Hotel Review: URSO Hotel, Madrid

Palatial and imposing on the outside, yet cool and contemporary on the inside. URSO makes a fabulous addition to the hotel landscape of Madrid.

Hotel Review: URSO Hotel, Madrid

Away from the city centre between the Chamberi and the oh so trendy Chueca districts of Madrid, is this rather imposing neo-classical building. Once used as a palace, URSO, a newbie hotel opened its doors in 2014 after it underwent a renovation that transformed it into a plush yet contemporary five star hotel under the watch of architect Antonio Obrado.

The large reception has a colour pallete of muted autumnal shades and large Japanese prints that are easy on the eye. Very comfy sofas and a relaxed living-room style ambience seems to beckon suited and booted people perhaps discusssing business over coffee.

Obrado conserved may original features and as a result there’s lots of delightful eccentricity amid the decorum. A gorgeous stained glass window remains adding a dash of colour to the staircase and an antique lift takes centre stage as you walk in. It has narrow glass and wood doors, a sitting bench akin to one you might have in an old style carriage and it is caged in filigree style ironworks. It looks beyond quaint especially when compared to their alternative modern lifts. And a whole lot more fun.

Accommodation

Room at Hotel Urso Madrid

Cool light-grey walls, contrasting dark wood floors, stylish armchairs and furniture combine to give off a city-chic look in their 78 bedrooms and suites and during the day the tall windows let in lashings of daylight. It is a scene of sensible luxury where a desk and free wifi means you can be working (or playing) online freely all night, perhaps refreshing with a cup or two of coffee thanks to the Nespresso machine. There’s a mini bar and flat screen TV to round off the mod cons. But amazingly I couldn’t find a pen to make notes – far too passe?

A compact marble bathroom has a separate bath and shower. It is a tad small but the huge mirror and lighting was welcome. As was their toiletries – these were designed for them by The Lab Room and their vanillaesque aroma is pleasing.

Loved the pillow chocolates.

Who for

The ambience is perfect for the corporate traveller, but then again with boutique shops nearby perhaps more precisely it’s for the city slicker. However families are not excluded as the hotel can supply cots.

Facilities

There is a small but rather lovely spa run by Natura Bisse. Its seven metre pool and lounging area is a relaxation hot spot. Actually it’s not a swimming pool it’s a hydrotherapy pool.

Hydrotherapy massage pool Urso Hotel & Spa Madrid

It sits elevated in wood decking, in a room with dim lighting and luxurious sun beds. There are a couple of treatment rooms, a sauna and a gym.

Food

A glass staircase with a water feature beneath leads to a small conservatory-style space, decorated with lush plants and wooden floors. This is where breakfast is served till around 11am and where fresh orange juice is poured into crystal goblets. People talk in whispers while they tuck into churros (a fried dough pastry) with hot chocolate or something cooked, perhaps a tortilla – Spanish omelette, eggs as you like them or even bacon and eggs, just ask.

Diner is served in their restaurant, The Table. They call it a pop-up restaurant because every month they change the chef and the menu. It’s certainly a nice space with interesting lighting and plant plumage but you never know what you will get. And it is closed on Mondays.

What’s nearby

It’s location is slightly away from the centre in the trendy Chueca district. Hip bars, Michelin starred restaurants and a whole load of blow-the-budget shopping opportunities in Serrano Street are all a few minutes a way.

Wi-Fi available

Free Wi-Fi is available throughout.

Room rates

Stays at Urso Hotel & Spa from €200 on a B&B basis in a Double Room and from €570 for a B&B basis in the Urso Hotel & Spa Terrace Suite – including breakfast and based on two people sharing

Value for Money

Great value for an almost-city centre location offering five star luxury and great service.


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Ten American destinations most popular in the summer

America's 10 Most Popular Summer Vacation Destinations

 

Taking a summer vacation as a reward for working hard all year long is ingrained in the American culture. But the significance of these annual trips goes far beyond refreshing one's mental health. Local economies depend on tourism dollars to thrive, and, in some cases, just to function. In 2009, tourists spent $27.6 billion in Orlando alone, and the tourism industry provided 380,000 jobs -- and that's before the Wizarding World of Harry Potter even arrived on the scene.

24/7 Wall St. collaborated with hotel industry research firm STR and premiere travel blog Travelogged to identify the country's 10 most popular summer tourist destinations. Based on STR's database, these 10 markets last year sold the highest number of hotel rooms during weekends in June, July and August.

Not surprisingly, Orlando ranks high among America's most popular summer vacation locations -- Disneyland always attracts big crowds -- but it's not No. 1. Likewise, New York City and Los Angeles also made the list. Both cities have special advantages for summer visitors: L.A.'s beaches are at their best, and it's the easiest time of year to get a table at the Big Apple's best restaurants. But neither of them landed the top spot either.

As you look at this list, it's important to note that the main criteria for determining a destination's popularity was the number of booked hotel rooms: Many other popular summertime destinations, like the Hamptons, for example, don't have a lot of hotel rooms and are almost entirely residential. And even if it feels like everyone who lives in the Washington, D.C., area is heading to Rehoboth Beach, Del. -- known as "America's Summer Capital" -- that beach resort and its adjacent vacation communities have far fewer hotel rooms than America's actual capital, which did make the list.


10. Dallas, Texas
Rooms available: 1,989,260
Rooms rented: 1,086,300

Although it's only the third largest city in Texas, Dallas is the state's most popular tourist destination. It's a major convention city, and also draws a large number of casual tourists. According to the independent Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau, tourism brings $3 billion to the city each year. More than 22 million people visit each year, and according to a Dallas CVB estimate, the industry provides 50,000 jobs to the city.

9. Anaheim-Santa Ana, Calif.
Rooms available: 1,393,618
Rooms rented: 1,135,568

Anaheim and Santa Ana are the major tourist destinations in California's Orange County. Both cities are a short distance from the coast, making them especially popular for summer vacations. Disneyland calls Anaheim home, the Walt Disney Company is the city's largest employer, and According to the Anaheim & Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau, the 42.7 million visitors to the area in 2009 spent $7.1 billion.

8. San Francisco/San Mateo, Calif.
Rooms available: 1,350,752
Rooms rented: 1,181,960

Mark Twain never actually said "The coldest summer I ever spent was in San Francisco," but the city is still is an ideal summer destination for those looking to beat the heat. The tourism industry is San Francisco's largest by tax revenue, according to The Wall Street Journal. The private San Francisco Travel Association reports that the city had 15.9 million visitors in 2010. These visitors spent a total $8.3 billion in San Francisco throughout the year. The organization attributes 67,122 jobs in the area to tourism, and calculates that $485 million in taxes were generated by tourist spending.

7. San Diego, Calif.
Rooms available: 1,502,484
Rooms rented: 1,315,778

Despite its Southern location on California's border with Mexico, San Diego doesn't enjoy warm weather year-round, so summertime is optimal for enjoying the palm tree lined paradise that is La Jolla Beach. Other favored destinations include Balboa Park and the Gaslamp Quarter. According to the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau, "The San Diego visitor industry is the third largest industry in San Diego County, employing approximately 152,300 San Diegans." Tourists spend $7 billion annually and, in 2010, 29.9 million people visited San Diego.

6. Atlanta, Ga.
Rooms available: 2,454,020
Rooms rented: 1,604,551

Long the Southeast's center for business, the home of Coca-Cola and CNN has now emerged as a top destination for tourism due to its top-tier cultural offerings. According to the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, the city boasts a $10 billion hospitality industry which provides 230,000 jobs as it caters to 34 million tourists each year. The growing industry has benefited from recent additions such as the Georgia Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the world, which opened in 2005.

5. Washington, D.C. 
Rooms available: 2,692,044
Rooms rented: 1,995,200

The nation's capital, is an extremely popular destination for both American and foreign tourists. The city welcomes about 15 million visitors each year, according to the nonprofit corporation Destination D.C. Ironically, the city has a very European feel because it was designed by Frenchman Pierre Charles L'Enfant. Over the last decade, many D.C. neighborhoods have seen a real revitalization, resulting in more dining and nightlife options. Summer is a great time to visit because you'll be spending plenty of time inside the air-conditioned Smithsonian museums. In 2007, tourists spent more than $5.5 billion in the city, contributing $620 million in tax revenue.

4. Los Angeles-Long Beach, CalifRooms available: 2,548,711
Rooms rented: 2,026,780

Summer is the leading season for tourism in Los Angeles and the surrounding region due to its beach culture. The metropolitan area also offers an appealing variety of nightlife options. The tourism sector is the No. 1 employer in Los Angeles, employing 437,000 people, according to business association LA INC. Approximately 25.7 million people visit the city each year, and in 2010, tourists spent $13.1 billion in the city.

3. New York, N.Y.
Rooms available: 2,464,931
Rooms rented: 2,098,682

Summer stands out as an exceptional time for tourists to visit New York City because it's easier to score reservations to top restaurants and tickets to popular shows as many locals have left town. If it's not too hot, visitors can enjoy Central Park and the new High Line in Chelsea. According to Tiffany Townsend, vice president of communications and government affairs at NYC & Company, the city expects approximately 12.9 million visitors this summer. In 2010, tourists spent more than $30 billion in the city and generated almost $2.7 billion in local tax revenue.

2. Orlando, Fla.
Rooms available: 3,068,620
Rooms rented: 2,185,424

Orlando welcomes "more than 50 million visitors from across the globe each year," according to Gary Sain, president and CEO of Visit Orlando. Sain added that "with seven of the top theme parks in the world opening new attractions each year, countless adventurous activities, 176 golf courses and great shopping and dining, there is no other destination on the planet that has the variety of options for visitors that also consistently adds new vacation experiences each and every year the way Orlando does." In 2009, tourists spent $27.6 billion in the metropolitan area and 380,000 jobs were provided by the tourism industry.

1. Chicago, Ill.Rooms available: 2,803,528
Rooms rented: 2,278,775

Chicago's dining, cultural and recreation options rival any city in the world. It's an outstanding choice for Midwesterners looking for a destination to which they can either drive or find a cheap flight. Summer tourists hide from the infamous heat in the air-conditioned museums and Michigan Avenue stores, or embrace the high temperatures in Millennium Park or at one of the many city beaches along Lake Michigan. In 2009, visitors spent $10.17 billion in Chicago, according to the Chicago Office of Tourism, and generated 124,600 jobs within the city.

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Travelling with Family and Friends

 

Travelling with Family and Friends

 

Travelling with Family and Friends

Regrettably much of the foundation work on tourist behaviour has unwittingly adopted a very individualistic orientation. This direction is undoubtedly linked to and driven by the dominance of questionnairebased methodologies to explore visitor behaviour; questionnaires and surveys are typically given to and filled in by individuals and the processing of the data aggregates individual responses. Nevertheless many researchers and students of tourist behaviour in naturalistic settings will quickly recognise that many travel parties are composed not of individuals but of couples, friends, and complex family groupings. As a brief illustration of this social dimension of tourism some diverse examples can be cited. Long distance car touring in Australia is dominated by senior couples (Pearce, 1999), young budget travellers are often in small shifting friendship groups (Buchanan and Rossetto, 1997), visitors to zoos and attractions are dominated by family groups (Turley, 2001), and gay male couples comprise more than half of the U.K. gay market holidaying at home and abroad (Clift, Callister, and Luongo, 2002). In this interconnected and social view of travel behaviours three emphases can be identified. First, the decision making about where to go on holidays is undoubtedly a complex amalgam of the motivations of and restrictions on the entire party (see Um and Crompton, 1990). Thus Moscardo and Pearce (1999) report that one cluster of visitors to a major Aboriginal cultural park in Northern Australia was not very interested in the attraction and cited their main reason for being present as ‘accompanying others.’ It can be suggested that this kind of tourist motivation may account for some of the moderate satisfaction scores obtained in tourist settings. The interest in this topic of ‘accompanying others’ and the challenge for tourism managers is to find ways to engage the interest of the whole travel party.

Travel parties and their composition also influence what people do in the site. Ryan (1992) reports that children are often the most willing participants in activities at heritage sites. Such participation may galvanise parental and adult interest and result in an extended time of visiting with some commercial implications in terms of food and souvenir purchases. In a more restrictive sense, travelling with senior members of a family or friendship group may limit participation in physically demanding activities, such as when visitors to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef do not participate in snorkelling because they choose to ‘stay dry’ and accompany their older relatives in glass bottom boat inspections of the coral (Moscardo, 1996). The presence of familiar faces in the form of family and friends may also exert a powerful influence on the development of the other relationships discussed in this chapter. Couples, family groups, and friendship parties are often self-sufficient in their social needs. Such self-sufficiency will limit the extent to which they fraternise with fellow travellers or seek out members of the local community for conversation and stimulation. The third consideration pertaining to travelling with others is shared satisfaction with the experience. Unlike individual travellers, those journeying around the world or across their own region with others have a commonality of experience which they can reflect on, retell, and reinterpret as a part of their social and shared experiences. Thornton, Shaw, and Williams (1997) argue that children in particular are discerning customers and because many parents consider the satisfaction of their children to be important in the leisure context, the adult satisfaction may be influenced by the reactions of their offspring. This argument could also be extended, even though the empirical work is lacking, to other satisfaction ratings; one could anticipate that close friends should at least be somewhat influenced by the satisfaction of their travelling companions in forming their own attitudes, whereas long-term partners should demonstrate even more awareness and mutual influence in satisfaction scores. At this point, however, these links remain research propositions rather than established findings

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Top 10 hotels in Berlin

Regent Berlin hotel: Regent Palace Hotel is a short walk from the Brandenburg Gate and 
the Opera House

Das Stowe Hotel: The hotel includes 79 rooms, and some of the most creative in the city and some of the interior designs inspired by the Berlin Zoo

  

Hotel Adina Apartment Hotel Berlin Hackescher Markt: The hotel offers 145 apartments, even the guest feel it in his own home

Circus Hotel Hotel: The hotel has 64 rooms, furnished depending on contemporary artwork and decor

Hotel de Rome Hotel: The hotel was considered formerly the headquarters of the Dresdner Bank, the Central Bank of the Democratic Republic of Germany, the hotel and enjoy the most exciting part, such as a swimming pool, spa, and those used previously to store jewelry and gold.

  

Casa Camper Berlin Hotel: The hotel offers contemporary furnishings and modern designs. The best part about the hotel is Tintimbi restaurant on the top floor

 

Grand Hyatt Berlin Hotel: The hotel's rooms, family-like cloud which the wind, and marble bathrooms, and floor heating, and flat-screen TVs. The Fox pub attraction on the ground floor, and offers more than 240 varieties of whiskey

To Oezas Palace Hotel: The hotel seems to serve as a palace boutique size. And focus on interior design colors red, dim fragrance in the air

The Mandala Hotel: The hotel does not have a traditional lobby, offers exceptional service, such as the refrigerator, which is where all the products they want guest storage. The hotel offers, if the guest wants to continue his activity and physical map and ran trot guests

"Stenblatz:" Hotel and feel the magic of the old Berlin at the hotel, which includes works of modern art. The hotel opened in 1913

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