Plaza de Santa Ana / Barrio de las Letras

ME Madrid Reina Victoria

★★★★★

Few hotels in Madrid have a setting as atmospheric as the ME Madrid Reina Victoria. It occupies a former nineteenth-century palace with an impressive white modernist façade, crowned with turrets, on the Plaza de Santa Ana, one of the liveliest squares in the city. The hotel has a long history as a favourite of bullfighters, who stayed here before fights at the Las Ventas ring, and of artists and writers drawn to the Barrio de las Letras, the old literary quarter where Cervantes, Lope de Vega and Quevedo once lived. Today it is run by Meliá under its fashion-forward ME brand, and the style is contemporary, sleek and playful, with a buzzing lobby, music and a design-conscious crowd. The square is the selling point. Step outside and you are among the café terraces and beer halls of the Plaza de Santa Ana, with the Teatro Español at the far end and dozens of tapas bars, wine bars and restaurants in the surrounding lanes of Huertas and the Barrio de las Letras. Rooms come in several categories, from compact superior rooms with views of the courtyard, the Plaza del Ángel or the Plaza de Santa Ana itself, to ME+ studios and suites with terraces, jacuzzis and, at the top, a duplex suite. The Radio rooftop bar, on the top of the building, has been one of the city's most fashionable terraces, with views across the old town's roofs and domes; check whether it is open during your stay, as it operates seasonally. The hotel has two restaurants and bars, and the Puerta del Sol, the Plaza Mayor and the Prado are all within a ten-to-fifteen-minute walk.

Who it suits: couples and groups of friends who want to be at the centre of Madrid's tapas and nightlife scene, in a hotel with style and a sense of place. It is perfect for food lovers, because some of the city's best traditional bars, vermouth taverns and modern restaurants are within a few hundred metres. It is less suited to light sleepers who want silence, since the square is busy late into the night, especially on weekends, or to families seeking a calm atmosphere.

Living in it: rooms overlooking the Plaza de Santa Ana have the best views and the most character, but also the most noise; courtyard rooms are quieter. Studios and suites with terraces are worth the upgrade in good weather. The hotel's lobby and bars are part of the scene, and the rooftop, when open, is in demand at sunset. From here you can walk to almost everything in the old town: the Puerta del Sol in five minutes, the Plaza Mayor in ten, and the Prado and the Thyssen in about fifteen downhill through the Barrio de las Letras.

Value: rates sit in the upper-middle range for central Madrid, below the five-star palaces, with peaks in spring, autumn and during big events. The value case is position and atmosphere — you are on one of the most enjoyable squares in Madrid, in an architectural landmark, with tapas on the doorstep. Choose it if your ideal trip includes long evenings out and a lively hotel to return to.