Much like the city itself, the best hotels in Madrid are a paean to high design, spectacular art collections, and understated yet exceptional dining. Enter Hotel Orfila, a 19th-century boutique property located on a quiet residential street just a short walk from Colón Square and the city’s popular museum district. A member of the Relais & Chateaux group, Hotel Orfila has an intimate 32 rooms (12 of which are suites) and remains family-owned and run. Verónica Garcia Castelo, the daughter of the owner, is the general manager, and can typically be found zipping around the front desk greeting hotel guests by name. And while there’s no on-site spa, massages and treatments can be arranged at the much-lauded Caroli Health Club nearby. Perhaps most memorable is the tree-lined, mosaic filled garden restaurant, overseen by the two-Michelin-starred chef Mario Sandoval (he earned his first star aged only 26). —Bridget Arsenault

Bridget Arsenault is the London Editor for AIR MAIL