The first thing that hits you as you walk through the revolving front door of the ME Reina Victoria by Meliá hotels in the Spanish capital, Madrid – aside from the super-sleek sophisticated style and friendly, fluent-in-English staff – is the smell.
Hold up, we’re not talking tapas and tobacco here, but the group’s secretive signature scent – a warm and light floral blend based on hints of melon and cucumber. Despite fervent guessing at the formula however, no more ingredients are disclosed by hotel staff.
“Only one person has ever guessed the concoction correctly,” the receptionist says, smiling, and that accolade goes to none other than pop superstar and former guest, Rihanna.
As a hotel that prides itself on being at the epicentre for the social elite and jet set, it’s no surprise that a little bit of celebrity name-dropping goes on, and I am soon informed that the likes of George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio are among the Hollywood A-list visitors.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if a stay coincided?” I muse, off in a land far away where George leans next to my suite’s Nespresso machine casually, coffee cup in hand, with the rooftops of the Spanish capital catching the dying sun’s rays behind him, his smile brighter than anything nature could conceive…
Dragged back from my reverie suddenly by a receptionist showing me how to use the coffee machine in my suite, I realise that, even without a certain Mr Clooney, things are more than adequate.
I get the unique contemporary Chic Suite, the endless view of Madrid overlooking the charming Plaza Santa Ana, the golden-hued sunset and even the coffee… as they say; four out of five ain’t bad!
And because I’m staying in the suite, everything is taken care of thanks to an award-winning personalised service. From in-suite check-in to the sound of my favourite preselected music, through to a retro refrigerator bursting with ice-cold drinks, and even a personal event planner capable of organising, well, just about anything!
Despite being as urban as urban gets, with its strategic location in the heart of this beguiling city, the ME somehow offers guests both serenity and privacy in the heart of this flamboyant and lively capital. So after unpacking, I’m desperate to discover the city’s cobbled streets and tapas tavernas.
Miriam, my lovely aura manager (a high-brow personal butler) suggests dinner at Mercado de la Reina, a 10-minute walk from the hotel, and labelled as one of the best restaurants in the city.
Armed with a map, I head out into the warm spring air and navigate the labyrinthine streets of Barrio de las Letras past one invitingly appetising restaurant to the next.
When travel guides say that the ME is the perfect place to stay when visiting Madrid, they aren’t exaggerating – the hotel is a stone’s throw from the Golden Triangle of Art including the Prado Museum and Reina Sofía Museum, the Retiro Park, Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor, the Royal Palace and the city’s famous shopping and business areas.
I’m surprised to be so close to the famous Puerta del Sol – the Sun Gate – an area of Madrid where all the recent demonstrations over economic cutbacks have taken place.
The hotel is also in the heart of the city’s retail sector, and the three main streets off this central point (once known as the radial point of Spain from which all other roads were born) are home to high-street shops including, of course, Spain’s most-trusted department store, El Corte Inglés.
Moving away from the shops, it’s a few more monuments later before I’m ushered into what looks like just another traditional busy, bustling bar.
But I soon realise after being served a host of typical Madrileño tapas, ranging from asparagus from Aranjuez to octopus a la brasa, that Miriam is certainly to be trusted and the food definitely sets this place apart. Although, as I was to discover over the next few days, good, flavourful food is yet another aspect that Madrid offers in abundance.
The next day is all about sightseeing and, armed with a Madrid Card for 48-hour entrance into all the city’s best attractions, alongside an ME-recommended tour guide from the official tourism office, I head out to visit as many of the 40 parks and gardens, 22 museums and art galleries and innumerable monuments on offer as possible.
Aside from the odd Monet calendar stuffed in my Christmas stocking every year, I’m the first to admit that I’m not the most initiated in all things art and, in all honestly, I’m happy without cubism, surrealism and neoclassicism in my life. But my guide has other ideas, and tells me we’ll be visiting not just one but two art galleries that morning.
I obediently follow down the Paseo del Prado to the Golden Triangle of Art. Our first visit is the Prado Museum, reputedly one of the finest European art museums in the world and home to a collection that spans five centuries.
I won’t say it changes my mind, but the gallery is undeniably interesting, showcasing works from the likes of Goya, Velásques, Rubens, El Greco and Bosch, whose The Garden of Earthly Delights, thought to have been created in 1505, is more like something you’d expect to see on the front cover of a Pink Floyd album than hanging in a distinguished and historical art museum.
Next up is the Reina Sofía Museum, Madrid’s premier modern art gallery and home to works by Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró and, of course, Picasso.
One whole room is dedicated to Picasso’s Guernica, arguably Spain’s single most famous piece of art, and it’s a rather humbling experience to stand next to such a powerfully political masterpiece, depicting the Spanish involvement in the First World War. The experience almost persuades me to change my views and become an art aficionado…
Left to my own devices around lunchtime, it’s time for a little exploring past the El Retiro Park, a perfect place when not raining (as it was on this particular day) to lie on the grass in the summertime or take out a boat on the large lake.
Those with an interest in monuments would no doubt want to visit the park’s most recent addition, one for the victims of the Madrid 3/11 bombings, an act of terrorism that saw coordinated bombings on the commuter train system of Madrid, which killed 191 people and injured 1,800.
Away from the gorgeous, green lawns of the city’s main park, it’s time for more food.
Working my way past the stunning Palacio de Cibeles, a grandiose town hall with a beautiful sixth-floor restaurant offering panoramic views of the city, I head back towards the city centre and Plaza Mayor – a square that’s played host to everything from bullfights to executions in its time.
Today it’s alive with market stalls, cafés and street performers looking to earn a euro or two for obscure shows.
After managing to bat off a rather overweight and overzealous Spider-Man (yes, there was a marriage proposal in there), I wander on to the sounds of my rumbling stomach.
Despite being lured by the Sobrino de Botín, (recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest restaurant in the world, established in 1725) I choose to head to the Mercado de San Miguel, an indoor market built in 1913 and billed as a culinary cultural centre.
The newly renovated market is positively brimming with stalls offering loads of high-quality food, from caviar and dried meat to freshly baked baguettes and appetising olives, and despite being a haven for map-touting tourists, it is also packed with local Madrileños sharing tapas.
On the way back to the hotel after a shoe-hunt-luring detour that sees me boutique browsing through the hip Chueca barrio, best known for quality over quantity when it comes to leather shoes and handbags, I choose to cast away diet rules (what diet?!) and sit down for a warm churros con dulce de leche, translated as fried donut sticks filled with caramel. Good job I earned it with all that walking, I think, as it disappears from my plate directly to my hips.
But that’s the beauty of Madrid. Yes, it offers plate upon plate of diet-devastating dishes, but it’s countered by the vast expanse of alluring monuments and cultural amenities that will see you unconsciously burn off more than your fair share of churros-culpable calories as you traipse from one plaza to the next.
In a (caramelised) nutshell, Madrid has so much to offer the explorer that you couldn’t possibly relay it all at once if you tried. The Spanish capital is what you want it to be; alive with the sights and sounds of everything one could – and should – expect from a European city.
Just be sure to end the endlessly energetic day by walking through the silencing doors of the soothing ME Madrid Reina Victoria and heading up to the sultry rooftop lounge bar, one of Madrid’s hippest hangouts, for a refreshing mocktail before dinner downstairs at the famous Santa Ana restaurant.
And who knows, choose a drink with cucumber and melon and you may even inadvertently guess the secret ingredient of the hotel’s highly prized scent.
