My flight to Buenos Aires departs at Madrid, as it saves me £££ compared to flying BA from London. I booked the Westin Palace Madrid hotel for one night as a transit.

The name Westin sounded very posh to me at the beginning, right until I stayed at the brand for the first time at Zagreb. Then I realised it’s at the same tier with Sheraton and Marriott – the Westin Excelsior Rome I visited recently was disappointing.

The Madrid hotel however, is indeed a bit different as indicated by the “Palace” in its name. Construction of the hotel was the idea of King Alfonso XIII. It was completed in 1911 and then the largest hotel in Europe. It was also the second hotel in the world that had a bathroom in each guestroom.

The Westin Palace Madrid hotel has a prime location in the city, within walking distance to the many museums and galleries. Recoletos station is just 10 minutes away, which brings you to the airport for just over two euro.

The exterior of the the building sets my mind at peace – at least it doesn’t seem in desperate need of renovation.

In fact the hotel is very well maintained. The marble floor is immaculate, the walls neatly painted and the finish of everything is fresh. I would believe it if someone told me it’s a new hotel.

My reservation is upgraded by one level to a Premium room. The building is massive with a weird triangular shape, so it takes age from the lift to certain rooms!

Room doors are surrounded by a layer of marble, which is classy but also a bit strange in the meantime.

The room on the other hand, looks pretty standard for a five-star hotel. Nothing specially draws my attention, except the signature Heavenly Bed which is very comfortable!

It comes with a very small balcony.

There are a terrace, a gym and sauna / steam rooms. There’s no pool however.

The restaurant is very beautiful and it reminds me of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Both hotels share Palace in their names for a reason!

The buffet breakfast is average.

Westin Palace Madrid is a decent hotel that’s got a lot of history and well preserved at the same time. The location is also ideal for tourists.

I found myself a ridiculously cheap flight ticket from Rome to Abu Dhabi, and I took this chance to properly visit Rome for the first time. Being a major city in Europe, Rome hasn’t really established a massive portfolio of good hotels. Waldorf Astoria is maybe the only one that comes up in my mind, but it is quite far out of the city.

I booked the Westin in the end, which like many other hotels are situated in the Borghese Park area. It looks very close to the Spanish Steps, but the roads here are very hilly and crooked and it’s not as easy to walk around.

I arrived into the Rome Central station via Leonardo Express from the airport, and then it took me 15 minutes to walk to the hotel. The hotel has definitely seen better days, but it’s not as worn as I had feared.

I received a one-level upgrade to a Grand Deluxe room, which measures 40 square metres.

Premium wi-fi is chargeable, but waived for Platinum members upon check-out.

I chose breakfast as my welcome amenity.

There’s a swimming pool in the basement.

There’s an ice cream shop across the street called Neve di Latte that I highly recommend – I truly enjoyed my massive four scoops for only €5!

I wasn’t aware of the hotel’s atrocious 7.2 rating on booking.com until after I have completed my stay, but honestly speaking it doesn’t feel that awful. InterContinental Rome has opened its door recently, and I might try it out next time.