(Re)Opening Soon: Westin Palace Madrid Rebranded to The Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel

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Tl;dr – A popular and historic hotel in Madrid – the Westin Palace – will be rebranded to a Luxury Collection property next month.

While researching an upcoming trip to Spain, I came across something interesting—there were two search results for the same property. The Westin Palace and The Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Madrid, are one and the same.

After a closer look, it became clear that the Westin Palace hotel will soon rebrand as a Luxury Collection property.

Well known to locals and popular amongst tourists, The Palace was developed by Belgian entrepreneur Georges Marquet on the personal suggestion of King Alfonso XIII – the same monarch who is the namesake of another popular Spanish Bonvoy property, the Hotel Alfonso XIII, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Sevilla. The Palace is one of those old iconic properties that lays claim to many ‘firsts.’ It was the first hotel in Spain (and only the second in the world) to have a bathroom in each guest room and it was also the first hotel in Spain to have a telephone in each room. Coined as a “living legend since 1912” The Palace recently completed a beautification to restore the hotel’s facade to its original grandeur. The property will now receive the soft-brand treatment as part of this investment. 

Regarding the transition – this is a bit of a ‘switch flip.’ The hotel is open and operating as the Westin for all reservations before March 5, 2025. As The Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Madrid starts accepting reservations for March 5, 2025, there won’t be any scheduled downtime between sunsetting its time as a Westin and strolling into life as a Luxury Collection property. The property is currently available for points redemptions in March and here’s a look at both cash and award rates:

The Palace will join the Santo Mauro, a Luxury Collection Hotel, as Marriott’s second Luxury Collection hotel in Madrid.

A Sensible Move by Marriott

While I’ve never stayed at the property, this is fitting for several reasons. First, there’s already a Westin in Madrid – the Westin Madrid Cusco – a property only 10 minutes from Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home to Real Madrid. It isn’t to say that a city can’t have two Westin properties. Both current Westin properties have been open and coexisting for a while now, and there are other examples of two (or more) same-city-same-hotel-brand around the world. That said, after acquiring the Westin brand in the Starwood merger, Marriott has worked to position Westin as a core brand focused on ‘premium wellness,’ seeking to affix a given corporate standard. Thus, it’s at least a question of whether you need to have two properties with the same corporate vibe and ethos in the same city. 

Second, given that Westin is a core brand, there’s less room for The Palace to center its history and prestige, which makes it iconic. Marriott’s tryptic of soft brands—the Tribute Portfolio, Autograph Collection, and Luxury Collection—are tailor-made for housing unique independent hotels, allowing them to become part of the Bonvoy family while maintaining the freedom to express their individuality and do more things’ their way’. 

Finally, while the hotel rates as decent-good-slight above average overall, if this restoration is the kickstart of a determined effort to increase quality, it makes sense to shift the hotel’s category to a brand that signals (at least in theory) greater quality and service. A new management group assumed control of the property last March. I believe this rebrand and restoration were a core part of the group’s strategy to elevate the property’s reputation. In recent years, the Luxury hotel scene in Madrid has grown. Within Bonvoy alone there is The Madrid EDITION and the aforementioned Santo Mauro. Outside of Marriott, there are the Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Rosewood Villa Magna, and Relais & Chateaux Hotel Orfila. If the aim was to capture some of that 1912 elegance, the hotel’s new management has its work cut out for them. 

Conclusion

If you’re heading to Madrid this spring (or later), a ‘new’ Luxury Collection hotel is coming online—The Palace. It’s a rebranding of an old historic property operating as a Westin. If you have plans to check this property out soon, I’d love to know in the comments.