The Best Hotels for Panoramic Views in Madrid

This five-star hotel is a stylish spot close to the Puerta del Sol and Madrid’s Golden Triangle of art galleries (the Prado, the Reina Sofia and the Thyssen-Bornemisza). As well as a great range of rooms and suites, a Michelin-star restaurant (Cebo) and even its very own art museum, Hotel Urban has an incredible rooftop, complete with bar, pool and sun loungers. Soak up the panoramic views over the city’s rooftops, a great place to spend a relaxed evening as the sun sets.

Right on Gran Vía, the Principal is a five-star hotel with a seventh-floor roof terrace, the Terraza, that gives guests some picture-perfect views of Madrid. The terrace itself is beautiful, with red parasols and tables surrounded by greenery. The hotel is bursting with other facilities, from the Ático restaurant with a menu of Spanish classics designed by two Michelin-star chef, Ramón Freixa, to its Wellness Suite, where guests can enjoy a sauna and massage.

This design hostel, just off Plaza Mayor, is far removed from most people’s traditional ideas of hostels – it is stylish, hip and has a cool rooftop bar where guests can enjoy a complimentary drink on arrival. The bar is a great area to hang out, meet fellow travellers or just visit even if you aren’t staying at the hostel. There are a range of social activities available to guests, such as tapas crawls around the city.

The grand, white hotel sitting at the western end of the pretty Plaza de Santa Ana has attracted Madrid’s stylish in-crowd since the days when it was a favourite hangout of some of the country’s most famous bullfighters. Today, its rooftop terrace, Radio, is one of the coolest places in the city to watch the sunset. Its rooms are light and spacious and some suites feature their very own terrace and hot tub.

Visiting Madrid during the summer and need to cool off? This hotel, in Chueca, has a great rooftop pool, where guests can take a refreshing dip for free and non-guests can visit for a morning, afternoon, or full day (prices from €30). It’s a hidden oasis above the roasting city streets, with views over the Gran Vía and its Telefónica Building – one of Europe’s first skyscrapers when it was built in the 1920s.

These apartments, with their own little kitchens, are ideal for families or those wanting the option of cooking for themselves while in Madrid. Kitchens come with microwaves, fridges, kettles and cooking hubs. Best of all, the apartment-hotel has a brilliant secret roof terrace. Open during the summer, the roof terrace has possibly the best views in Madrid over the Royal Palace, which is lit up beautifully at night.