Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Madrid

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Metro and Cercanías

Metro de Madrid takes one dog per person on a lead of 50 cm or less, muzzled, in the last carriage, off the seats, and never on the escalators. Dogs are banned on weekdays from 7.30 to 9.30, 14.00 to 16.00 and 18.00 to 20.00, with no time limits at weekends, on public holidays or in July and August. A dog under 10 kg in a closed carrier skips the muzzle. Renfe Cercanías takes a dog of any size free, on a lead and muzzled, one per passenger, with no time bar.

Buses, taxis and the cable car

EMT city buses still only take a small animal in a closed carrier. A rule allowing dogs on foot was approved in 2019 and has not been brought in. Taxis and Uber are at the driver's discretion, so carry a blanket for the seat and book Uber Pet where you can. The Teleférico to Casa de Campo takes a dog only in a bag or carrier.

Parks and off-lead hours

City parks, the Retiro and Casa de Campo included, allow dogs off the lead until 10.00 and from 19.00 in winter or 20.00 in summer, on a lead the rest of the day. Dogs aren't allowed in the fountains or ornamental ponds. Four gardens refuse dogs altogether: the Jardines de Sabatini and the Campo del Moro at the Royal Palace, the Real Jardín Botánico beside the Prado, and El Capricho out at Alameda de Osuna. The Retiro's enclosed gardens, the Cecilio Rodríguez and the Rosaleda, don't publish a rule, so ask at the gate.

The sights

The Prado, the Reina Sofía and the Thyssen-Bornemisza all refuse dogs, assistance dogs excepted. The Royal Palace interior and both its gardens are the same. The Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales and the Fundación Canal both admit dogs on a short lead. The Templo de Debod stands in a public park, so the terraces around it are fine on a lead.

Dogs in restaurants

The Madrid ordinance leaves it to the owner of the bar or restaurant, who has to post a sign if dogs are barred, so terraces are nearly always fine and indoors comes down to asking. Food shops and markets are a no by law. Inside the hotels, only Hospes Puerta de Alcalá publishes dining-room access, the Ritz allows the bar and public areas, and the Gran Hotel Inglés and Orfila allow the bar or terrace.

Weight limits and two dogs

The Ritz caps at 5 kg, the EDITION at 6, the InterContinental and URSO at 8, and Bless, the Thompson, the Wellington and the Palacio de los Duques at 10. The Palace goes to 20 kg, the Gran Hotel Inglés and the Westin Cuzco to 30. Brach, the Four Seasons, the Fénix Gran Meliá and the Hyatt Centric publish no limit. For two dogs your options are Brach, the Fénix, the Westin Cuzco at 30 kg each, the Hyatt Regency Hesperia, Hotel Urban, and the JW Marriott and Rosewood Villa Magna at 25 kg and 15 kg combined.

Fees

Free at Brach, the Gran Hotel Inglés, the Mandarin Oriental Ritz and the EDITION. EUR 18 a night at Hotel Urban, EUR 30 to EUR 50 a night at most of the rest, with the InterContinental adding a EUR 250 deposit and Bless a EUR 50 cleaning charge. EUR 80 a day at the Fénix Gran Meliá and the Palacio de los Duques. Per-stay fees of EUR 50 at the JW Marriott, EUR 150 at Rosewood Villa Magna and The Palace, and EUR 250 at the Four Seasons. The Westin Cuzco caps its EUR 50 a night at EUR 150 a stay.

Getting there and vets

Madrid Barajas is the airport. Iberia and Iberia Express take a dog in the cabin up to 8 kg with the carrier from Dublin and London, and out of Madrid to both. Aer Lingus and Ryanair don't take pets in the cabin, and nothing flies a pet dog into the UK in the cabin, so the return to Britain is hold or ferry. Hospital Veterinario Madrid Centro on Calle Velázquez 136 in Salamanca runs a 24-hour emergency service, and the Universidad Europea's veterinary hospital in Villaviciosa de Odón is open 24 hours on +34 911 268 885.

Best walks

The Retiro from the Puerta de Alcalá down past the lake to the Palacio de Cristal, the Paseo del Prado and the Cuesta de Moyano book stalls, Madrid Río along the Manzanares from the Puente de Segovia to Matadero, Casa de Campo's pine tracks and the lake with the Huerta de la Partida dog area at the Madrid Río end, the Parque del Oeste up to the Templo de Debod for the sunset, and the Paseo de la Castellana for the Salamanca hotels.

When to go

March to early June and mid-September to November. Madrid sits at 650 m and gets past 35°C for weeks in July and August, the pavement burns paws by late morning and a lot of the city empties out, though the Metro drops its rush-hour dog ban for those two months. Winter is dry and cold with clear skies and the parks to yourself, and the off-lead hours start an hour earlier in the evening.