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THE ALVIATOR'S VERDICT
There was nothing to fault about my stay at my first Hilton Tapestry Collection property, including the tasteful decor, good location, good WiFi, and impeccable service. In fact, I'm now intrigued by the brand's other properties. |
5.0
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In November last year I hopped down from London (where I currently live) to Madrid, in order to fly one of British Airways’ shorthaul A380 flights, as well as sample one of Iberia’s A350s. I booked myself onto an itinerary that involved a one-night stay in Madrid, and specifically sought out a hotel that participated in Asia Miles Travel Services (i.e. a hotel I could purchase a night at using an Asia Miles redemption), since I had a lot of expiring Asia Miles I wasn’t able to use for flying due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since my miles were expiring anyway I didn’t have much of a budget, so decided to redeem for a Junior Supreme Suite at the brand-new 46-room Atocha Hotel Madrid, which is a Tapestry Collection by Hilton hotel.
For reference, Hilton has three independent hotel chains – LXR Hotels, Curio Collection, and Tapestry Collection. Hilton launched their Tapestry Collection independent hotel brand in 2017 as their mid-scale independent hotel brand, a tier below their Curio Collection hotels. The Atocha Hotel Madrid was also the first of three Tapestry hotels in Europe to open (all other Tapestry hotels are in the Americas, though three more are coming to Europe), and opened in June this year. This was my first time staying at a hotel belonging to any of these three chains – it’s worth noting that from photos, Tapestry Collection hotels in Europe do seem to be much more upscale compared to any of their American counterparts.
Booking the Atocha Hotel Madrid
As aforementioned, I specifically sought out hotels that participated in the Asia Miles Travel Services scheme. I redeemed points for one night in a Junior Supreme Suite, which cost 37,040 Asia Miles with no extra surcharges.
Cash rates for off-peak dates at this property go from around ~€128 (HK$1,126) for an entry level room, and €150 (HK$1,557) for a Junior Supreme Suite. I don’t consider using Asia Miles to book hotel rooms to be a good value in general, though annoyingly all points earned before January 1, 2020 expire, and no mitigations were introduced upon the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (which heavily limits opportunities to redeem points). For perspective, 35,000 Asia Miles is the cost of a one-way economy class ticket on Cathay Pacific metal from Asia to Europe (not that I consider this to be a fair comparison, as airline points schemes will obviously be much more lucrative on air travel compared to anything else).
For Hilton Honors members (I don’t have any points left, since I spent them all at some swanky Hilton properties in Scotland this summer), an entry level room at this hotel would set you back 41,000 points for a random weekday in mid-January, whereas the hotel room I’m reviewing below would cost you 78,000 points.
My experience at the Atocha Hotel Madrid
The Atocha Hotel Madrid is unsurprisingly located about a 10-minute walk away from Atocha railway station, Madrid’s largest train station. If you’re getting to the hotel by metro, however, the hotel is closer to Antón Martín or Estación del Arte stations, which are each about a 5-minute walk away. The hotel is situated in the Cortes ward by the eastern edge of Madrid’s Centro district (strangely not strictly in Atocha, despite the name), and is a 20-minute walk from Sol, the center of Madrid (according to my researched, but limited understanding).
The hotel is located on Calle de Atocha, a main road with a slight grade. The hotel exterior is slightly unassuming, save for the bellman and fancy LED-lit signage by the door, and fits in with the buildings around it.
Atocha Hotel Madrid Exterior
Up the stairs I headed through to the cute and delightfully dainty lobby, which foreshadowed the design aesthetic of the rest of the hotel with its wooden and sandstone finishes.
Atocha Hotel Madrid Lobby
Despite having a reservation from Asia Miles (which I’m not used to, since I’m an advocate for booking flights and hotels directly through their website), the hotel agent not only pulled up my booking quite quickly, but also was able to offer me a complimentary premium internet code as a Hilton Honors member, even though my membership number wasn’t attached to my booking.
The check-in agent was very friendly – upon asking if I could photograph the lobby, she also offered to help me open the door to the meeting room, which was located behind glass doors in the lobby.
Atocha Hotel Madrid Boardroom
I made my way up to the first floor – while I used the lift the first time round, I figured out that the journey up the staircase was so short that I used it instead on all subsequent journeys to and from my room. Everything about the staircase and lobby was designed in a stunningly minimalist way, from the backlit staircase handles to the sepia pictures of Spain on the walls.
Atocha Hotel Madrid Stairway and Lift Lobby
The hotel apparently takes its inspiration from esparto (growing from a plant with Spanish name “atocha“), which couldn’t be more tastefully incorporated into its design. I walked into one of the most stunning hotel hallways I’ve ever seen – I was a huge, huge fan of the “modern-take-on-rattan” feel of it. My room was located right around the corner from the lift lobby.
Atocha Hotel Madrid Swanky Hallways
Atocha Hotel Madrid, Tapestry Collection by Hilton
Check-in: Wednesday, November 17th, 2021
Room Type: Junior Supreme Suite
Room Number: 108
Stay duration: 1 night
Check-out: Thursday, November 18th, 2021
The room was marketed as a junior suite, which can mean a range of things in Europe – the most rudimentary of junior suites simply feature a room with a larger seating area. With this in mind, walking into the separated kitchenette and seating area made me go “WOW!”.
The kitchenette and table were as large as a typical hotel room you’d get in London, and I loved the wooden surface finishes and camoflauge upholstery on the chairs. This area featured a working/dining table, a pantry with a sink, kettle and coffee machine, as well as a comfy chair facing the rest of the room.
Atocha Hotel Madrid Junior Supreme Suite Entry Area
The working/dining table seated four, though my one criticism is that I’d have preferred a more robust working setup in the room, since there otherwise wasn’t one. The desk was far too thick for legs to get comfortable, and there were also no universal power ports around the room.
Atocha Hotel Madrid Junior Supreme Suite Working/Dining Table
The room was U-shaped, and on the other side of the partition was a massive bedroom that rivalled many junior suites, both in size and seating options. It featured a Hilton bed, a massive sofa and coffee table, a wall-mounted flatscreen TV, as well as another chair and cushion. I loved everything about the aesthetics of the room – they were so tasteful and true to the hotel’s name and story.
Atocha Hotel Madrid Junior Supreme Suite Bedroom and Lounge Area
It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of Hilton beds, and find them too firm and the bedding too thin – this bed was no exception, though I slept well and it was a small price to pay for the otherwise extraordinary room.
Atocha Hotel Madrid Junior Supreme Suite Bed
I loved that the room featured a coffee machine, and the espresso (pods included with the room) that it made was very, very good. I also thought that the takeaway cups offered by the hotel were thoughtful.
Atocha Hotel Madrid Junior Supreme Suite Pantry and Coffee Machine
The bathroom was located by the seating area, and was very spacious and featured clean white tiling. I really liked the backlit mirror.
Atocha Hotel Madrid Junior Supreme Suite Bathroom
The rainforest shower had excellent water pressure, and I also really enjoyed the bottles of toiletries provided by The Lab Room.
Atocha Hotel Madrid Junior Supreme Suite Shower and The Lab Room Toiletries
The pantry featured a minibar with two complimentary bottles of water, as well as a microwave (even when writing the review I struggled whether to call the space a pantry or a kitchenette, since it definitely felt much better equipped than your average hotel room).
Atocha Hotel Madrid Junior Supreme Suite Minibar
Atocha Hotel Madrid Junior Supreme Suite Microwave
Unfortunately I didn’t have as many good things to say about the view, since my room was on a low floor and faced the courtyard.
Atocha Hotel Madrid Junior Supreme Suite View
Located on the desk was a cute welcome letter, inviting us to visit Hilton’s cleaning safety protocol website.
Atocha Hotel Madrid Junior Supreme Suite Welcome Letter
WiFi was free, and the premium internet provided by my Hilton Honors code was indeed very, very fast. One complaint is that there were no universal power ports in the room, so I had to ask reception for an adapter.
I was very, very thrilled with the room – I’m not too familiar with the Madrid hotel market, though even for the retail cost I felt like the room was such good value. ~HK$1,550 can barely get you an entry level room in some premium hotels in Europe, let alone a room that could rival several full-size suites. I’d highly recommend staying in a Junior Supreme Suite at the Atocha Hotel Madrid.
Now, I didn’t actually use many of the hotel’s facilities, since I was only in Madrid for around 24 hours. I did pop by the hotel’s restaurant, where I thought the pop of colours was just as eye-catching as the room’s colour scheme.
Atocha Hotel Madrid Junior Supreme Suite Restaurant – Restaurante Atocha 107
The hotel also features an outdoor courtyard area, where staff are happy to serve drinks.
Atocha Hotel Madrid Junior Supreme Suite Patio
The hotel also features a fitness center, but it continues to be closed today (and was closed during my stay).
I have nothing but great things to say about all the staff at this property, as they were friendly and eager to please. When I needed a travel adapter (after a year of lockdown followed by a couple of hotel stays in the UK, and the fact that the UK and my home city Hong Kong share the same plug type, I’d completely forgotten that different countries have different plug types, so had to borrow a power adapter), the check-in agent spent a few minutes digging out a brand new adapter that the hotel sells from their storage cupboard, and allowed me to use it over the course of my stay. The adapter itself cost €6 and I would’ve purchased it, though it was designed in a slightly finnicky way for my tastes, so I returned it at the end of my stay – even though a different agent helped me with check-out, she seemed to have been informed that I’d borrowed an adapter the night prior. This interaction showed attention to detail, and helped with creating a seamless experience as it saved me from any sort of explanation. The staff were also very welcoming when they saw me snapping photos of the lobby, and invited me to snap a photo of the meeting room and patio as well.
I slept very well, though woke up to the nasty surprise that my seat had been changed to a middle seat on my Iberia flight. I decided to walk around Atocha a little bit in the morning, though ended up heading to the airport at around 11 AM.
Conclusion: Atocha Hotel Madrid, a Tapestry Collection Hotel by Hilton
I was so, so impressed by my first stay at a Tapestry Collection property. From the tastefully designed room to the impeccable service, I was surprised by the attention to detail throughout my stay. Admittedly I didn’t eat at the hotel or spend very long there for that matter, but I wouldn’t have thought for a second that this isn’t Hilton’s most premium independent hotel brand. I’m also no expert when it comes to Madrid’s hotel market, though a quick search on booking.com reveals that the hotel is priced on the lower end of upscale full-service hotels in Madrid. I also thought that practically this hotel had a great location, and they got all the basics right, including fast, free WiFi (their fitness center is currently closed presumably due to COVID, but I hope it opens soon).
Not only would I love to stay here again, but I’d also love to check out a Curio Collection property by Hilton. Curio is Hilton’s most premium independent hotel brand, and I’m intrigued to find out the general quality of hotels at each of Hilton’s independent hotel brands. I’d also happily stay at another brand-new Tapestry Collection hotel in their growing Europe portfolio.
Have you ever stayed at a Tapestry Collection by Hilton hotel before?