Hotels Marlon Brando Has Stayed At

Sunday brunch turns InterContinental Madrid’s marble-lined lobby into a gathering place for Madrileños and travelers, with live music and a buffet ranging from Iberian cold cuts to paella. That sociable spirit gives this 302-room hotel on Paseo de la Castellana much of its character. Opened in 1953, it carries its grand-hotel style through generous public spaces and the Art Deco–inspired Bar 49, where sofas invite a pause over Spanish wine or a cocktail. El Jardín restaurant, enclosed by glass walls and a glass ceiling, serves Spanish and international cooking; its seasonal garden terrace adds an outdoor setting for tapas. The result is a hotel with reasons to linger between outings into Madrid.

A stained-glass dome made from 1,875 individual panes gives The Palace its architectural centerpiece, with a palm-shaped chandelier suspended beneath it. Each pane was dismantled, cataloged and restored as part of the renovation that brought this 1912 hotel into The Luxury Collection in 2025. Designer Lázaro Rosa-Violán’s interiors draw on the Belle Époque and Roaring Twenties, alongside preserved marble, historic tapestries and original architectural details. Beneath the dome, La Cúpula serves contemporary Spanish cooking and afternoon tea. Outside, the hotel’s Plaza de las Cortes address places Madrid’s museums within walking distance; selected rooms overlook the Neptune Fountain or the Spanish Parliament, giving the city a presence well beyond the public rooms.

A grand staircase, Federalist-inspired details, and an intricate lobby ceiling give the InterContinental Barclay its distinctly residential take on New York grandeur. Designed by Cross and Cross as part of the Terminal City development around Grand Central, the hotel opened in 1926 with long-term residents in mind. That Park Avenue influence still shapes its rooms and suites, redesigned during a $180 million renovation in 2016. On East 48th Street near Grand Central and Rockefeller Center, it makes a convenient Midtown base with a character rooted in the neighborhood’s architectural past. The Parlour extends the story through its nods to 1920s Manhattan, while rooftop-grown herbs and honey from the hotel’s beehives find their way into dishes and cocktails.