The Hard Rock Hotel Madrid Is a Rock ‘n’ Roll Respite

At some point near the beginning of my stay at the Hard Rock Hotel Madrid I wondered what exactly a “Vibe Manager”—a role the property proudly employs—was. The rest of my stay slowly revealed the answer.

First, I noticed the curated playlist QR codes dropped throughout the property. Then, how the rhythms of the live DJ set turned our languorous dinner into a late-night lounge. Or maybe it was the neon motif both inside and out. It’s these details, big and small, that eventually created an experience that was, well, a vibe. 

It would have to be, given the all-night playground the property calls home. Madrid is the perfect place for gourmands, night owls, and aesthetes alike. The city is a haven for vermouth and sherry drinkers, but there’s also a rogue’s gallery of cervecerías for those looking for a craft brew. We spent our nights grabbing IPAs (or ee-pas, as they say) at Wild Brew Pizza and sipping Amontillado while munching olives alongside locals at La Venencia, an anti-fascist bolthole during the Spanish Civil War where Hemingway camped out a time or two. 

I had a spiritual experience beneath Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights at the Prado; a religious one over a platter of Jamón Ibérico at a Catalan resto with celebrity bonafides courtesy of Rosalía, Casa Macareno in Malasaña; and, let’s be honest here, a commercial one in the Neo-Mudéjar and Art Deco shops on the Gran Vía. I was then invited to channel that inspiration on one of the guitars guests can room service through the Hard Rock’s Sound of Your Stay program.  

You, of course, know the Hard Rock as a touristy watering hole with a rock ‘n’ roll legacy, a place to eat a burger beneath a pair of Jeff Lynne’s stage-worn pants. But—much like Madrid, which works hard to distinguish itself from Barcelona and the country’s party beaches—the brand’s hotels and casinos have steadily been expanding from their cafe roots with boutique touches and 4-star hospitality. 

There’s still the Hard Rock Cafe’s signature memorabilia I loved as a pretentious 13-year-old with an iPod full of Nirvana and the Ramones. Elvis’ suit sits alongside Prince’s glasses and Nicki Minaj’s jacket, bringing together legends who wouldn’t brush shoulders otherwise (like the Gallagher brothers who get a nod on the third floor). However, the Hard Rock Madrid also welcomes the city’s creative culture into the property, boasting Cubist artwork, local programming, and memorabilia from Spanish artists past and present. 

Fitting, as the hotel’s within arm’s reach of the famous Golden Triangle of Art, whose vertices consist of the city’s three most influential museums. Directly across the street you’ll find Picasso’s Guernica in all its opulence at the Reina Sofía; then stroll past the the Royal Botanical Gardens to worship at the feet of Velázquez’s Las Meninas at the Prado; and, finally, you can peruse the wealth of Italian primitives and Impressionists at the Thyssen.     

The hotel is rife with local touches that pull Madrileños into its lobby and up to the RT60 rooftop venue, while also specializing in signature dining and decor its international clientele will appreciate from past stays at other properties. (The walk-in rainfall showers come highly recommended by one group of tourists that enjoyed a gin-soaked weekend full of cabarets and 6 a.m. bedtimes.) The elegance of the 161 rooms and selection of suites is injected with electric accents like pop art pillows and wall decor featuring lyrics from artists like Queen.       

There’s a visual frisson of excitement throughout: From the neon glow of the exterior to the open-air lobby with a guitar-shaped light installation, through to the restaurant, Sessions, where the acoustic interiors take inspiration from the inside of a Spanish guitar, and on out to the terrace and the Roxy Garden’s pool (with underwater speakers) beyond. Whether at the local artist pop-up market on the terrace or at drag brunch or over Americanos at dinner, a steady buzz reverberated through the hotel’s halls during my stay. 

I spent some time walking the narrow, undulating streets around Atocha, though any true flâneur will feel a little rushed with so much to tipple and taste. If Madrid is a playlist, it’s one on shuffle. The many faces of its diverse barrios range from the ornate Salamanca to the hipster Malasaña to the street art-splashed Lavapiés. It’s a feast for the senses, no matter what type of trip you’re looking for. Have every type of trip, Madrid beckons. I worked up an appetite in front of the Flemish paintings at the Prado, then ran a sprint through the glass cases of olives, cheeses, pastries, patatas bravas, eels, oysters, and fish smoked, salted, or preserved at the Mercado San Miguel.      

The epicurean delights continued back at the hotel. The menu at Sessions is an ode to familiar fare that samples Spanish cuisine as seamlessly as a hip-hop track. We enjoyed rich spreads of pulled pork croquettes and crispy sushi and baked artichokes and Josper-roasted sea bass and, and, and… all artfully paired with wines of every grape and signature cocktails from the onsite mixologists.

If the cafe was where I learned about rock stars as a kid, the hotel is the place I lived like one as an adult. Madrid’s unapologetic after-hours appeal provided a much needed respite from my day-to-day. And, after an evening of exploring the city, a nightcap at the Hard Rock’s lobby bar acted as an elegy for a night well spent and put into the ground against its will. As Hemingway said, “To go to bed at night in Madrid marks you as a little queer. For a long time your friends will be a little uncomfortable about it.”

The overall vibe of the city (and the Hard Rock Hotel found there) is clear: Eat well, drink up, sleep late. 

Freelance writer Lauren Loudermilk writes about film, television and travel. You can read her work at Suburban Gothic and elsewhere.