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    Views of Puerta del Sol square in Madrid from La Fonda de los Príncipes

    La Fonda in pictures

    Puerta del Sol 11. A building raised in 1860 to be a grand hotel, which opened as a fonda on 1 October 1861 and still looks out over the same square today. These are its pictures, in the order you walk the house: first the entrance and the common areas, then the rooms, then what you see from their balconies and, at the end, the restaurant.

    The building

    Thirty metres tall, eclectic Isabeline architecture and a hint of Paris: that is how the buildings on the square were raised in 1860, and ours was purpose-built as a top-category hotel. From that house there remain the marble reception desk, the wooden lift, the brass fittings at the entrance and the habit of leaving the day’s newspapers at the concierge desk.

    The rooms

    Eight room types, all different, split between those facing Puerta del Sol and those that turn inwards into the building. Marble bathrooms, Rituals amenities, brass taps and upholstered headboards; in the Premium Corner rooms, a freestanding bath beside the bed. The ones facing the square have the Real Casa de Correos clock right in front.

    The views

    We are at kilometre zero, with the Real Casa de Correos clock right in front. From the balconies you see the whole square: Calle Preciados to one side, the Three Kings parade in January, the Christmas tree in December and, every 31 December, the crowd waiting for the midnight bells.

    The restaurant

    El Mirador de Sol occupies the main floor, with five balconies leaning out over the square and the clock. Breakfast is served here every morning and, from midday onwards, you can eat or have a drink at the marble bar: the cocktail bar is open to non-guests too.