Building at Gran Vía 34

This impressive building  which combines modernity and classicism in its façade is one of the most characteristic properties on Madrid’s Gran Vía, also popular for being the image of the fashion house in the  television series, Velvet, shown on Antena 3.

Based on an initial 1921 project by the architect, José Yarnoz Larrosa, it was intended to be an apartment block, but Antonio Palacios made an adaptation for its commercial and hotel use in 1925, initially under the name of Hotel Alfonso XIII. The layout is organised around a covered central courtyard  which supports the distribution gallery.  

During the Second Republic, the hotel changed its name to just Alfonso, and, after the repair of the damages suffered in the Civil War, it was reopened as the Hotel Avenida, which remained in use until the 1990s. Between 1998 and 2000, it was refurbished and is now home to the Innside Madrid Gran Vía hotel, which has an independent entrance on Calle de Mesonero Romanos. The former offices around the large covered vestibule are now occupied by a store by the Spanish firm, Zara, which has respected the space but has not preserved the decoration.