A 585-room hotel occupying the Edificio España — once the tallest building in Spain — right on Plaza de España at the top of Gran Vía.
Edificio España was built between 1948 and 1953 in a neo-baroque style, and briefly stood as the tallest building in Spain and Europe at 117 metres — a genuine architectural landmark on Madrid's skyline, not just a hotel repurposed into one. RIU acquired and fully renovated the tower, opening the Hotel Riu Plaza España in 2019 with 585 rooms across the skyscraper's 25 floors.
The standout feature is the 27th-floor rooftop — a 360-degree terrace with a seasonal outdoor pool on a lower floor and a skybar up top serving tapas alongside the views. With 17 meeting rooms and a 1,500-capacity auditorium, it's also one of the city's larger business and conference hotels, not purely a leisure property.
Directly on Plaza de España, at the western end of Gran Vía, with its own Metro station across the square — an easy walk to the Palacio Real and Gran Vía, slightly further from Sol and the Prado cluster than the historic-centre options on this list.
Travellers who want scale, reliability and a genuine "wow" view over a boutique or historic experience — good for business trips, families wanting a pool, and anyone who wants a big, modern hotel rather than a small character property.
Request a room facing away from Gran Vía if you want a quieter night — city-facing rooms have the views but also more street noise than garden-facing ones.