Brach Madrid

Brach sits on Gran Vía, the theatrical belle-époque boulevard that cuts across the centre of Madrid — a few minutes' walk from Puerta del Sol, the Gran Vía flagship stores, and the nightlife of Chueca and Malasaña. From the street it is discreet; inside, it is pure Starck. The public rooms set the tone immediately: warm tiled walls, low lamplight, dried-flower arrangements and candles at the desk, and a lounge furnished like the sitting room of a well-travelled collector — tan leather armchairs, a deep boucle sofa, hand-thrown ceramics and framed art stacked wall to wall. Nothing is matched, and everything is chosen. Evok's own magazine sits on the shelves, a reminder that this is a design house with a point of view rather than a corporate flag.

Our suite carried the concept all the way through. The living room is staged like the home of an artist who never throws anything away: a floor-to-ceiling cabinet holds stacks of art monographs — Picasso, Dalí, Brassaï, Julio González — alongside a Spanish bandurria, a pair of vintage boxing gloves and a row of dumbbells, all lit like a gallery. A boucle sofa sits under a wall of framed still-lifes; a chess board is set and waiting beside a decanter of whisky; and a little marble-topped station in the corner doubles as a bar and coffee point, with Brach-branded cups and a proper set of spirits and glassware. It is maximalist, but it is coherent — the work of someone who has considered every object. You spend the first hour just looking at things, which is exactly the point.

The bedroom is the quietest — and possibly the best — room in the suite. The bed sits against a tan stitched-leather headboard wall, and above it runs the showpiece: a hand-painted illustrated map of Spain, tracing the old pilgrimage routes through Burgos and Palencia on to Madrid, dotted with sketches and marginalia. Bedside niches are lit like vitrines and hold the house bath products; a dried-flower welcome note had been laid on the turned-down bed. The linen is crisp and white, the mattress excellent, and — despite the Gran Vía address — the room is properly quiet. It is a genuinely restful space wrapped inside a very busy idea.

Even the dressing room is styled. A curtained walk-in holds waffle robes, a Brach-branded yoga mat rolled on the top shelf, leather-strapped luggage rails, and cotton laundry and shoe bags printed with the hotel's little mascot. There is a safe, good lighting and generous hanging space. One touch tells you exactly who the hotel is for: a Dyson accessory-lending service, so you can borrow an Airwrap, a Corrale straightener or a Supersonic dryer for the length of your stay rather than travelling with your own.

The bathroom is a showstopper. Floors, walls and columns are clad in a dramatic speckled conglomerate marble — all pinks, reds, greys and amber — offset by glossy oxblood tile, brushed-brass fittings and a wall of mirror. A deep freestanding tub takes centre stage, with a hand-shower on a slim brass column and the house products lined up within reach. A scalloped, hand-carved mirror and a magnifying stand add a little Starck wit, and the separate guest WC is finished in the same bold stone. It is one of the more memorable hotel bathrooms in the city.

The suite opens onto a private terrace — a rare thing in central Madrid — set with cushioned banquettes and dining chairs, clipped topiary in glazed green pots and rush-shaded lamps, looking out over the rooftops of the city centre. It is a lovely place for a morning coffee or an evening drink above the noise of Gran Vía.

The heart of the ground floor is Brach, the hotel's restaurant, done up as a glamorous, high-ceilinged 1920s Madrid café — coffered ceilings, amber glass, tan-leather banquettes, an open kitchen and shelves of art books and ceramics. The kitchen leans Mediterranean with Middle-Eastern accents alongside Spanish classics, and it draws a local crowd as much as hotel guests, which is always a good sign. Breakfast is generous and beautifully laid out — a long spread of viennoiserie and Spanish pastries, madeleines, cured meats and cut fruit — and worth coming down for before a day in the city.

Downstairs, the wellness floor runs along a hushed, curtain-lined corridor lit by rows of brass cage lanterns to an indoor pool and a set of treatment rooms — a calm, low-lit retreat from the boulevard above. The gym is better than most city hotels bother with: Technogym cardio and strength kit, a Brach-branded punching bag, and a sculptural stand of wood-and-steel free weights that looks as good as it works — fitness as another piece of the design, very much in the Starck manner.

Brach Madrid is not a quiet, classic grand hotel, and it isn't trying to be. It is a design statement — Philippe Starck's dense, witty, art-filled take on a Madrid apartment — with the substance to back it up: excellent beds, showpiece bathrooms, a genuinely good restaurant, and a spa, pool and gym that are rare for a hotel this size and this central. If you want beige minimalism, look elsewhere; if you want a hotel with a point of view, there is nothing like it in the city. Perfect for: Design lovers and repeat travellers who want personality, a brilliant central location on Gran Vía, and a room full of things to look at Skip if: You prefer classic, pared-back palace-hotel calm, or you want a big-brand spa-resort footprint Book the: A suite, for the collector's-apartment living room, the illustrated-map bedroom and — if you can — the private terrace over the rooftops. Have dinner downstairs at Brach, and borrow the Dyson on the way up.