Hotels

Even against the backdrop of the regal city of Madrid, the upscale Salamanca district stands out. And it sets the scene for a hotel that’s no less elegant. Hotel Bless is a luxury boutique hotel of modern vintage, but its eclectic style isn’t purely modern — instead it’s an inspiring blend of contemporary design and historically-minded architecture and décor.

It’s unusual for a luxury hotel to be quite so stylish — or, to look at it the other way, for a design hotel to be quite so luxurious. The rooms and suites take the 19th-centrury inspiration of the building’s architecture and dress it in contemporary colors and textures, with echoes of 1920s Art Deco filling in the gaps.

The theme here is hedonism, and it goes beyond the decadence of the rooms and suites. Versus Lively Lounge is the all-day bar and lounge, also featuring a menu by Mr. Berasategui. And the hotel’s most unusual space might be the Fetén Clandestine Bar, featuring classic American and Tex-Mex fare alongside speakeasy-style cocktails, in a room with, of all things, a pair of bowling lanes.