The Madrid hotel with a bowling alley and 30,000-euro mattresses that has been chosen as one of the ten best in the world

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At 62 Calle Velázquez there has always been a hotel.

Since this block was built in the then incipient Salamanca district, back in 1939, this has been the noble abode of Madrid's upper bourgeoisie.

Today, the original Gran Hotel Velázquez is and is not its substitute: the Bless hotel.

To understand each other, there is not the roof terrace where the afternoons are drunk with cucumber martinis.

But it is in the imposing staircase upholstered in flowers, a textile

to the Manila shawls that covered the shoulders of the ladies in that wealthy Madrid in the midst of the construction of the capital's Ensanche.

"Wrapping yourself in it is like dressing in a painting," Pérez Galdós said of this garment "refractory to changes in fashion."

Well that.

They are winks to the past, and there are many, displayed by Lázaro Rosa-Violán, the designer of this young five-star who is aristocratic and hooligan at the same time.

Another luxury hotel, yes, in this sybaritic Madrid where there is already an impressive cluster of stars.

But the Bless hotel might be the most outgoing of its kind.

With its huge open windows, its exultant designer bar and its trendy restaurants, the Palladium-brand establishment has made room for the city in its lobby... practically 24 hours a day.

Warning for rabble and night owls: the

that hide in this basement of the golden mile open until six in the morning.

We ask, out of curiosity: On a Tuesday at five in the morning are there people bowling?

Answer: "Yes, there are people."

We will have to go to Fetén, as the space is called, to check it out.

By the way, the

does not lack a bar of

, although the five-star assures that it is more of a joke.

The Bless hotel bowling alley.

Bowling or not, guests staying at the hotel have an advantage, since they can rest their arms and legs on

.

This is the only hotel in Madrid with this extravagance to fall asleep.

There seems to be scientific evidence that the Hogo sleeping system eliminates electromagnetic pollution accumulated during the day.

It is not the only ode to the body proposed by this luxury brand focused on hedonism and the pleasures of life, especially after its reopening after the pandemic.

An example is the

, sublimated thanks to handmade soaps, oils, aromas and music that match the mood of the guest.

Or the villas entirely dedicated to wellness.

There are two of these

with large terraces and Jacuzzis, with yoga mats and pillows sprinkled with mist... and, what is most striking, with a reigning peace that Velázquez Street suddenly seems like a distant galaxy.

One of the rooms.

It is these details that have probably raised the hotel to tenth place in the top

of the best accommodation in the world.

A list that Tripadvisor, the travel giant, prepares annually and that is something like the Olympus of the rankings.

"One of the fragmentations weighing on these algorithms is historicity," explains Cristina Sáez, sales and marketing director.

"They reward you for being valued above 4.5 on a constant basis. For them, we have a team of eight people who are in charge of

moments for customers and controlling their satisfaction index" And if something goes wrong?

"They would make sure that any incidence becomes something that you will not forget."

The rooftop pool.

Some glorious moment can be experienced without being a guest.

It's easy to imagine yourself on the Balinese beds by the

.

Or sipping a signature Bloody Mary at the Picos Pardos lounge, on the same rooftop, with half of Madrid in sight.

Half of Madrid who has already dined at the Salvaje restaurant-show, one of the

of 2022. That seems at least if we look at social networks.

The Bless lends itself a lot to the photo.

Much of it because of Rosa-Violán and her staircase with a Manila shawl, her XXL-sized rhinoceros and the bowling alley.

You know, every night until dawn.

Wild Rhino.

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