Michael Edwards reviews the new Ocean Drive Madrid Hotel and finds Med beach chic in urban Madrid.
“Madrid’s changed,” the Ocean Drive Madrid Hotel receptionist told us as we checked in.
But has it? Operatic arias still drift across the Plaza de Isabel ll from the Teatro Real. As they have, on and off, since the 1850s. Admittedly, guests have only sat listening to tenors and sopranos on the Ocean Drive Madrid terrace since the hotel’s opening in February 2022.
This, though, is still a city of hair-dryer heat in summer. Where fans are not just souvenirs. Mothers anxiously fan babies and senior senoras coyly flutter their fans with fading memories of their heyday.
Agreed that for the average Madrileno the siesta is almost obsolete. Air conditioning and contemporary work routines keep workers at their desks through the heat of the mid-day. Though OD’s guests are eager to reinstate the siesta, retreating to the Mar Mia restaurant for their lunch, often sneaking in a postprandial snooze in their cool bedroom.
Maybe, there are less shops selling those flouncy, frilly flamenco dresses mainly in vibrant red shades. But after dinner at Ocean Drive Madrid, guests can saunter across the Plaza de Isabel ll to the Teatro Real for flamenco. Some nights, after the opera, the Teatro puts on a passionate foot-stomping, hand-clapping, guitar-strumming show.
With tapas, is it a case of more of the same. Tapas have continued their irresistible charge. They’ve come a long way since the days when a tapa, a lid, was a humble slice of ham or bread, used to cover a drink.
Now, some tapas are architectural, artistic even, a vital part of a chef’s apprenticeship. At Mar Mia, a restaurant infused with the spirit of the Mediterranean, chef Carlos Bosch oversees the tapas. Whilst seafood is by Rafa Zafra, the rice dishes of Luis Rodriguez feature on the menu too. The food may have gone up notches but as ever few locals dine before nine. And a Madrid late night almost always means an early morning.
To expand your tapas vocabulary, beyond the fundamentals of patas bravas and tortilla, take a trip to the Mercado San Miguel. Fortunately, it is a mere six-minute stroll from Ocean Drive Madrid Hotel. Although you may not track down gambas en gabardina, loosely translating as shrimps in raincoats, 20 stalls housed in a market listed as a world heritage site will introduce you to the world of tapas.
The Mercado is such a busy destination that aficionados even queue for 10 am opening to enjoy a tapas breakfast. Sadly, that would mean drawing yourself away from an al fresco breakfast served amongst the bay trees, olive trees and Mediterranean terracotta planters of Ocean Drive Madrid’s courtyard. Missing out on eggs cooked to order, a charcuterie platter, crusty rustic toast with fresh orange juice and coffee served to your table would be a huge sacrifice. Unless you opted for two breakfasts …
Beyond the Teatro Real, little has changed in the art-filled 3,400 rooms of the Royal Palace. With 1,000 more rooms than Versailles, seeming a starter home in comparison, the grandeur is a reminder that Madrid was once the centre of a global empire. Walking west, Madrid’s trio of art galleries may change their temporary exhibitions but El Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemisza continue as world-class art destinations.
Yet, there is something new in the air. Walk into the the light infused Scandi-feel reception at Ocean Drive Madrid Hotel and you are a million miles from some of Madrid’s dark wood, Old World hotels. As the barman shakes a cocktail, guests reach for a book on art, architecture or album cover design.
With roots in Ibiza, Ocean Drive Madrid Hotel brings a sense of the Mediterranean to the city. The Sky Bar offers a rooftop bar with a beach club aura. Although the pool is shallow, guests take a cooling dip as they admire the view across to the domes of Almudena Cathedral.
There are interesting design innovations. Some rooms feature record decks, others beer taps. And up on the fifth floor, one suite even has a private pool.
Although the day begins with jazz, as the day lengthens the music playing through the Mar Mia bar and restaurant begins to have an Ibizan chilled feel. DJs and live performers at Ocean Drive Madrid Hotel show there is more to music in Madrid than flamenco and opera. If Madrid is changing, then Ocean Drive Madrid Hotel, bringing Med beach chic to the urban capital, is part of that change.
Tell Me More About Ocean Drive Madrid Hotel, Spain
Ocean Drive Madrid, Plaza de Isabel ll, 728013 Madrid Spain
T: +34 910 882 804 E: odmadrid@od-hotels.com
Rooms at Ocean Drive Madrid Hotel begin from €180.
Metro Opera station is just 50 metres away.
