Built on the site of Palacio de Masserano – once the home of Victor Hugo – Brach Madrid is steeped in the artistry of a bygone era. And the allure only continues as you step inside.
There are places where art is displayed, and then there are places where it is lived. Brach Madrid falls into the latter. From the restaurant to the rooms, the property – renovated and designed by world-renowned architect Philippe Starck – is a beautiful ode to the romance of 20th-century Spain, where a legacy of Surrealist artists and storytellers weave their tales of unrequited love and nostalgia into tangible artworks, peppered around the hotel.
Brach Madrid is the newest hotel (having welcomed its first guests in January this year) to complement Evok Collection’s stylish portfolio of properties, in good company with Brach Paris, Cour des Vosges, Nolinski Paris, and Nolinski Venice. As the group’s first foray into Spain, Brach Madrid, under the clever guise of Philippe Starck, homages the nation’s Golden Age for art (the early 1900s), as well as the creative climate of neighbouring Madrid and Andalusia all at once. It’s time to let your love affair with Brach Madrid begin.
The Vibe
A patchwork of architectural styles line Madrid’s central street, Gran Via, as elegant buildings boasting New-York art deco, Viennese Secession, Plateresque, Neo-Mudejar, and Haussmann style rub shoulders. It’s amongst these that you’ll spot Brach Madrid’s storied façade. Built between 1919 and 1922, by architect Jerónimo Pedro Mathet Rodriguez on the old site of Palacio de Masserano, many of the property’s original features remain, from the white stone façade to a large iron-wrought staircase spanning all seven floors. As you step into the hotel, the outside buzz of Madrid’s busiest street quietens into a candle-lit and chocolate tile-clad foyer.
It’s within these walls that you’ll dine next to French and Spanish oil paintings, and books about El Greco, Velásquez, Goya, Dalí and Picasso. In the rooms you’ll sleep amongst beautiful ceramics, flamenco instruments, and portraits of Spanish poet and playwright Gabriel García Lorca. Also dotted around the hotel, find black and white portraits of a fictional woman – as though left there by her artist lover in her memory, they evoke the idea of lost passion and unrequited love that permeates the whole hotel’s vibe. A stay at Brach Madrid will leave you yearning for a similar tale of your own.
The Rooms
Fifty-seven rooms – including four stylish suites – are split across six storeys. In true Philippe Starck style, this is not a one-size-fits-all kind of hotel. Each room (across the three categories: executive, deluxe, superior) is arranged slightly differently to cleverly play into the unique charm of the architecture, where quiet corners become art-filled breakfast nooks while large windows with Juliette balconies flood the space with natural light.
Large beds are framed by a leather headboard and a hand-drawn print, mapping out an artist’s journey. “Just as in the days when impoverished artists paid with their works of art [..] I dreamt that the poet had passed through there, paying with his passion. Following the same imaginary principle, the central island features collections of beautiful objects, as if left there by travelling visitors,” Philippe Starck explains. Copies of Don Quixote nod to the property’s Spanish heritage while Gallimard editions honour Evok Collection’s Parisian roots. Meanwhile, an in-room radio plays through in-built speakers, bringing the palmas and tacón of Madrid’s flamenco dancers room-side, as though the flamenco guitars and castanets hanging on the bedroom walls have suddenly sprung into action.
The spacious en-suite bathrooms are stand-out features in the rooms. They boast walk-in showers, and some feature beautiful free-standing baths too. Tiled floor-to-ceiling in a rich brown with breccia (a precious stone) floors, and a beautiful moss-green enamel vanity as a focal point – as well as mirrors everywhere you turn – every inch invites a sensual moodiness. Shake up a cocktail from the room’s well-stocked mini bar (bottles of Clase Azul Reposed tequila, Belvedere vodka, whole lemons and lime, and fresh buckets of ice) and enjoy getting ready for the evening.
The Food + Drink
From the original 1920s New York brasserie mirrors to the lamp-lighting and oil paintings, Brach Madrid’s restaurant replicates the creative hum of the grand cafes popular amongst artists in the 1920s and 30s. Against the gentle clink of cutlery “you can imagine Salvador Dalí, Luis Bunuel, Frederico Garcia Lorca and all the other members of the Generation of ‘27 sitting here, rewriting the world as poets over artistic tertulias,” Starck explains.
It’s here that the talented chef Adam Bentalha serves an impressive menu of mediterranean classics with mezze-style nods to the Middle East from the open plan kitchen. Despite Madrid’s inland location, seafood is a highlight here. Notably, try the red tuna, crispy prawns, sea bass, and sucrine salad – all perfect for sharing.
Breakfast is also served here. The incredible Spanish tortilla, made with bell peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes will set you up for the day, especially when paired with a freshly-blended detox juice. Looking for an afternoon pick-me-up? One of the hotel’s most popular spots is La Pâtisserie where éclairs, fresh lemony Madeleines, lemon meringue tarts, strawberry shortcakes, and flans are served with pots of tea and coffee.
The adjacent bar headed up by mixologist Alex López Arriaza (tell him what you like and he’ll make you something special) serves up a signature menu of fruity cocktails and aged Catalan wines, and sets the mood for the weekend with live DJs performing from Thursday to Saturday night.
The Spa
La Capsule spa on the lower ground floor takes the hotel’s calming ambience to another level: a 400-metre-squared white-tiled maze of treatment rooms where you can unwind with the Clarins signature massage using the Tonic Body Treatment Oil – which is more relaxing than a deep-tissue rub. The extensive spa treatment menu is worth a flick through, fusing traditional holistic practices such as cupping, Tui Na and Chi New Tsang with modern technologies. Elsewhere, the 20-meter swimming pool is surrounded by glittering-gold booths as well as an infrared sauna, steam room, flotation bath, and recovery room to try out in between treatments.
Brach Madrid is also the only hotel in the city with a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, a device that’s particularly popular with travellers who have flown in from further afield for its jet lag-reducing benefits. By filling a glass cylinder with 100 per cent oxygen, your energy levels, sleep-quality and tissue repair are given a much-needed boost. Inside the pod is less scary than it looks, and as it’s just oxygen being pumped in you’re able to bring your phone, book – or anything you like – inside to keep you entertained during the 30-minute session.
The Little Extras
Calming scents of Evok Collection’s candle range waft around the hotel – especially in the hotel reception on the first floor – and are available to purchase. At turndown, an option to rent an LED face mask from the spa for the night is laid out on your bed next to the room service breakfast menus, as well as a list of all of the incredible hotel merch (everything from bed linens, ceramic soap dishes, flip flops, playing cards, and even a guitar) available to buy.
The To-Do List
Honour Brach Madrid’s neighbourhood and spend your time gallery hopping: the art is too iconic and too close by to miss out on. Start with Museo Nacional del Prado, home to the largest collection of Francisco Goya paintings in the world, including the infamous La Maja Desnuda, as well as his “black paintings”. A short walk from Prado, find the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum full of some of the biggest names in western painting (Georgia O’Keeffe, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gaugin, Monet, Morisot, Mondrian …) as well as a floor dedicated to temporary exhibitions by contemporary artists.
All images © Brach Madrid, Evok Collections by Guillaume de Laubier
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