Gran Vía

Letoh Letoh offers something increasingly difficult to find on Gran Vía: a well-designed hotel at a sensible price. Set just behind the avenue near Plaza de España, the hotel combines soft earth-toned interiors, curved forms and thoughtful lighting with a location that places central Madrid immediately outside the door. Rooms are compact but carefully considered, while the Syra Coffee outpost in the lobby gives the building a neighbourhood feel often missing from more transactional city hotels. One of the strongest value stays in central Madrid.

The Principal occupies one of the most distinguished buildings on Gran Vía, yet much of its appeal comes from how separate it feels from the street itself. Guests arrive via a discreet entrance before ascending to a sixth-floor lobby where the city appears below rather than around them. Original ironwork, marble floors and high ceilings remain, while the interiors introduce warmer materials and a quieter atmosphere than many hotels on the avenue. The rooftop terrace remains one of Madrid’s classics, with views stretching across Gran Vía toward some of Madrid’s defining rooftops.

Hotel Montera approaches the city from above. Reception sits on the ninth floor, immediately shifting your attention from the streets below to the rooftops beyond. Lázaro Rosa-Violán’s interiors draw from the character and energy of central Madrid without becoming overly thematic, while soundproofed rooms provide a welcome contrast to the avenue outside. The rooftop pool and El Cielo de Chicote remain the focal point, offering views across Gran Vía and the surrounding skyline. Few hotels on the avenue place you so completely above the city from the moment you arrive.

The Madrid EDITION feels unusually restrained for a hotel of this scale. Ian Schrager brought together John Pawson and François Champsaur to create interiors built from limestone, timber, linen and carefully controlled light, while a monumental baroque portal by Pedro de Ribera remains as the building’s only connection to its previous life. The spiral staircase anchors the lobby, the Punch Room remains one of Madrid’s better hotel bars and the rooftop Oroya looks out across the city toward Gran Vía. A hotel that proves minimalism does not have to feel cold.

Brach Madrid is less a hotel than a story told through objects. Philippe Starck imagined a version of Madrid shaped by artists, travellers and the grand café culture that once defined the avenue, then filled the building accordingly. Mahogany panelling, woven leather ceilings and a preserved wrought-iron staircase give the interiors a sense of depth without becoming nostalgic. Upstairs, the rooms are calmer and more restrained, while balconies place guests directly above Gran Vía itself. One of the most distinctive hotels on the avenue.