The Westin Palace Madrid

The Westin Palace Madrid
Native name Spanish: Hotel Palace
Location	Madrid, Spain
Coordinates
Area	Centro
Built	September 1912
Architect	Leon Eduard Ferrés i Puig
Architectural style(s)	Art Nouveau
Spanish Property of Cultural Interest
Official name: Hotel Palace
Type	Non-movable
Criteria	Monument
Designated	1999
Reference no.	RI-51-0010459

The Westin Palace Madrid (Spanish: Hotel Palace) is a luxury hotel located at Centro in Madrid, Spain, on the Carrera de San Jerónimo, with exteriors to Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo, Calle del Duque de Medinaceli, and Plaza de las Cortes.

History

The Palace Hotel was developed by Belgian entrepreneur Georges Marquet by personal suggestion of King Alfonso XIII. Designed by the Monnoyer Studio and architect Leon Eduard Ferrés i Puig,

The Palace was the first hotel in Spain (and only the second in the world) to have a bathroom in each guest room. It was also the first hotel in Spain to have a telephone in each room. Notable guests of the hotel during its first few decades were Igor Stravinsky, Pablo Picasso, Marie Curie, Mata Hari, Josephine Baker, Buster Keaton, Richard Strauss, Federico García Lorca, Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí. During the Spanish Civil War from 1936-9, the Palace became a military hospital. The famous glass-domed lounge was used as an operating theatre, due to the abundant natural light. After the war, the hotel was restored in 1939 at a cost of four million Pesetas.

After World War II, the Palace welcomed such guests as Ernest Hemingway, Orson Welles, Lauren Bacall, Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

Georges Marquet's heirs sold the Palace to Spanish businessman Enrique Maso in 1977. During the February 23, 1981 coup, the hotel's general manager's office was taken over by members of the interim government, while over 200 international journalists filled the hotel. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party celebrated their landslide victory in the 1982 elections in the hotel. Maso sold the hotel in 1989 to CIGA hotels, an Italian luxury chain owned by the Aga Khan. The hotel hosted participants in the Madrid Conference of 1991 between Israel and the Palestinians.

ITT Sheraton purchased CIGA in 1995, and placed the hotel in its ITT Sheraton Luxury Collection. Starwood Hotels purchased Sheraton in 1997, and the hotel became part of its Luxury Collection division. The hotel was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1999. Starwood moved the hotel to its Westin Hotels division in 2001, renaming the property The Westin Palace Madrid. In 2005, Starwood sold the hotel to Host Marriott as part of a package of 38 international hotel properties, for $4.1 billion.

The hotel began major renovations in June 2023. At the conclusion of this work, in fall 2024, the hotel will be transferred from Marriott's Westin brand to Marriott's The Luxury Collection brand, and will be renamed The Palace Hotel.

External links

• The Westin Palace Madrid official website