Our visit to Madrid at the end of our monthlong stay in Spain almost didn’t happen. The day before we were scheduled to travel by high-speed train from Granada to Madrid, a horrible crash on the same line killed 69 people, injured many others, and shut down the line for at least two months. After investigating options, it appeared that a long-distance bus was the best choice, and we were able to get two of the few remaining seats on an Alsa bus leaving the next day. As far as buses go, it was a nice ride, and we had fun gazing out at the olive tree groves and spotting roadside attractions along the way. But when we arrived in Madrid, we were ready for a little luxury.
A lovely property tucked among the trees of Salamanca
It’s almost as if we were moving in slow motion when we got off the bus; Madrid hustles and bustles, and we had clearly adapted to the more leisurely pace in Granada. Rather than trudging across the city with luggage in tow (something we often do), we wisely decided to get out of everyone’s way and take a taxi from the bus station to the hotel. Traffic slowed down the drive, but it was a nice introduction to Madrid, and the closer we got to the hotel, the more intimate and leafy the streets became.
This was our first visit to Madrid, and we’d describe the city as cool…in the best possible way. Tótem perfectly captures that sense of cool. Situated on the corner of a narrow street filled with boutiques and restaurants, the hotel fits in with the profile of the neighboring buildings, which looked to have residences above the ground floor; only a small sign called out the Tótem as a hotel.
Inside, we were welcomed by a trio of staffers, who efficiently got us checked in and up to our room on the second floor. We even had a fun and genuinely authentic chat with the porter, who, upon learning we were from Minneapolis, told us about his time in the US and his love of hockey.
During our time at the hotel, we came and went via the central stairwell, which winds all the way up. The ground floor features a quiet cocktail bar and a well-regarded Basque restaurant, El Pimiento Verde, both of which we patronized. We were especially intrigued by the Day of the Dead installation — El Bar de Chavela — at one end of the cocktail bar. Dedicated to the Costa-Rican born Mexican singer Chavela Vargas, the altar aimed to transform part of the hotel’s bar into a space for memory, conversation, and music.
A leafy view from a compact, but well-appointed room
Our room, a “deluxe exterior” room, looked out onto the tree-lined Calle Hermosilla, and we opened the French doors to the Juliet balcony whenever we were in the room. After spending a month in a darkish rental on the ground floor in Granada, we relished the light and the leaves. While the room couldn’t be described as spacious, it was well-designed and well-appointed, and all of the high-quality furnishing and fixtures were clearly cared for. If we were staying longer, we may have wanted a little more room — perhaps one of the junior suite options — but for our two-day stay, we had everything we needed.
Design-wise, the London Telegraph, one of our go-to sources for hotel recommendations and the source that led us to Tótem, describes the hotel’s aesthetic as “minimalist luxor.” There was certainly nothing fussy about our room, and almost everything in it was there for a purpose. Both of us loved the color scheme: neutral but not boring with a sophisticated use of materials and textures. Our only (very small) complaint related to the automatic lighting in the closet; it shone down in a way that made it nearly impossible to see what was on the top shelf — and because our travels were fairly extensive, we needed that top shelf for storage.
This was our first visit to Madrid, and we’d describe the city as cool…in the best possible way.
Not nearly enough time
We got only a taste of Madrid — barely leaving the Salamanca neighborhood — but we loved the city and can’t wait to return. When we do, we’ll book at Tótem again. It has surely tempted us with its delights, and we imagine it being the perfect place for a more extensive exploration of Spain’s capital city.
