I was so enchanted the first time I saw the stained-glass dome of La Rotonda in The Westin Palace Hotel, Madrid that I was determined to return. Happily, the opportunity arrived this February. My granddaughter Sage and I spent four nights at the 5-star Belle Époque hotel, central to the city’s history since it opened in 1912, when it was the largest in Europe and the first in Spain to add en-suite bathrooms and telephones to each guestroom.

When we walked into our huge room, which had grand windows facing the Neptune Fountain and the Hotel Ritz, Sage exclaimed gleefully, “I’ve never seen such an enormous bed!”

Nearly 50 percent of the hotel’s 500 rooms are newly renovated. The guestrooms feature a serenely sophisticated design with natural colors, soft lighting, rounded-edge furnishings and a sense of place with carpet design inspired by the lace work in a Spanish mantilla and the headboards by nearby Retiro Park. Double-glazed windows, air-conditioning, soundproofing, a 49-inch flat-screen television, a digital phone system and safety devices provided additional comfort.

The Palace is conveniently located within Madrid’s Golden Triangle, just steps from The Prado and the Thyssen-Bornemisza, which houses more than 1000 artworks, including religious paintings and triptychs dating from the 13th century by Paul Gauguin, Vasily Kandinsky, Henri Matisse and some prominent 20th century Americans, including Edward Hopper. Picasso’s anti-war statement Gurenica is located at the Reina Sofia, just a short walk up the Paseo del Prado.

We had lunch at Botin’s, one of the world’s oldest restaurants, and Hermosos y Malditos, one of the city’s newest culinary treasures within the Totem Hotel in the swank Salamanca shopping district. For dinner, we walked to authentic neighborhood restaurants in the Barrio de Las Letras, adjacent to the hotel, and used Uber to and from nearby Ana la Santa at the ME Madrid Hotel facing the historic Plaza Santa Ana and the 17^th-century Teatro Español.

We started each morning at the Rotonda, walking to breakfast where we lingered and admired the scene, including the art installations attached to the columns that encircle the room saluting Madrid’s Year of Sustainable Tourism. At night, the dome becomes opaque and shimmers in bronze and gold.

When we passed through the lobby, frequented by famous guests since its debut, we could feel the buzz. It’s obvious that the hotel still attracts modern-day icons and meeting groups to the “Espacio Palace,” recently redone by Rockwell Group Europe. With more than 12,750 square feet of space and 23 meeting rooms, it can host up to 800 people for an event.

On our last night, after a 35-minute trip by train to Toledo and before a high-speed AVE express train to Barcelona, we opted for room service. There was ample space at our desk and in the sitting area where we enjoyed home-away-from-home comforts.

The Westin Palace, Madrid Review

Plaza de las Cortes, 7, 28014
Madrid, Spain
tel 34 913 60 80 00