If you are planning to visit Madrid, you really could not be better positioned. On the Plaza de Isobel ll, opposite Spain’s renowned opera house, Ocean Drive Madrid waits.
Of course, in Spain’s capital city, you could scarcely be further from the ocean. Ocean Drive hotel’s roots lie in Ibiza and the hotel brings laidback Mediterranean living to Madrid.
Mid-plaza, the statue of Isabel ll looks slightly more amused than Queen Victoria, her regal contemporary. After all this is the sophisticated Opera region, where once opera buffs have left the Teatro Real, she can settle for the night. During the day she is entertained by buskers singing arias.
Just to emphasise the location-location-location point, the entrance to the Opera metro station is a mere 50 yards away from the hotel’s door. Many guests arrive at Ocean Drive from the airport via the Metro, then never venture underground, until the day of their departure.
With its sister hotel elegantly sunning herself in Ibiza, Ocean Drive Madrid brings a chilled Mediterranean feel to the capital. But there is nothing mañana about the service. The Mar Mia bar and restaurant, with its Med influences, is lit by tall windows. Light flows into reception. Wood-flooring and shelving, with a scattering of art and architecture books, contributes a sense of Scandi style.
A Sky Bar, up on the 5th floor, brings an aura of the Med to central Madrid. Around a small, shallow pool, there are sun-loungers and sofas. Ideal for daytime sun-worship, perfect for evening cocktails.
Al fresco breakfast in a shady courtyard of bay trees, olive trees and sun parasols is another Mediterranean pleasure. Fresh orange juice, delicate fruit slices, a charcuterie platter, grainy farmhouse toast and eggs cooked to order all carry the Ocean Drive signature.
Just beyond the Teatro Real, sits Spain’s royal palace. Began in 1728, it took 18 years to complete a palatial build of some 3,418 rooms which now house a priceless collection of art treasures. The palace’s neighbour is Almudena Cathedral whose domes can be seen from Ocean Drive’s roof terrace.
After a morning of sightseeing, many guests return to Ocean Drive for lunch and a siesta. For most Madrileños, siestas are a thing of the nostalgic past. Nowadays, they have to work in the heat of the midday sun, albeit in chilled offices, whilst mad dogs and Englishmen recuperate at OD.
As Ocean Drive only opened in late February 2022, the rooms are cutting-edge contemporary. Overlooking the classical columns and portico of Teatro Real, our deluxe room looks across the plaza. Though if your trip to Madrid is for a special occasion or just an indulgent break, up on the 5th floor, there is a suite with its own private pool.
Sat on the wooden shelving a Nespresso machine helps give a caffeine-kick-start to the day, then for later, there is a refrigerated mini-bar for vital rehydration.
So many of Madrid’s attractions are within walking distance. Puerta Sol, hosting Kilometre Zero, where six national highways begin, is in many ways the geographical heart of Spain. Yet, the 17th century Plaza de Mayor, with its three floors of balconied residential properties, surrounding acres of cobbles is far more scenic. Amongst the age-old hat-makers’ shops, coin and stamp collectors sell their wares too.
Walk in from the Plaza de Mayor to Madrid’s golden triangle of art galleries: El Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza and Reina Sofia. Whatever your preconceptions of Guernica, exhibited at the Reina Sofia, Picasso’s vast depiction of the carnage of the Spanish Civil War will surprise and shock.
Although only open for a few months, Mar Mia is becoming a destination for Madrileños,both as bar and restaurant. Three chefs oversee a restaurant that covers tapas, rice specialities such as paella and fish too. The Madrileños eat late and as the temperature cools the courtyard becomes a favourite dining spot.
In late-living Madrid the evening is not yet over. Cocktails by starlight, up in the Sky Bar, are an option. Alternatively, some nights there is a passionate foot-stomping, handclapping, guitar-strumming flamenco performance at the Teatro Real. Ocean Drive Madrid provides the best of all worlds.
Ocean Drive Madrid fact file
OD’s identity is reflected in each of the hotel’s 72 rooms and the spacious and bright reception area, the lobby bar, restaurant with its garden terrace, and in the OD Sky Bar, with a swimming pool and solarium where you can sip exquisite cocktails while contemplating the views. od-hotels.com/ocean-drive-madrid/
Discover Madrid’s most popular sights and attractions, see esmadrid.com for everything from music festivals, to roof-top pools and nights that turn into mornings.
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About the Author / Michael Edwards
Michael Edwards is a 50connect travel critic. He has a nose for good food and fine wine and plays a mean round of golf.
