This leads to an airy lobby and a series of patios and fountains, with glimpses of leafy gardens through latticework and arches. You’ll know when you’ve arrived: The gate is immaculately edged in lavender it opens onto a white courtyard in which three soaring palms and high Moorish walls draw the eye up to the porcelain-blue sky. This is a clean contemporary take on Andalucia, named after a style of Flamenco that is danced in bare feet (the idea is that guests should feel free to do their thing). On the ground floor, chef Enrique Olvera disembarks from Mexico City with a restaurant (Jerónimo) that eschews fancy fine dining for a streamlined modern interpretation of traditional Mexican cuisine if budgetary restrictions apply, an evening in the EDITION’s rooftop wonderland would be a great way of catching the hotel’s hedonistic vibe. The public spaces have a low-lit calm but go all-out for contrast: An antique tapestry hangs behind an all-white pool table lined with electric-blue baize, and you might find a minimalist bench artfully draped with a traditional Spanish shawl. The drama of the building – cunningly repurposed from a boxy modern former bank HQ on the old-town Plaza de Celenque – begins with the ornate 18th-century granite doorway by Pedro de Rivera (one of the few historic elements remaining from the original site) and continues into a vast spiral staircase in pearly-white stone, curving spectacularly upwards like a giant seashell. But even in the face of tough competition from big-name luxury brands, the new EDITION is plainly the cherry on the cake – or the prawn on the paella. Despite its many virtues, the Spanish capital has never been replete with top-notch hotels but in the last five years, the situation has improved beyond recognition.
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