Puerta América, Madrid

PUERTA AMÉRICA: EVERY FLOOR A DIFFERENT ADVENTURE

With twelve f loors and communal spaces providing a unique style designed by nineteen design agencies, your choice of room is critical at Hotel Puerta América. Thankfully the front-desk staff anticipate guests changing rooms. A menu of design choices for the different floors is provided at check-in and you are recommended to study closely, or to review the website in advance. Some floors are a triumph of style over substance and there are stories of guests whose frustration in trying to dim the walls or use hi-tech appliances forced them to change rooms.
Although f loors have a similar layout, when you leave the elevator on each floor you feel in altogether different worlds – from futuristic red plastic to black marble through to traditional leather and wood. Examples include the first floor by Zaha Hadid, where everything seems to come out from the wall. The bathroom is a single structure from floor to ceiling, which changes colour according to the room. Most frustratingly, the waste basket is a challenge for guests because it’s not so easy to find. Or you can just drop your rubbish on the floor ...
The eighth floor by Kathryn Findlay, “Light in Motion”, intends to suggest a feminine touch. Refusing to consider walls or doors, Findlay provided for sweeping white curtains that separate the bathroom from the room. The entire room is white and forms a single space.Patience is required on the ninth f loor with Richard Gluckman’s “Boxes of Colours” concept as you need to look for everything, all hidden in boxes. The biggest box, in the middle of the room, houses the TV. In the bathroom, the first thing you see when you enter is a large glass box containing the shower, with a sliding door separating it from the bedroom and a white metal curtain. A raw industrial look contrasts with back-lit illumination, so don’t forget to ask how to turn off the lights otherwise you’ll struggle to get to sleep. With every floor a different artistic design, this hotel challenges the senses in an architectural assault course of design.

Hotel Puerta América
Avenida de América, 41
28002 Madrid · Spain
+34 (0)917 445 400
hotel.puertamerica@hoteles-silken.com
www.hotelpuertamerica.com

Rooms and rates
The Hotel Puerta América has 342 bedrooms including a number of suites on the twelfth floor. You should expect to pay around €360 for a double room plus 7% tax excluding breakfast.

Location
The hotel is midway between the airport and the city centre and is not in the centre of town. A taxi from the airport should cost around €15, and around €10 into town. Alternatively consider the metro stop next to the hotel, but be prepared to change a couple of times to get into the centre.