Trip GrapevineTop places, picked by travellers

Madrid · Hotel shortlist

Hotels for families on the beach in Madrid

Luca Ferreira

Luca Ferreira Spain and Portugal

Updated 1 September 2026 · 37 Madrid hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Madrid, out of the 37 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.7 down to 4.4.

Palacio de los Duques Gran Meliá - The Leading Hotels of the World is the one I would book myself.

Palacio de los Duques Gran Meliá - The Leading Hotels of the World

Highest rated of the five

Palacio de los Duques Gran Meliá - The Leading Hotels of the World

★★★★★4.7 from 2,597 reviews

Palacio de los Duques Gran Meliá - The Leading Hotels of the World comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.7 from 2,597 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is a 5 star property, found under the beach and around $572 a night on the dates we checked.

37 hotels in Madrid qualified for this list and five made it. Hotel Catalonia Las Cortes is the one I would book if the first is full.

Why it works for this trip

  • Poolsomewhere to cool off between walks
  • Spatreatment rooms on site, no booking a taxi for it
  • Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
  • Restaurantdinner downstairs on the night you land
  • Bara drink without going back out

Check rates Read more

All five, ranked

  1. Palacio de los Duques Gran Meliá - The Leading Hotels of the World1

    Palacio de los Duques Gran Meliá - The Leading Hotels of the World

    ★★★★★4.7 from 2,597 reviews

    • Pool
    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking

    Check rates Read more

  2. Hotel Catalonia Las Cortes2

    Hotel Catalonia Las Cortes

    ★★★★★4.8 from 1,549 reviews

    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Pet friendly
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Accessible

    Check rates Read more

  3. H10 Villa de la Reina Boutique Hotel3

    H10 Villa de la Reina Boutique Hotel

    ★★★★★4.5 from 1,686 reviews

    • Spa
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Airport shuttle

    Check rates Read more

  4. B&B HOTEL4

    B&B HOTEL

    ★★★★★4.5 from 470 reviews

    • Spa
    • Bar
    • Kitchen
    • Pet friendly
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning

    Check rates Read more

  5. Petit Palace Plaza del Carmen5

    Petit Palace Plaza del Carmen

    ★★★★★4.4 from 1,138 reviews

    • Spa
    • Bar
    • Parking
    • Pet friendly
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning

    Check rates Read more

How this list was put together

37 Madrid hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

Luca Ferreira

Luca Ferreira Spain and Portugal

Shuts the workshop two weeks every summer and rides. The Pyrenees, the Danube route and most of Portugal on frames he built himself, camping most nights.

Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.