Have just returned from a frankly exhausting few nights spent in the most sensual, hedonistic hotel I’ve ever had the pleasure to stay in.
Sometimes minimalist hotels can lack a bit of warmth. Not so the Hotel Urban in Madrid which, though funky and chic, oozed sex from every piece of wood, slate, marble and leather. We pushed the boat out booking a suite and deposited Rory in the interconnecting standard room next door. What an excellent decision!
Taffeta bed cover, fur throw, peacock feathers, lots of electrical wizardry to dim the lights and close the blinds; even the complimentary slippers were black. We also had some company in the form of an unusual statue (see right) which seemed to offer a rather enlightened alternative to the usual room service menu….or was it just somewhere to leave your brolly? Just watch for the splinters.
These artefacts were dotted about all over the hotel: the totems in the reception lobby were particularly well-endowed and made me laugh and point as I can’t seem to be sensible and grown-up about willies in art and sculpture generally – such a philistine.
I was just as silly in our bathroom which had glass walls so could be seen from the bedroom. Thankfully there were blinds available and the loo was in a separate, private room. The walls of the bathroom were black slate and marble, there were mirrors everywhere and the huge jacuzzi bath was positioned in a large picture window. I could sit in the bath, with the bubbles putting a smile on my face, and wave to the people looking around the Habitat shop next door. I found the blinds for that window a day later….
Whilst Rory watched Spanish Countdown and MTV in his own little pad, we got into romantic mood with a litre carton of Sangria from the supermarket (no corkscrew to hand and no bottles with screw-tops to purchase). Class. Thankfully the pre-dinner gin and tonic in the hotel’s Glass Bar was huge and terribly sophisticated. Bloody marvellous!
I will be telling you all about the sights of Madrid in another post. Amazingly we did venture out …needed a bit of air from time to time.
Good gracious woman…are you ever at home??
I'm ever so slightly jealous..can you tell?
Libby – well it's a tough job having to find material for my blog but I grin and bear it 😉
You actually went out and left the sumptuous magnificence of your hotel room? Are you crazy!?!
Steve – there's only so much crap telly a teenager will watch. Hold on…what am I saying…there's no limit at all. Damn.
I hate bathrooms that you can see into. (There's that great granny prudishness yet again.) Other than that it looks lovely though.
Expat Mum – couldn't agree more – visually it made the room stunning but those blinds were down pretty sharpish!
Trish, you are such a lucky girl! I used to go to Madrid on business quite a lot and loved a fabulous restaurant called Teatro which was in an old theatre – not surprisingly. It was the most deliciously frou frou place imaginable!
Wow that sounds gorgeous, can't believe you lowered the tone with some boxed sangria though, shame on you.
These sounds amazing, I yearn to just spend a week in a bumptious hotel room somewhere taking baths, sleeping in and ordering room service…
Previously Very Lost – I must look it up and see where it was: sounds fab.
Very Bored – I know, common as muck. We hid the carton…
Heather – It really was such a treat; we all loved it.
Never really thought of hotels or hotel rooms as sexy before. Clearly I've been staying in the wrong ones…
The Dotterel – oh Tim, you're missing a trick! There's always something a bit naughty and illicit about hotel rooms….or maybe that's just me!
Dang. I think I'm going to have a rent a room just from reading your description of your getaway pad. I'm getting all hot and bothered just thinking about it. Unfortunately, I live in Texas and not in Spain. I don't think we have anything nearly that awesome around here.
Organic Motherhood – will just run that cold shower for you now 😉
I'm trying to reconcile your behaviour in the bathroom and your response to Libby. I'm concluding that you made a typo in your response which should read "I grin and bare it". Am I right?
Troy – guilty as charged! (you do make me laugh!)
Wow – stunning, am extremely jealous!
A great hotel makes the whole trip I say. I don't understand people who think hotel rooms are just somewhere to park your stuff while you sightsee. That one looks amazing. 🙂
Julie – it certainly had the wow factor: apologiesd for making you go green!
Clippy Mat – I always try and get the flights cheap so we can splurge a bit on the hotel. We probably splurged a lot on this place but I'll remember it forever – it made the holiday for us.
We really should have booked a suite when we visited!! Our standard room was a bit teeny and black…it was difficult to find anything. Would have been good to have more room with a cot too. Loved the rest of the hotel though. The rooftop bar was a highlight for me while my daughter – and husband – particularly liked the sweets in the large jars at reception. X