Gloriously eccentric, this hotel could hardly be further away in style from the grande dames of the Ritz and the Palace. Set in an unremarkable 19th-century block close to Atocha station, inside it feels like a New York vintage furniture warehouse. The aesthetic is mid-century mishmash: unmatched Danish armchairs, old boxing posters, industrial lighting, a catalogue’s worth of different floor tiles. A hatch serving freshly baked pastries is cut from a shipping container. It’s the work of the Barcelona-based designer Lázaro Rosa Violán: extremely hip, but great fun at the same time. The guest rooms are cool and calm by comparison, but the urban theme continues: subway-tiled bathrooms with institutional sinks, wooden floors. It’s the perfect base for an artsy visit to the Reina Sofía, and there’s in-house entertainment, too: cocktails, jazz, and good food, as crazily mixed up as the décor.