View source for The Westin Palace Madrid

{{Refimprove|date=October 2018}}
{{Expand Spanish|topic=struct|Hotel Palace|date=April 2013}}
{{Infobox Historic Site
| name = The Westin Palace Madrid
| native_name = Hotel Palace
| native_language = Spanish
| image = Palace Hotel (Madrid) 03.jpg
| caption =
| locmapin = Spain
| coordinates = {{coord|40.415486|-3.696133|display=inline,title}}
| location = [[Madrid]], Spain
| area = [[Centro (Madrid)|Centro]]
| built = September 1912
| architect = Leon Eduard Ferrés i Puig
| architecture = [[Art Nouveau]]
| governing_body =
| designation1 = Spain
| designation1_offname = Hotel Palace
| designation1_type = Non-movable
| designation1_criteria = Monument
| designation1_date = 1999
| designation1_number = RI-51-0010459
}}
'''The Westin Palace Madrid''' ([[Spanish language|Spanish]]: ''Hotel Palace'') is a luxury hotel located at [[Centro (Madrid)|Centro]] in [[Madrid]], Spain, on the Carrera de San Jerónimo, with exteriors to Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo, Calle del Duque de Medinaceli, and Plaza de las Cortes.
==History==
The '''Palace Hotel''' was developed by Belgian entrepreneur [[Georges Marquet]] by personal suggestion of King [[Alfonso XIII]]. Designed by the Monnoyer Studio and architect Leon Eduard Ferrés i Puig,<ref name="iltm.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.iltm.com/hub/en-gb.html|title=ILTM Portfolio - Creating Moments that Matter|website=www.iltm.com}}</ref>
The Palace was the first hotel in Spain (and only the second in the world) to have a bathroom in each guest room. It was also the first hotel in Spain to have a telephone in each room.  Notable guests of the hotel during its first few decades were [[Igor Stravinsky]], [[Pablo Picasso]], [[Marie Curie]], [[Mata Hari]], [[Josephine Baker]], [[Buster Keaton]], [[Richard Strauss]], [[Federico García Lorca]], [[Luis Buñuel]] and [[Salvador Dalí]].<ref name="iltm.com"/> During the [[Spanish Civil War]] from 1936-9, the Palace became a military hospital. The famous glass-domed lounge was used as an operating theatre, due to the abundant natural light.<ref name="Romilly">{{cite book| first=Esmond| last=Romilly| title=Boadilla| date=2019| publisher=Hamish Hamilton, London (1937) / [[The Clapton Press]], London (2018)| isbn=978-1-9996543-2-0}}</ref> After the war, the hotel was restored in 1939 at a cost of four million Pesetas.
After [[World War II]], the Palace welcomed such guests as [[Ernest Hemingway]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Enin |first=Andrey |date=2023-11-03 |title=Hemingway in Spain |url=https://adequatica.medium.com/hemingway-in-spain-6a9118d7dfb3 |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=Medium |language=en}}</ref> [[Orson Welles]], [[Lauren Bacall]], [[Rita Hayworth]], [[Ava Gardner]], and the [[Edward VIII|Duke]] and [[Wallis Simpson|Duchess of Windsor]].<ref name="iltm.com"/>
Georges Marquet's heirs sold the Palace to Spanish businessman Enrique Maso in 1977.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.travel2latam.com/news-79355-the-westin-palace-a-unique-place-to-enjoy-and-relax|title=The Westin Palace, a unique place to enjoy and relax|website=Travel 2 Latam / English}}</ref> During the [[23-F|February 23, 1981 coup]], the hotel's general manager's office was taken over by members of the interim government, while over 200 international journalists filled the hotel. The [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party]] celebrated their landslide victory in the 1982 elections in the hotel. Maso sold the hotel in 1989 to CIGA hotels, an Italian luxury chain owned by the [[Aga Khan]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.historichotelsthenandnow.com/palacemadrid.html | title=The Westin Palace (1912), Madrid &#124; Historic Hotels of the World-Then&Now }}</ref> The hotel hosted participants in the [[Madrid Conference of 1991]] between [[Israel]] and the [[Palestinians]].<ref name="iltm.com"/>
ITT Sheraton purchased CIGA in 1995, and placed the hotel in its ITT Sheraton Luxury Collection. [[Starwood Hotels and Resorts|Starwood Hotels]] purchased Sheraton in 1997, and made The Luxury Collection into a separate brand. The hotel was declared ''[[Bien de Interés Cultural]]'' in 1999.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}} Starwood moved the hotel to its [[Westin Hotels]] division on March 1, 2000, renaming the property '''The Westin Palace Madrid'''.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.hotel-online.com/News/PressReleases2000_1st/Mar00_EuropeNine.html | title=Nine Legendary Luxury European Hotels Join The Westin Brand | date=March 2000 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424002943/https://www.hotel-online.com/News/PressReleases2000_1st/Mar00_EuropeNine.html | archive-date=2016-04-24}}</ref> In 2005, Starwood sold the hotel to [[Host Hotels & Resorts|Host Marriott]] as part of a package of 38 international hotel properties, for $4.1 billion.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20051114005594/en/Starwood-Hotels-Sell-Portfolio-Real-Estate-Assets| title=Starwood Hotels to Sell Portfolio of Real Estate Assets to Host Marriott; Starwood Will Manage the 38 Sheraton, W, Westin, St. Regis, and Luxury Collection Properties as Part of 40-Year Contract With Host| website=Businesswire.com| accessdate=9 October 2018| archive-date=10 October 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010011049/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20051114005594/en/Starwood-Hotels-Sell-Portfolio-Real-Estate-Assets| url-status=dead}}</ref>
The hotel began major renovations in June 2023. At the conclusion of this work, in fall 2024, the hotel will be transferred from Marriott's Westin brand back to The Luxury Collection brand, and will be renamed the '''Palace Hotel'''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.virtuoso.com/hotels/6164151/the-westin-palace-madrid | title=The Westin Palace, Madrid }}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/madwi-the-westin-palace-madrid/overview/ The Westin Palace Madrid official website]
{{Commons category}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westin Palace Madrid}}
[[Category:Westin hotels]]
[[Category:Hotels in Madrid]]
[[Category:Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in Madrid]]
[[Category:Art Nouveau hotels]]
[[Category:Hotel buildings completed in 1912]]
[[Category:Hotels established in 1912]]
[[Category:1912 establishments in Spain]]
[[Category:Alfonso XIII]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Cortes neighborhood, Madrid]]