Hotel Europa Madrid

Hotel Europa Madrid

At Calle del Carmen 4, right on the edge of Puerta del Sol, the building that now holds Hotel Europa has stood since 1860, and it was here, on 23 March 1887, that the cubist painter Juan Gris was born. The hotel introduces itself with that history rather than burying it, and the address does most of the rest of the work: step outside and you are in the restricted traffic zone of Madrid 360, with the metro, buses, shops and cultural sights all within walking distance. Of the hundred rooms, some overlook the square itself, others the interior courtyard or Calle del Carmen, and three are fitted for guests with reduced mobility. Breakfast, tapas and coffee happen on the Café Europa terrace, with a restaurant and bar for later in the day. Reception runs around the clock in Spanish and English, Wi-Fi is free throughout, and staff will arrange parking, book an excursion through the tour desk, or handle laundry and dry cleaning without you leaving the building. What no hotel nearby can claim is the address: this is the only hotel actually on Puerta del Sol. That suits anyone who wants to fall out of bed into the middle of Madrid and treat the square as an extension of the lobby. It will not suit anyone travelling with a pet, since none are allowed, or anyone hoping for quiet, since the city outside is, as the hotel itself puts it, one that never sleeps. Juan Gris left this corner long before Cubism made him famous elsewhere, but the corner has not moved, and the hotel still introduces itself with his name first. The only hotel actually on Puerta del Sol, in a building where Juan Gris was born in 1887. Rooms face the square, the courtyard or Calle del Carmen, with breakfast and tapas on the Café Europa terrace. Not for pet owners or anyone after quiet.