High Tech Hotel's Petit Palace chain is like a Spanish version of Malmaison – both were unveiled some years ago to great acclaim, and are now just beginning to show their age in places. But the odd nick and scuff notwithstanding, the Petit Palace Art Gallery is a decent choice of place to stay in Madrid.
Housed in a striking 19th-century apartment block it cuts quite a dash at first glance – particularly at night when uplit by spotlights. Inside, futuristic, space age-like corridors lead off to 61 rooms. With their full-length windows opening out onto balconies (perfect for watching the world go by) the outward-facing ones are by far the best choice. While hardly ultra-luxurious, bathrooms are perfectly decent; in the superior rooms they have large, glass-clad wet-rooms with excellent, multi-option showers.
The Petit Palace Art Gallery doesn't really do five-star frills and service, but it does have two really nice touches up its sleeve. Firstly, in the rooms, there are free laptops and use of WiFi; secondly, for getting out and about and exploring the city, free bike hire is also provided.
The surrounding Salamanca district is also absolutely perfect for anyone – especially families – who finds the Spanish inner city experience a bit too full-on. It doesn't have any of the slightly rowdy, edginess you can find in many parts of urban Spain, and so makes a good place to retire to after a day of charging around the sights.
Child-friendly: Yes. There are triples and quadruples available, while pushchairs are available from reception. The Salamanca district is also more child-friendly than the Old Town with its less hectic (and hedonistic) feel and its closeness to the park.
Restaurant & bar: While there's no formal restaurant, there's a bar area behind reception and a full breakfast buffet is laid on every morning down in the vaulted basement.
Location: As the name suggests the Petit Palace Art Gallery is a short walk from the 'Golden Triangle' of art galleries. Shopaholics and gastronomes will love it, too. Some of the most prestigious shopping and dining is right on the doorstep while there are any number of excellent restaurants within a leisurely saunter of the hotel. In the morning you can even get up, walk a block or two and go for a run in the Retiro Park.
Getting there: All the usual suspects fly regularly (and often pretty cheaply) from the UK to Madrid-Barajas. For a more relaxed – and eco-friendly – alternative, a combination of the Eurostar from London to Paris, followed by an overnight journey on the Elipsos trenhotel from Paris to Madrid (that includes sleeper cars and a pretty decent restaurant) is the way to make a stylish entrance. Once in the city, the hotel is on the right side of town for quick access to and from Madrid-Barajas airport – depending on traffic it should take about 30 minutes in a taxi. Atocha train station is around five to ten minutes away by cab or a short journey on the Metro from Serrano station (which is about 400 metres from the hotel) changing at Bilbao station.