Hotels Michael Jackson Has Stayed At

A dining room dating to 1919, dressed in blue with gold moldings and crystal chandeliers, captures El Palace Hotel Barcelona’s enduring taste for ceremony. The former Ritz, a short walk from Passeig de Gràcia, puts that heritage to work at Amar Barcelona, where chef Rafa Zafra’s seafood-focused cooking includes nods to the hotel’s earlier menus. Afternoon tea brings live piano music to the historic main hall, while breakfast is served in El Jardín, an indoor garden with black-and-white décor and wrought iron details. Upstairs, the Rooftop Garden adds another dimension: greenery, open-air dining and a guest-only swimming pool, with views across Barcelona toward the Sagrada Família.

Wood-fired Beijing duck and a tenth-floor view over Hyde Park give the Royal Garden Hotel a dining room worth building an evening around. Min Jiang, its Chinese restaurant, is also a good introduction to a hotel whose outlook is central to its character. Set on Kensington High Street beside Kensington Gardens, the Royal Garden carries the neighborhood into refurbished rooms inspired by the surrounding greenery and street life. Garden-facing rooms and Park Suites make the most of that setting; other rooms look toward the high street. Downstairs, Origin Kensington focuses on seasonal British produce, while Piano Kensington adds cocktails and live piano music—a reason to linger after a day exploring Kensington.

English gardens provide the design thread at The Dorchester: their colors and motifs shape the rooms and suites, while an extensive art collection explores the British landscape tradition. Outside, Hyde Park stretches across from the hotel’s Park Lane address in Mayfair, with Bond Street’s boutiques nearby. That connection to its surroundings gives this grand London hotel a character beyond its dining credentials, which include contemporary French cuisine at the three-Michelin-starred Alain Ducasse restaurant. The Promenade supplies a more everyday rhythm, serving breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner with live music. Together, these spaces make the hotel as much a place to spend an afternoon or evening as a base for exploring London.

Hand-painted trompe l’oeil marbling and chandeliers give The Lanesborough’s Withdrawing Room its elaborate character, with Wellington Arch framed beyond the windows. That taste for Regency decoration carries through the hotel’s individually furnished rooms and suites, each with dedicated butler service around the clock. Interior designer Alberto Pinto directed the renovation of this historic mansion at the edge of Hyde Park, where the setting puts Knightsbridge and Sloane Street shopping within easy reach. There is good reason to linger inside, too: chef Shay Cooper’s Lanesborough Grill centers its modern British cooking on seasonal produce from across the country, while the Library Bar keeps a collection of rare spirits.

The May Fair’s former Grand Art Deco Ballroom now houses the Palm Beach Casino—a particularly vivid link to the hotel’s beginnings in 1927. That appetite for theatrical design carries into its suites: the Schiaparelli takes inspiration from Elsa Schiaparelli’s favored fuchsia and the surrealist era, with a freestanding limestone egg bath and an integrated fireplace. With more than 400 rooms, including 37 suites, this is a substantial London hotel with plenty happening under one roof. May Fair Kitchen pairs Japanese and Italian cooking, while the bar serves cocktails throughout the day. Outside, its Stratton Street address puts Green Park, Berkeley Square, and Bond Street within easy reach.

An art collection that includes Jacky Puzey’s textile-inspired installation gives Rosewood Villa Magna a distinctive point of view on Madrid’s craft and culture. Its interiors draw on early 20th-century design and pay tribute to the former Anglada Palace, lending a residential character to this address on Paseo de la Castellana. Rooms overlook the gardens or boulevard, while the rooftop houses open up views across Madrid. Food is another reason to spend time here: at Amós, Jesús Sánchez interprets Cantabrian ingredients from sea, mountain, and farm; Flor y Nata offers a more casual stop for coffee and pastries. Beyond the hotel, Salamanca’s galleries, ateliers, and family-run bakeries extend the cultural thread into the neighborhood.

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.

Ludwig Bemelmans’s murals and nightly piano at Bemelmans Bar give The Carlyle an identity that extends well beyond its guest rooms. Cabaret at Café Carlyle makes music central to this Upper East Side Art Deco landmark, where art and entertaining shape the public spaces. In The Gallery, decorator Renzo Mongiardino took inspiration from Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace, creating a distinctive setting for afternoon tea. Upstairs, rooms include designs by Tony Chi and Thierry Despont, while suites furnished with original artwork carry a residential character. Central Park, Madison Avenue, and nearby galleries put the neighborhood within easy reach, but the hotel’s own rooms for music, drinks, and conversation are reason enough to spend an evening here.

Afternoon tea beneath The Palm Court’s soaring stained-glass dome gives The Plaza Hotel its clearest expression: formal, theatrical, and deeply attached to New York tradition. Architect Thierry Despont’s renovation drew on nearby Central Park, bringing ceiling-high palms, trellis details, and cane-accented furnishings into a room that has been part of the hotel since 1907. Outside, Fifth Avenue meets Central Park South; inside, restored reception rooms and elaborate guest-room finishes sustain the sense of occasion. The 282 rooms and suites include guest rooms with sitting areas, mosaic bathroom floors, and gold-plated Sherle Wagner fixtures, while the Legacy Suites introduce commissioned art and a more contemporary residential style. It’s a hotel whose public spaces deserve as much attention as its bedrooms.

A courtyard decorated with thousands of mosaics gives Prince de Galles a distinctive heart: Le Patio, a garden setting for lunch, dinner or cocktails just off Avenue George V. Opened in 1929, the hotel carries its Art Deco identity through a lobby of marble floors and gold-leaf chandeliers into rooms and suites inspired by the era. The Suite Saphir extends that vocabulary in beige and blue, with two terraces overlooking the avenue. Dining adds another reason to linger: Restaurant & Bar 19.20 takes its cue from 1920s Paris, while Akira Back serves modern Japanese cooking with Korean and international influences. Beyond the hotel, the Champs-Élysées is steps away.

Karl Lagerfeld’s Grands Appartements give Hôtel de Crillon a distinctive design pedigree behind its Neoclassical façade on Place de la Concorde. Art runs through the hotel, with sculpture, painting and photography by established and emerging artists sharing space with its historic architecture. The rooms take a residential approach, pairing custom art and comfortable furnishings with marble bathrooms; suites add bespoke furniture, textiles and individually selected objets d’art. Tucked-away courtyards offer a quieter setting within the property. For an evening overlooking the square, Les Ambassadeurs serves cocktails alongside live music, with a terrace beneath the arcades—a place to appreciate the architecture as part of everyday hotel life.

Acoustic guitars in the guest rooms give an early clue to Le Royal Monceau - Raffles Paris’s artistic temperament. Philippe Starck’s reworking of the hotel carries that spirit through interiors filled with contemporary art, while suites draw on the lines and colors of the 1940s and ’50s, with books and messages scrawled on lampshades adding personal touches. The collection extends beyond the bedrooms: more than 300 works, a contemporary gallery and the 99-seat Katara Cinema make culture part of a stay. On Avenue Hoche, near the Arc de Triomphe and Parc Monceau, this hotel has welcomed artists and writers since 1928; its present-day character gives that history a tangible expression.