Pestana CR7 Gran Vía

It would be difficult to overstate just how famous the Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is in Madrid, where he spent nine seasons at the peak of his career. Here, on the Spanish capital’s Gran Vía, is the first Pestana CR7 hotel outside of Portugal, and it’s a perfect synthesis of the brand and the place: like its cousins in Lisbon and Funchal it’s a modern design hotel whose graphics and artwork are full of tributes to the sporting life, and as you’d expect from a luxury hotel in Madrid it’s set in a century-old building whose architecture is an ever-present reminder of this city’s regal character.

Each floor bears an inscription with a different motivational motto, and every room, from the cozy Cabins to the top-end CR7 Studios features clean contemporary décor and up-to-date comforts like 49-inch televisions and built-in USB chargers. The hotel’s “Fitness Box,” as you’d expect, is rather more elaborate than a typical hotel gym, with facilities for functional training and yoga and meditation sessions. And three dining/drinking venues serve as the hotel’s social spaces: a pizzeria from one of the founders of Roberta’s in Brooklyn, a lounge that takes the “sports bar” genre in an unusually luxurious direction, and a terraced rooftop bar with a 360° view of the city.