The Principal Hotel, Madrid
Expert reviews
“Combining comfort and style in the rooms with a prime address for business, culture and night life, the Principal has a lot going for it. For guests who like rubbing shoulders with a steady stream of Madrid’s creative class, just head up to the roof.”
“The Principal is popular with a media and fashion crowd, as well as anyone who wants to be able to walk everywhere. With comfortable rooms and a calm colour scheme, it is a handy haven in the heart of the city and the chic roof terrace is one of the most coveted spots in Madrid for a drink in summer.”
What guests liked
- Rooftop terrace
- Boutique style
- Friendly staff
- Excellent Wifi
- Top location
- Comfortable beds
All you need to know
The Principal Hotel is a five-star hotel located right in the heart of the city of Madrid. This fine establishment is a favorite among tourists and travelers for its quality services offered in the hotel and the excellent location of the hotel.
The hotel is situated right next to several restaurants and bars where guests are sure to have an excellent time. The Principal Hotel offers elegant and luxury room options such as Premium Double Room, Superior Double Room, Deluxe Double Room and Junior Suite. The Executive Double Room features VIP facilities needed for a luxury lifestyle.
The hotel offers guests proximity to some of the city most prominent places and buildings such as the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum which is just 400 m away from the hotel and the Placa Santa Ana which is situated at 600 m away from the hotel premises.
The Banco de Espana is located at a distance of 300 m away from the hotel while the closest airport to the Principal Hotel is the Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport which is about 13 km from the hotel.
The hotel rooms feature standard amenities such as free Wi-Fi for high-speed internet access, a flat-screen TV with cable and satellite channels, air-conditioning, a minibar and a private bathroom fitted with thoughtful touches such as free toiletries, bathroom slippers, hairdryer, and bathrobes.
Some rooms in the hotel come with butler service.
The hotel offers other services and facilities such as a 24-hour front desk service which helps guests with any problem encountered, airport shuttle, daily mid-service and dry cleaning.
Hotel deals & lowest price guarantee
We partner with Booking.com and Agoda. Both booking websites offer the lowest price guarantee so you can be certain you will always get the best deal for this hotel. If you have seen a better price elsewhere, all you need to do is contact the booking website and they will refund you the difference immediately. You can price match right up until the day before check-in.
Location
Recent guest reviews
2 July 2025
Fabulous hotel in fabulous location
This is a swanky, beautiful hotel that's equidistant from the Prado on one side and the Palace/Plaza Major on the other, so an easy 20 walk to virtually anywhere. The staff couldn't have been more helpful, from getting us a quick coffee every morning to calling for taxis (we needed large ones for our family). They also arrange the transfers to/from airport for ease. Love the chic decor, the terraces for relaxing and the beautifully appointed rooms.
24 June 2025
Great location with very friendly staff.
We loved the location, and the staff were wonderful. Antonio at the front desk provided excellent recommendations for restaurants, and his general advice about Madrid was invaluable.
We were disappointed with our room, as we expected more of the balconies. We were also disappointed with the rooftop, as it was misrepresented on the photos. There was also no service on the rooftop.
22 June 2025
Fabulous
The room was very spacious (we had three people stay in this room). The receptions staff were extremely helpful. The beds are sooooo comfy. The hotel's location is very good. I highly recommend the terrace for a drink as the view is great!
The food menu available at The Terrace could be better.....not enough jamon! Cold boards would be a real plus...
31 May 2025
Ricardo returns to Madrid
Location, re-imagination of an old building.
Nothing not to like, really.
26 May 2025
Beautiful and convenient
Very nice outdoor terrace for breakfast and drinks
16 May 2025
Absolutely fabulous
Everything!!! Arriving at the entrance you are greeted a smiling young {Juan) who kindly checks me in and advises to go to the reservation desk on the 6th floor. Check in was very simple and gentleman was kind and very soft spoken. My beautiful room was upgraded to a suite and my luggage was delivered to my room. A snack was delivered to my room and I when I returned from dinner turn down service had open my bed and left me a box of chocolates. I’ve stayed here before and when I’m in Spain I will always stay in this hotel. The food and service is outstanding. Thank you for a wonderful experience.
Not a thing. I’ve stayed before and looked forward to returning.
15 May 2025
Great Small Luxury Hotel with fantastic staff
People, led by Santiago, are amazing! Helpful and professional staff! Luxury small hotel, which makes the experience unique and tailored. Location is great
nothing
14 May 2025
Very good
The view was good. The room was nicely appointed.
The room was small. There wasn’t anyplace to lay out and access suitcases. The breakfast was very expensive. The fitness center was tiny.
15 April 2025
Exceptional
We had a wonderful stay! The bed was incredibly comfortable, the staff were very helpful, and the location was absolutely perfect for art lovers. We truly loved our time here and would happily return.
5 April 2025
Fabulous
Great location
28 March 2025
Superb accommodations on a quiet street minutes from the bustling center
Beautiful property with well furnished rooms and attentive staff
Small elevators
4 March 2025
Exceptional
Great view of the city and the Metropolis building
2 March 2025
I would definitely stay again!
It's a very fun boutique hotel! The lobby bar and restaurant are warm and cozy. The rooms are comfortable also! And all the staff is friendly, kind, and helpful!
It isn't the easiest to find.
2 March 2025
Exceptional
Wonderful friendly, happy and helpful staff who are always smiling!
7 February 2025
,I would stay at hotel again but not repeat errors
It’s perfect location, the terrace, the ambience
I found the cost of the airport transfer exceptionally high both in terms of price and the fact that the price is not spelt out
24 January 2025
Fabulous
No breakfastenjoyable stay great service
8 January 2025
will be back.
warm welcome and check in
bar staff a bit inexperienced
9 December 2024
Didn’t have the impression it was a 5-star hotel.
Comfortable bed and big room. Location was great and beautiful terraces.
The fact that we overheard the staff talking about their work problems while we were having lunch and some of them seemed they weren’t interested in making sure the hotel facilities were ready for the next guests while they were on their phones. Breakfast was ok.
9 December 2024
Fabulous
Great service, staff is friendly, rooms are comfortable. Small hotel but cozy and offer a good breakfast. Recommend for short stay in Madrid.
Room a bit dark.
30 November 2024
Nice hotel at the great location, with mostly friendly staff.
The hotel was at the very central and convenient location, with professional staff, some of them seemed lacking welcoming personality, like the girl who checked us in, but other employees we encountered, the guys at the door and the driver who took us to the airport were excellent. The room rate was quite high, but at check in we found out that we got upgraded from a regular room to a suite, which made it a little bit more reasonable and a nice touch. The restaurant was quite nice and the breakfast was great.
The bathroom was small with a bath tub and closed in toilet, which is so unnecessary. It would be much nicer to have a shower and opened up space.
19 November 2024
Exceptional
Beautiful decor (& Christmas decor), exceptional room and very everything very comfortable. Complimentary refreshments, bed mints, and turndown made a lovely experience.
Nothing😊
4 November 2024
Perfect!
The location was perfect! We enjoyed a lot the food in the Atico restaurant. We were surprised by the team with a bottle of champagne for celebrating our anniversary in the room and also the last day we had a small surprise during breakfast. The concierge team suggested us very nice restaurants and also did the reservation for us! Thank you to all!
4 November 2024
Exceptional
Excellent stay in Madrid. Personnel was very attentive they even made surprise cake for our son’s birthday.
30 October 2024
Overall great stay aside from the above
Breakfast options not great. Requires improvement
Beds are too soft. Stick restaurant food quality is average
27 October 2024
great location, clean and nice
great location, clean and nice
9 October 2024
Sumptuous two-day getaway!
The room had an amazing view and breakfast was so well thought-out! Absolutely delicious and such a chic, romantic, elegant dining room.
No deficiencies detected, and we used to be SLH inspectors. This hotel is first-rate. The steps at the entrance are perhaps a bit off-putting, but also quite “hidden” and cool.
18 September 2024
Exceptional
The hotel staff were very helpful & friendly , in addition the hotels cleanliness & beauty
18 September 2024
Exceptional
Everything.We could not rate this hotel highly enough.Right from the first moment we felt special and valued. The care and attention to detail by every single member of staff was exceptional.I would not like to stay anywhere else in Madrid
Nothing
12 September 2024
Very good
The location of the hotel is ideal.
4 September 2024
Luxurious stay with great service and beautiful city view.
The Principal Madrid is a beautiful luxury hotel with an unbeatable location. The elegant decor, spacious rooms, and rooftop terrace offer stunning views of the city. The staff are attentive and provide excellent service. A perfect blend of comfort and style for a memorable stay in Madrid
19 July 2024
Overall the stay was really good. Fernando was really helpfull all his recommendations were exactly what we were looking
The location is perfect!
Our room was a bit dark, no natural light because the window was facing a wall.
14 July 2024
Perfect and highly recommended
Beds are super comfortable The location is perfect Super clean and tidy
The only thing is missing in this lovely hotel is the swimming pool! I was surprised when I found out that there was no pool.
14 June 2024
Great mini break
Location and staff
One rude and arrogant server in restaurant
28 May 2024
Great place.
Excellent breakfast. There was a problem with our room. The staff dealt with it promptly and upgraded us to a different room.
Service in the bar
25 May 2024
Charming staff and a fabulous hotel
Perfect location in central Madrid.
19 May 2024
Exceptional
The hotel is beautifully designed. The terrace is perfect, with great view and lovely to have a drink or coffee. Rooms were comfortable and modern with attention to detail, including complementary tea/coffee/sweets, and the staff was incredibly nice and helpful. Location is really the best you can ask for - within walking distance to all the main attractions.
Breakfast was not amazing (it was ok) and bathroom was a bit small.
27 April 2024
A stylish and well positioned hotel
Nicely styled and well positioned hotel.
20 April 2024
Excellent
Very good staff excelent
Nothing to add
11 April 2024
A stylish hotel in a great location with attentive staff
The Principal had many small thoughtful touches- a different small chocolate/ candy/ lavender pouch at turndown every evening, complimentary tapas delivered to your room every afternoon. It is a stylish hotel with attentive staff. The location is excellent.
The breakfast could have been better.
26 March 2024
Charming boutique hotel in Madrid center
Top location! Friendly and helpful staff, nice rooms
Food on the terrace and room service could be better
25 March 2024
It was perfect!
The hotel was perfectly located, beautifully decorated and the service was excellent.
Everything was great. They went above and beyond to make sure we were enjoying our stay.
28 February 2024
Great Stay in Madrid
Every Thing was good
N/A
27 February 2024
Fabulous
Location and cleanliness and staff were great Rooms are very nice and comfortable
Tight entrance and very expensive breakfast per person and parking rate
26 February 2024
Loved the hotel and staff
Location and lobby bar
Room was very small for 2 people and their belongings
23 February 2024
Best staff and great hotel
Beautiful, stylish and convenient hotel, staff is excelent, I travel all around the world a lot, but this hotel service was one of the best I ever received. When coming to Madrid again - I am not even concidering another hotel, will come back only here!
22 February 2024
Extremely enjoyable
The staff were extremely accommodating and welcoming. We really enjoyed the location of the hotel and the wonderful restaurants. Would recommend
7 February 2024
Exceptional
Excellent staff, trying to make the most of your stay. Perfect massage !
1 February 2024
Exceptional
LOCATION! STAFF! CONFORT!
29 January 2024
Amazing hotel! Very kind and attentative staff, nice rooms, perfect location
perfect location, high quality standards
Hotel facilities
Food & Drink
- - Restaurant
- - Bar
- - Breakfast in the room
- - Snack bar
- - Special diet menus (on request)
- - Kids' meals (additional charge)
- - Kid-friendly buffet
- - Wine/champagne (additional charge)
- - Fruits
- - Coffee house on site
General
- - Room service
- - Non-smoking rooms
- - Facilities for disabled guests
- - Family rooms
- - Lift
- - Safety deposit box
- - Soundproof rooms
- - Car hire
- - Heating
- - Allergy-free room
- - Non-smoking throughout
- - Air conditioning
- - Shuttle service (additional charge)
- - Airport shuttle (additional charge)
- - Shared lounge/TV area
Business facilities
- - Meeting/banquet facilities (additional charge)
- - Business centre (additional charge)
- - Fax/photocopying (additional charge)
Reception services
- - 24-hour front desk
- - Express check-in/check-out
- - Tour desk
- - Luggage storage
- - Concierge service
- - Private check-in/check-out
Activities
- - Fitness centre
- - Massage (additional charge)
- - Beauty Services
- - Facial treatments
- - Waxing services
- - Make up services
- - Hair treatments
- - Manicure
- - Pedicure
- - Hair cut
- - Hair colouring
- - Hair styling
- - Body treatments
- - Body scrub
- - Back massage
- - Neck massage
- - Foot massage
- - Couples massage
- - Head massage
- - Hand massage
- - Full body massage
- - Massage chair
- - Fitness
- - Yoga classes
- - Fitness classes
- - Personal trainer
- - Temporary art galleries
- - Pub crawls (additional charge)
- - Walking tours (additional charge)
- - Bike tours (additional charge)
- - Tour or class about local culture (additional charge)
- - Live music/performance
- - Live sport events (broadcast)
- - Bicycle rental (additional charge)
Outdoors
- - Terrace
- - Sun terrace
- - Outdoor furniture
Cleaning services
- - Laundry (additional charge)
- - Dry cleaning (additional charge)
- - Ironing service (additional charge)
- - Trouser press
- - Daily housekeeping
Entertainment & family services
- - Baby safety gates
- - Strollers
Parking
- - Parking garage
- - Accessible parking
Transport
- - Public transport tickets (additional charge)
- - Airport pick up (additional charge)
- - Airport drop off (additional charge)
Accessibility
- - Wheelchair accessible
- - Visual aids: Braille
Miscellaneous
- - 24-hour security
- - Key card access
- - Smoke alarms
- - CCTV in common areas
- - CCTV outside property
- - Fire extinguishers
- - Breakfast takeaway containers
- - Delivered food is securely covered
- - Access to health care professionals
- - Thermometers for guests provided by property
- - Face masks for guests available

More photos

29 July 2025
Fabulous