With pandemic travel restrictions easing in the spring of 2021, foreign tourists began returning to Madrid to discover the city’s downtown had undergone a makeover.
An area best known for its budget hostel now has a new image.
The facelift was part of a plan to attract five-star hotels as Madrid pushes for a piece of the luxury tourism sector which, until now, had been dominated in Europe by Paris, London and Milan.
Deluxe hotels are cropping up all over Spain’s capital. The Four Seasons Hotels Ltd (FSHLEX.UL) opened a hotel near the central Puerta del Sol with a 1,500 square meter complex that includes a shopping mall for luxury brands.
Marriott International (MAR.O) reopened the Santo Mauro Palace after renovation work during the pandemic.
Madrid hopes to avoid the saturation seen in Barcelona or the Balearic islands, while betting that the luxury sector helps it generate the same income.
