Above: The view of The Principal, right, in Madrid

The financial crisis of 2008 hobbled the Spanish economy, but a decade later, Madrid has recovered much of its dynamism. Perennially vying with Barcelona for the title of Spain’s gastronomic capital, it is currently in the midst of a restaurant boom. The city’s hotel scene is also thriving. The venerable Hotel Ritz Madrid closed for a $121 million renovation in February and will reopen as a Mandarin Oriental property next year. And a new Four Seasons is slated to open on the Gran Via, the city’s main avenue, in 2019. Several distinctive and stylish smaller properties are also attracting the interest of hotel cognoscenti.

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