AC Palacio Del Retiro, Autograph Collection

Our first trip to madrid we stayed at this hotel
It was great
Service was immaculate
The staff so helpful, we will be back

Yes, it’s a beautiful hotel but… the tub shower is the most poorly designed I have ever seen and it was impossible to take a shower without drenching the floor, the staff replaced our shampoo daily but never our soap till finally we had none, and out bathroom door could only be opened a few inches because either it or the floor was warped.
The continental breakfast is a bit odd as they don’t let you get up and get it. They insist on serving you which is all fine and good, but the ambiance is more like we are doing it because we don’t trust you to limit yourself to what’s included as opposed to we want to serve you.
On the positive side it is a beautiful place, front desk staff was very helpful and the bed was very very comfy. Extremely well located as well.
Three stars because a hotel of this caliber should simply be better

I know Unilocal isn’t as big in Europe as Trip Advisor, but as an American Unilocal-lover…I’ve got to pay it forward with reviews, regardless of geography!
I recently completed a 3 night stay at the AC Palacio Del Retiro. I paid using Marriott rewards points and was in a party of three people (I was traveling with my parents).
For context: I have learned that traveling as a party of 3 in Europe is quite different from the US. In the US, many hotel rooms are equipped with two double– or queen-​sized beds to allow for occupancy by 3 – 4 people (as needed). In booking this and other Marriott hotels for this trip, though, I quickly learned that adding a third person tended to mean paying a fee for a roll-​away bed — and the room configuration choices were either two twin beds or a single queen/​king. I’ll fully admit to being snobby about not wanting a roll-​away bed, but to be fair I was cashing in hundreds of thousands of Marriott rewards points to pay for this trip. It does not feel luxurious or worth my money to sleep on a cot. And, moreover, I resent having to pay for the right to sleep on said roll-​away bed in what is supposed to be a free hotel room. The alternative is to get two rooms, which in effect doubles the cost in Marriott points.
PROS:
— This hotel is just so chic! It’s one of the prettiest and nicest hotels I’ve ever stayed at. My room had a king-​sized bed, 20′ ceilings, a huge ornate headboard that mirrored the large, arched shape of a mirror on the other wall. The bathroom was palatial with a walk-​in shower (featuring rain-​style shower head), enclosed toilet, dual vanities, and a soaking tub with a view practically out over Parque del Retiro. The bed was out-​of-​this-​world comfortable. Whatever they do to wash those sheets… they’re dreamy soft! And then the common areas of the hotel are equally well-​designed and sleek. These merits alone take me to four stars.
— I’m not sure how secure this process really is, but I kind of loved that each room has an old fashioned actual KEY instead of key cards! And in the similarly old fashioned style, they encourage you to leave the key at the front desk when you go out. This was nice since we were all trying to stay alert for pick-​pocketing hazards and not carrying our keys helped us feel less vulnerable.
— The location! It’s in the arts/​museum district on the east side of old downtown Madrid. All the surrounding streets are just so grandiose, beautiful, and clean. And — more than anything — being across the street from Parque del Retiro is just invaluable. We felt quite lucky to walk across to the park numerous times during our short stay. And with this… we’re up to five stars.
— One of the doormen really came to our aid when we were trying to connect with a tour guide who was picking us up at our hotel, endlessly playing phone tag with the guide. He bent over backwards to make sure we knew where we were going and walked with us to connect with the tour guide when a street closure prevented the guide from reaching us at the hotel front door.
CONS:
— Unfortunately, given our three-​traveler dilemma (see above) we felt our only option at this hotel was to book two separate rooms. I emailed to ask about alternatives (such as upgraded room or paying for the roll-​away bed using Marriott points instead of cash) but they showed no willingness to negotiate. Obviously I prefer hotels that focus on customer service to the point of accommodation, but that wasn’t going to happen here. Fundamentally this is the most important reason why I dropped down to four stars.
— On that note, they also refused to extend the privilege of free breakfast to all three of us. There was some «reduced rate» available for our third person, but the price was still absurdly high (I want to say 19E?). This didn’t feel very nice or accommodating, and confirmed my four star rating.
— While my parents enjoyed the free breakfast, I made oatmeal to eat in my room. But they don’t have water heaters (or coffee, tea packets) in rooms like most European hotels. I had to go down to the restaurant every morning to request hot water.
— This is very small and silly, but the front desk staff gave me an internet code that expired before the end of my stay (my parents got a code that lasted the whole stay, which is the intended benefit for Platinum Elite guests). It was just kind of a careless oversight and they fixed it, but even when they gave me a new code they gave me one that had been generated for another guest… which is also what they did when they gave me the first code which was not for the right duration. Instead of grabbing the nearest code, they could have spent a moment to get me one that was appropriate for the duration of my stay and I wouldn’t have needed to get a new one later. It’s the little things, you know?

Small hotel, only 50 rooms. The best location. Walking distance to most anything. The staff is attentive and speak English. Mucho appreciated as me espanol is asi asi.
They have a cool bar, business center and small gym. Would def recommend this place!

The central but quiet location next to Retiro park was perfect. The staff was professional but slightly undertrained. The woman running the morning buffet was a witch. She berated my wife for not understnding her protocol for serving food to the point that my wife was reduced to tears and wanted to check out of the hotel. I was frankly stunned at the waitress’s behavior and the front desk manager’s antipathy about the situation. It was a shame that something so petty as following unspeified proceedures at a meager at best buffet should ruin a Marriott guest’s stay at an otherwise great, well run, property. Sorry to complain so much, but someone needs to tell the otherwise excellent maids to be quiet at eight in the morning. Their personal conversation at full volume are a daily, unwelcome, wake up call. I am a Platinum Member for decades and have stayed in Marriott properties throughout the world, and have never complained once to the Marriott staff manager and not immediately been accomodated by the best staff in the business. I am looking forward to Marriott’s email inquiry of how I enjoyed my stay. Only three stars for now until Marriott responds. There are a lot of great hotels in this city to choose from, like the Ritz two blocks away. This hotel has great potential but needs some fine tuning. I hope someone at Marriott reads their Unilocal reviews in th meantime.

The location is incredible across from the Retiro park and a few minutes walking to the Prado, Thyssen and Sofia Renia museums. Could not be better. Scored a suite in this grand old palace and the staff is very young yet eager, willing and helpful. Strongly recommended!

Outstanding customer service! The staff of Daniel, Maria, Alicia, Juan and others were delightful and went out of their way to make our stay enjoyable. My Wife and I got upgraded to a suite with a jacuzzi. As an executive platinum with the Mariott, we were able to enjoy some of amenities.
Overall, our stay was FABULOUS. The location allowed us to walk to the park, enjoy a Madrid City tour and stay within 5 cab ride to most of the downtown area. The WIFI was a little slow and dropped the signal at times. I hope they work on improving this.
Highly recommended! A special thanks to the staff for making our Holiday stay memorable.

This was my second stay in Madrid and as much as I liked the last hotel I stayed in (Hotel Atlantico on Gran Via), I found the AC Palacio Real to be even better.
First and foremost, the location is perfect. It situated in Centro Madrid across from the Retiro park. It is located on the relaxed and more quiet Calle Alfonso XIII. Reina Sofia, Puerto de Sol and Plaza Mayor are all within a few minutes walking time. The Prado (a must visit), is a 2 minute walk. We rented the hotel’s motorized bikes (15 Euro per hour) and rode throughout Retiro park, I highly recommend this. At the least explore the park, it is amazingly beautiful!
The staff are incredibly nice, all speak English very well and will go out of their way to ensure your stay is perfect. A young lady named Mer helped us on many occasions and was terrific!
We had a queen room which overlooked the outside center of the hotel and made for a very quiet atmosphere. The room was decorated very modern with a flat screen TV, a Phillips IPhone tall speaker system and a CD player including a AC Hotel CD with different types of music.
As a Marriott Gold member, our room came with free continental breakfast each morning. This included juice, coffee, toast as well as a delicious fresh croissant with jam and butter. You can upgrade if you wish for full breakfast however we did not as street food is plentiful and less expensive.
Next time I’m in Madrid it will be AC Retiro for me for sure. Thank you to all the staff for a wonderful stay!

In my mind, Europe always adds 1 more star than is warranted. This is a solid 4 star hotel.
Beautiful outside architecture. Inside, rooms are very nice. With this type of architecture and history, you’d expect a grand lobby, but instead it’s very small and modern (!) with fluorescent lights. And common areas, hallways, etc were alittle more run down (frayed carpets, etc.).
We had free in-​room WiFi and breakfast with our stay. Though the WiFi router wasn’t strong enough to get to our room and the free breakfast was a few slices of toast and a croissant…
Service was very good. Staff was very attentive and friendly.

Mixed reviews on this hotel… it’s supposed to be a high-​end luxury AC brand hotel, which is a subsidiary of Marriott.
On the plus– decent location, right across from the main park, walking distance to the Prado and the king’s palace (though aren’t a lot of restaurants in the immediate vicinity– about 15 mins walking, and the nearest metro station is also about 10 mins– 2 transfers from the airport). Staff was extremely friendly, and volunteered to help us follow up with our luggage, which Air Europa had lost (they suck, by the way), which they did very diligently. They were also very helpful with directions, etc.
On the minus– the «king» bed was a queen– had to ask for two doubles. As Marriott Platinum, I’m supposed to get free Internet (didn’t work, though staff apologized), plus free breakfast. (Continental only here– two pieces of toast and a biscuit. A little skimpy). Plus, the hotel is built in an old building, so some things are kind of ghetto– frayed carpets, etc. Also, don’t plan on work out in the fitness center unless you’re a stamp collector– it’s the size of a postage stamp. Overall, pretty meh– for the price, would probably stay elsewhere in Madrid.