Westin Palace

If you want to explore Madrid on foot and have pockets that run deep, Westin Palace is ideal for you. Housed within a regal, Parisian-style building that was commissioned by the king in 1912, the hotel has hosted biggies like Salvador Dali, Madonna, Rita Hayworth and Marlon Brando and is undoubtedly one of the best in the city. The grandeur of the hotel façade is continued even within—a mammoth Art Nouveau stained-glass dome greets you at the lobby, which is referred to as La Rotonda—with a total of 467 rooms decorated in a classic style with marble baths and all the latest amenities. Their breakfast buffet (served at La Rotonda) will blow you away, and the property also houses an Asian restaurant and a steeply-priced bar that is a popular meeting place for both tourists and locals. The service is smooth, and the staff makes it their business that your every whim is met. To top it all off, you’re smack-bang opposite the Prado and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums, there’s a beautiful park just five minutes away, and plenty of bars and restaurants for you to explore.