. Attempted to upgrade using suite nights and was little disappointed as a lifetime Titanium that it could not be accommodated. Nevertheless, the room we received was spacious, clean and newly refurbished. The decor is relaxing and blends old world with new. Especially liked the faux fireplace - how cool would it be to have an led screen that showed a "fire" screen saver. I appreciated the USB C outlets that mitigated the need for a converter. Bed and linens were great. We were on the 6th floor and be aware that the windows here are smaller than the other floors. No big deal, plenty of light and not many rooms at the property will have a breathtaking view due to surrounding buildings and topography. We "peeked" the top of Cibelle. Our commute to the room was not bad. Be aware that it may require two elevators due to construction re-routing. Breakfast was great - many options. Plenty of fresh fruit. Getting coffee refills was a bit of a challenge. Wait staff was very quick to arrive at seating and subsequently very adept at avoiding eye contact. Here again, there is a clear effort to provide a nice space during renovation. My one suggestion for improvement is the shower. Fixtures and pressure were good. Temp control on our unit seems to have been stripped and adjusting below scalding took some finesse. Not sure why the concept of a shower door is so challenging for European hotels. The shower was spacious, and so was the door opening with the result being a wet bathroom floor after every shower. Can't conserve towels if you have to use them to mop the floor each morning. Overall, would have given 4.5 if it was an option. They are clearly trying their best to mitigate the renovation disruption.

I was very impressed with our stay at the Westin Palace despite not experiencing the full refurbishment of the common areas which is due to be unveiled around April when the hotel reflags as its historic name, simply The Palace Hotel, under The Luxury Collection. The rooms and suites are all done though and we were happily upgraded to the Neptuno Suite with its views of the Neptuno Fountain out the front which was both dry and covered in scaffolding and advertising hoards. The staff were excellent and friendly throughout from reception to the breakfast to the bar. Check in currently takes place in the function room entrance which isn’t so impressive and the lifts you have to use are a bit small and creaky. Breakfast is in a large circular function room with a balcony but a low ceiling with no natural light which makes a strange ambiance. But these are temporary issues pending the completion of the refurb in the actual main entrance and restaurant. The Neptuno Suite was large and as comfortable as you would expect. The shower had a steam function that worked surprisingly well. We had coffee from the Nespreso machine in the morning. I particularly liked the Westin signature SleepWell balm that aids sleeping. Breakfast was very good with a bonus of free-flow rosé Cava. Very attentive service bringing coffees and the omelet station was excellent. So we join a long list of luminaries including Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Rita Hayworth, and Mata Hari at Madrid’s historic The Palace Hotel. It will be interesting to see the refurbished common areas when it reopens under The Luxury Collection brand.

The potential for a true 5 stars is certainly there, but not without some serious attention to the service-related attributes required to achieve this level. It seems as if the ongoing and (very) significant hotel renovation has affected the dedication of the staff to provide exceptional service and attention to detail. Breakfast, for example, was organized chaos with offers to serve coffee never fulfilled because the staff was distracted with cleaning tables, placing new table settings, and everything in between. We ended up getting coffee ourselves (carafes were in the server areas), poaching fresh glasses and napkins from other tables, and basically fending for ourselves despite there being a significant number of staff on hand. Strongly recommend staff be dedicated to a specific task as opposed to the “free for all” that was seen over our three night stay. Staff manning the reception area seemed more interested in congregating amongst themselves and made it clear how distracted they were when approached with a request or question. Most were young adults, perhaps lending to the need for more “grownups” in this department to offer mentoring on 5-star service requirements. Housekeeping was a disaster! Cover and tea were never replenished, even after calling to request this. Even the coffee mugs were removed after our first night, leaving us to drink hot beverages in tall glasses. Towels were stained, the amenities were not replaced, and it became clear that margins are tight at this property and very basic housekeeping was all guests would get. Recommend folks give this property some serious thought before making any decisions. Assuming all things remain as is, this hotel will be an unfortunate example of a beautifully renovated building (March/April 2025) managed and serviced by indifferent employees.