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Certainly quirky, yet undeniably classy, Madrid's Only You Boutique Hotel is fun headquarters for your time in Madrid's fashion-forward capital city.
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Finding a hotel in Madrid
Lobby, Only You Boutique Hotel, Madrid
Only You Boutique Hotel
From the minute you set foot in the Only You Boutique Hotel, you'll immediately get a sense that it's a different kind of space. A hotel making an artistic effort on every level - to go above and beyond what most people "expect" from a tourist hotel. And, truly, they've succeeded. We all can suffer from a bit of hotel fatigue, and it's fun to be at a place that's trying to shake things up!
The brand has two hotels in Madrid. We stayed at the "Only You Boutique Hotel," near Chueca, and there's also the Only You Hotel Atocha, which is farther south, across from Puerta de Atocha (the city's major train station). If you're choosing between the two, I'd recommend the Boutique Hotel, as the location is significantly quieter, and convenient because you're already reading a review of it! And yes, before moving on, we should admit, it's a bit of an obscure name choice. Meant to imply personalization, it takes some getting used to, as it doesn't quite roll off the tongue. But, once you get past it, I promise you'll be singing Only You's praises (I've decided to leave the YOU capitalization off, for ease of reading...)
As you can see from this selection of photos, the Only You Boutique Hotel's lobby is phenomenal - with a number of artistically designed seating areas, beyond just the restaurants (though you can generally find a drink anywhere - isn't Spain great!). How about that chinoiserie elevator? As you can tell, we visited in late December, over the holidays, which was really a great time to explore Madrid. If you'll be visiting Spain in winter, check out What to Wear in Spain in Winter, for all of your packing essentials!
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the attentive service at the Only You Boutique Hotel, especially as it was the holidays, and also by the sheer number of workers efficiently bustling around the relatively compact spot. The hotel was simply teeming with guests, employees, and visitors (though admittedly I took these snaps early in the morning to try to evade them!)
Only You Boutique Hotel: Location
In addition to its quirky decor, Only You's Chueca location, slightly north of the main tourist areas (Plaza Mayor, Retiro Park, and Gran Via) and not far from the city's main, high-end shopping area, is reason enough to make it your home base for your time in Madrid. You'll walk right past Only You's main competitor, The Principal Madrid, which is in the photo below, directly across from the iconic Edificio Metropolis. The minute you turn off Gran Via, the neighborhood starts calming down and the crowds immediately melt away.
Chueca proper is Madrid's gay district, and whether you stay at Only You or not, it's certainly worth coming up there to see a bit of the "everyday" city, off of the tourist circuit. Fun restaurants, boutique shopping, and rainbows around every corner! Trust me, you'll know if you're in the right metro station!
Only You Boutique Hotel: Food & Drink
Only You Boutique Hotel has several nice food and beverage offerings, in addition to its convenient location in the centre of a good number more.
For breakfast, lunch and dinner, in addition to a small bar, there's the "main" lounge, nestled next tot the check-in desk. We popped by for a delicious (free) breakfast, since our room wasn't ready yet when we arrived, so I got some delicious cheese, cucumbers, and my first jamon, to start off our visit to Spain! Not to mention this mug...
In the front of the hotel, is main tapas bar, El Padrino, which had a surprisingly local clientele, for a hotel. It gets fairly crowded in the evenings, but if you're on an American schedule, like us, you can beat the crowds ;) There's also a full restaurant, though I can't offer commentary on it, as we never actually made it there! For more on Spain dining habits (including how late dinner is truly served), check out 10 Common Tourist Mistakes in Spain.
Lovely tables: barrels of my new favorite wine, Marques de Riscal
Only You Boutique Hotel: Room
I was happy with our premium room at the Only You Boutique Hotel. It has two small closets, a nice (comfy) bed, and notably windows that actually opened (which is important, as we visited in December and were on the verge of burning up indoors, due to different cultural heating expectations!). We had a TV with a wide variety of channels, including a few in English, which worked out well for me.
I neglected to take a picture, but the bathroom was nice and new, had sufficient counter space, and a door to the toilet/shower area. However, my only real complaint from our stay was the seemingly ubiquitous shower flooding issue that has taken hold in hotels across Europe. So make those showers quick, or you'll be wiping up a flood!
As always, we opted to go one level above the "basic" hotel room, as European hotel rooms are notoriously small. In the premium room, we had a small desk with a chair for my husband to sit in while I get dressed, which is all we really need!
For more on selecting hotels in Europe, check out the full post. And if this is your first trip to Europe, be sure to read my First Timer's Guide to Europe! Only You Boutique Hotel: Amenities
In addition to what we've discussed, the Only You Boutique Hotel also offers delicious-smelling toiletries (a must!), giraffe-print bathrobes (why not!), and espresso and small snacks in the lobby, in addition to the in-room coffee/tea facilities.
Thanks for stopping by!
I hope you enjoy your trip to Madrid! It's a charming city, with so much to offer. You can check out Only You Boutique Hotel's pricing on Booking. com here. If you'll be heading over to Barcelona, check out my review of the Hotel Mercer Barcelona, nestled into Barcelona's Roman fortifications (you read that correctly!)
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