Sometimes my travels seem like a dream.
That’s especially so when months, which pass all too quickly, elapse between the experience and when my notes, photos, perceptions and memories are crafted into a story.
The single November night I spent at the new Four Seasons Hotel Madrid has become exceptionally dreamlike in the nine months since then. The property in the historic center of Spain’s capital was ethereal in its own right, but my experiences since have included those in Africa, Madagascar, the Seychelles, India, Maldives, Malaysia, Thailand and Florida.
Could it be that I’m traveling too much? Never, I say.
The Four Seasons dream began as a mirage of icy fog frosted the hillsides during the four-hour drive south from the Basque region in Spain’s north to Madrid.
We would have just a few hours in Madrid before departing Spain the next morning at the tail end of a press trip to Basque Country.
(See those stories at bit.ly/nh-basquecountry and bit.ly/nh-basquecountry-2.)
Although one of the newest hotels in Madrid, the Four Seasons has already become a landmark, its copper cupola topping a dramatic rotunda and towering over the corner of Calle de Sevilla and Calle de Alcalá. Created in the historic city center from a pair of banks, a newspaper office and four other buildings, the new Four Seasons includes many angles and details of its former lives. Nearly 4,000 architectural and other features from the original buildings were painstakingly removed and incorporated into the hotel’s exteriors, public spaces and guest rooms.
After being comfortably seated in a two-story lobby framed by pillars of blue marble, we were invited to eat. A colleague ordered chilled gazpacho despite the late-autumn season. Once we stopped oohing and aahing, the rest of us nibbled away at decadent frosted desserts shaped like designer handbags and high-heeled shoes, part of afternoon tea.
The 180-room hotel — the first of the luxury Canadian-born Four Seasons brand in Spain — had been open less than two years, mostly during the height of the pandemic. Although soundly embraced by locals, few people on this side of the Atlantic seemed to know about it, so I was delighted at the opportunity for a first-hand look.
Although within easy walking distance from Madrid’s top museums, shops and other attractions, we had just a few hours in this amazing space, and I wanted to experience it.
Proving that opulence and discretion are not mutually exclusive, my room was a beautifully appointed haven of luxury and quiet, expertly soundproofed from the busy construction in the surrounding neighborhood. Welcome gifts included an artful solid-chocolate elephant and a plate of chocolate truffles.
The luxury-brand example set by Villeroy & Boch china at our late lunch was echoed by the bathroom’s Hermés toiletries.
Dani Brasserie, the hotel’s elegant seventh-floor restaurant — which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner — changes its character with the time of day. Course after course typifying the gastronomic excellence created by Chef Dani García was served for our 9 p.m. dinner — a common eating time in Spain. Each course was accented by a wine from its 600-bottle cellar of international wines and champagnes. It was an unusual treat to discover that Roederer Estate champagne, Château d’Yquem and other fine wines are even available by the glass.
It was nearly midnight when we began to drift away from the table, and the dining room was still full.
When morning came, the round bar at Dani had been transformed into a buffet of Spanish treats for those not wanting to order from the menu.
It included ingredients for Pan con Tomate, a popular dish in all of Spain — crushed tomatoes with garlic and olive oil spread on crusty bread. Nearby was a plate of thinly sliced Iberico ham, the delicious dark-red ham from black-footed pigs fed on acorns. Those ordering from the menu will find that same ham as an ingredient in one of the Eggs Benedict offerings.
A large honeycomb, engineered to allow its honey to drip into a self-serve container, dominated one corner of the buffet.
Just one floor above the lobby, a peacock statue welcomes guests to Isa Restaurant and Cocktail Bar, an Asian-inspired tapas bar where sushi and other Asian flavors also are served.
Despite the heat lamps secreted in the umbrellas over tables on the patio surrounding Dani, it was too chilly to eat outside in late November. However, I was among several stepping outdoors to enjoy a night view of Madrid from the Four Seasons rooftop.
The elegant copper cupola that originally crowned a one-time insurance company was much closer up here, framed by umbrella tables and a now-closed patio bar. A pair of much-larger-than-lifesize horse-drawn chariots galloped from atop an adjacent building — contributing to the dreamlike sense of Madrid from on high.
I was ready to call it a day. The sumptuous bed with its poufy pillows would soon see me off to dreamland.
Travelers’ checks
To learn more about visiting Spain and other great places to stay, contact the Tourist Office of Spain at spain.info.
Find out more about the Four Seasons Hotel Madrid at fourseasons.com/madrid, where you can make reservations, access menus and see videos. Discover the swimming pool and two-story spa, one of the largest in the country at 15,000 square feet, and other things I had no time to explore.
Check out a video of the hotel at bit.ly/47fasun.
