French designer Philippe Starck has transformed a 1920s building on Madrid’s Gran Via into Brach Madrid, a 57-room hotel layered with history, emotion, and eclectic charm. Designed to resemble a private residence, the interiors are filled with books, photographs, artworks, and countless sentimental objects. As Starck described, “Entering Brach Madrid is like entering a private home.”
The designer explained that he wanted the hotel to embody “a form of modern nostalgia that is never backward-looking.” This guiding vision shaped every corner of the hotel, from the public spaces to the private rooms, inviting guests into what he calls “a mental journey through 1920s and 1930s Madrid.”
Echoes of the Grand Café Era
The hotel lobby, lined with glazed terracotta tiles and illuminated by Brach’s signature hanging light pods, sets a warm, theatrical tone. These tiles appear throughout the property in various forms—raw with sculptural reliefs in the first-floor reception, and with a metallic gold glaze in the subterranean spa, La Capsule. On the ground floor, the café and restaurant feature mahogany walls, woven leather ceilings, and thick curtains. Tilted mirrors, designed “to see and be seen,” hang above the banquette seating, while original 1920s brasserie mirrors from the United States add a kaleidoscopic sense of movement and reflection.
Starck said the ground floor was inspired by the Grand Cafés of the 1920s—venues where artists, poets, and intellectuals often bartered their work for meals. “I deeply admire and value this idea of bartering with one’s talent, and wanted to honour that spirit by incorporating artworks and objects that reflect that same creativity,” he shared. In his imagination, luminaries like Salvador Dalí, Luis Buñuel, and Federico García Lorca might gather here to “rewrite the world.”
A mural of dancing flames painted by Starck’s daughter, Ara Starck, wraps the open kitchen, reinforcing the layered narrative of love, memory, and creation.
Designed Like a Film Set, Rooted in Romance
Every detail in Brach Madrid has been carefully sourced or created over the past three years. Starck likens his design process to filmmaking: “For each of my projects, I take on the role of a film director; every space I envision tells its own story, sets the scene for its own narrative, and plays its own melody.” The result is a hotel where each object, texture, and material adds meaning.
In guest rooms and suites, Starck tells the imagined story of a married couple through curated collections—her musical instruments, his boxing gloves, their love notes etched onto headboards. Each room includes a display wall that invites guests into this personal narrative. Four suites on the upper floors offer balconies with views over Gran Via and the Madrid skyline, adding an elevated sense of place.
Bathrooms are equally expressive. Half-height walls and floors are tiled in breccia terrazzo, while green glazed terracotta frames decorate mirrors above the sink. Starck explained the concept behind the focal vanity mirror: “I envisioned this mirror as having been fashioned by the clumsy hand of the gentleman whose story I am imagining, who wanted to make the mirror that his wife would have dreamed of having and into which she never gazed.”
Celebrating Spanish Craft and Sentiment
From hand-woven furniture and warm woods to vibrant upholstery trims, Starck brings Spanish traditions into every room. Lighting fixtures recall early 20th-century Spain, while sculptural forms and layers of memory invite guests to connect emotionally with the space. Although most of the artworks are unsigned, they were acquired with intention—sourced from international auctions and reflecting the anonymous beauty of shared human creativity.
Ultimately, Brach Madrid is more than just a hotel. It’s a tribute to memory, sentiment, and artistic spirit—a layered, poetic retreat where the past and present coexist in joyful dialogue.