Sophisticated. The hotel located at 22 Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid can be defined as a sophisticated place. It can also be said that it is an elegant place. It is, and very much so, without fanfare. Quiet is another good adjective for the Villa Magna, an establishment that opened half a century ago occupying the site of the old Anglada palace and that now faces a third life with the Rosewood group managing it.
A third life in which Lulú, a small tan dachshund or sausage, has a special role. Since her arrival, this dachshund has been in charge of pet relations manager, since now the hotel has opened up to guests’ pets and, to the surprise of guests and their humans, it is Lulú who welcomes them in. the reception. Lulú, who has her own Instagram account, has played with a certain advantage, since she is Amanda Lange and Friedrich von Schönburg’s dog. She is a fitness executive and he has been the general manager of this hotel since summer 2022.
And, until then, Lulú had the same position in Barcelona. He was also in charge of welcoming the pets that accompanied the guests of The Palace, a historic five-star Grand Luxury establishment and von Schömburg’s previous destination. In the Catalan capital, this hotelier took a tour, which some consider to be a resurrection, of the old Ritz, although the general director himself, always prudent and discreet, prefers to refer to “having asked a venerable lady to dance and make her shine again.” .
The philosophy that once again placed the Palace of Barcelona on the maps of the great European hotel industry with new ideas, activities, services and revitalization of the place, has now taken it to its new hotel and, for example, last Christmas a track was installed of ice in the garden next to Castellana with an atmosphere and decoration reminiscent of an elegant ski resort. He then installed an alpine chalet replacing the frozen space and months later an elegant Mexican-inspired beach bar was installed, in homage to a sister establishment in Rosewood, when the temperatures were more suitable.
The point is not to stop and possibly all this innovation with the essential thing at its center, guest satisfaction, comes largely from the example of his charismatic father, Rudolf Graf von Schönburg, a legendary personality of fine hospitality on the Costa del Sol. In Madrid, Friedrich is ultimately responsible for many small and large details in the house. These form and confirm the reason why a five-star establishment also has a high luxury category and at this rate can end up becoming the best hotel in the city, which is the focus of Rosewood and this director.
The large palace-house with a garden where the hotel stands today was called Anglada after the first surname of an Almería businessman of Barcelona origin. He amassed a great fortune by exploiting the subsoil. Mining made Juan Anglada Ruiz rich, and to live close to power he decided to commission a palace in the capital, where he became a senator, although he practically could not live there. The residence and the land that surrounded it ended up in the hands of Enrique Crooke y Larios, an industrialist and politician from Malaga to whom Alfonso XIII gave the title of first Marquis of Genal. All those surnames and that palace are past history in front of a building built in 1972… or perhaps they are not so much so, because when you enter this hotel there is a feeling of entering what is a 21st century palace.
When it opened its doors 50 years ago, the hotel’s first property wanted to promote the place in a big way. The establishment was announced on a full page in the country’s main newspapers. In the promotion, in addition to a photo of its modern façade reflected in a classic mirror, there was talk of combined concepts: sumptuousness, modernity, advanced technique and interior decoration in the Charles IV style. As a great innovation, it was indicated that the hotel restaurant was run by Maxim’s of Paris, which at that time was the European epitome of haute cuisine.
That is also something from other times, although pulling on the red thread that ends up uniting everything, the history of the palace and the philosophy of the early days of the Villa Magna are closely linked to that of its current manager, a multinational that took charge of the hotel since autumn 2021 after a long 19-month renovation. The full name of the company is Rosewood Hotel Group and under this holding company, with headquarters in Hong Kong, there are five brands. They are all impeccable, although the pride of the group is the Rosewood Hotels
Among those already open there are several legendary names, such as the Carlyle in New York or the Crillon in Paris, which have added their historical prestige to the brand, in the same way that the Villa Magna has wanted to rise to the highest level of global hospitality. It has done so with the help of a company whose claim or message wants to transmit its values ??and qualities, a sense of place, a concept that unites people, places and the attachment we have for them.
When it reopened its doors in October 2021, the changes were more than evident, starting with a façade that was modern 50 years ago, although it was already asking for changes in the new century. Architect Ramón de Arana took charge of changing that exterior skin, creating a more sober and more packaged appearance than the previous one, playing with elegant lights, with metal and glass cubes.
For the interiors, Bar Studio, an Australian design firm, was trusted. For 20 years, Bar has been a reference in the interior design of hotels from important luxury chains. For the first Rosewood establishment in Spain, the Australians have made the guest or visitor feel more like in an elegant manor house to which one is invited, in a private club or more in a modern palace than in a hotel.
The intention of the managers is that this concept of sense of place is something special both for the guest who comes to rest, the visitor who is looking for a quiet place in the center of Madrid or a very social place that is also fun and with a high degree of sophistication in common spaces. An example of the latter is Tarde.O, a club that could perfectly be in London, where excellent drinks are served and the house specialty stands out: a negroni prepared during the previous 72 hours. A pastry shop with a very chic air also stands out: La Flor y Nata, a cafe where you can eat freshly made pastries or have an informal bite.
On the other hand, Las Brasas de Castellana, the restaurant where delicious breakfasts are also served, has a certain air of sophisticated informality. Finally, the restaurant most recognized for its product is Amós, like the famous Cenador de Amós, a restaurant in Villaverde de Pontones, in Cantabria, opened by chef Jesús Sánchez in 1995 and which now has a Madrid embassy. A Cantabrian delegation where the photos that decorate it were taken by Sánchez himself, a chef with no family history in the kitchen, who takes maximum care of the client and the product that he is going to eat.
The same client who eats or drinks well in this Spanish Rosewood, also relaxes in a magnificent and tranquil spa. This quiet place gives the feeling of little crowd and that is not a coincidence, but the philosophy of the place. For their stay and rest, whoever stays there can opt for one of the 154 rooms: 101 conventional, if we understand exquisite as conventional, and 53 suites, which are considered the jewel in the hotel’s crown. Within this superior category there is an even higher one: the so-called houses, very exclusive rooms with the best views of the hotel and enormous terraces. The Anglada stands out, measuring 410 m2, magnificently decorated, as do the Castellana, Salamanca and Cedros, the best of the house and where many important figures have passed through over the last year.
Within all this sophistication mentioned, the success of the formula is not only that the architect of the façade has done a great job, the interior designers have hit the nail on the head with their ideas and the company in charge of selecting the works of art that look its spaces has been accurate. A transcendental part is a human team that, without exception, symbolizes impeccability in all the steps that the client or guest takes through the hotel. The staff, in all their positions, anticipate the needs of those who are staying or visiting and take care of them like good hosts. Lulu does it like that too.
