Fengxiangdeshuiping
July 28, 2024
When my friend helped me book a hotel, he made a small mistake and missed the last night before returning to Madrid from Barcelona. At around 4pm, I went to UVE hotel to pick up the luggage I had stored there. I sat on the sofa in the lobby and chose the hotel I would stay in that night. After a lot of hesitation, I chose the latter between the new designer hotel and the old international chain hotel.
InterContinental Madrid opened in 1953 and is a truly old hotel. The lobby is very small, and several uncle-level doormen greet guests enthusiastically, but it also seems very crowded. The check-in front desk is also very small, shrinking to the left of the revolving door entrance. An Indian guy received me to check in, and the communication was very smooth. The room fee was about 2500rmb, and the full amount had been paid on Ctrip. The pre-authorized deposit was only 50 euros. When I swiped the card and entered the password, the POS machine only showed four digits. I said my password was six digits, and he was also stunned, and turned to ask the Spanish girl next to him. The girl said it didn't matter, just enter it directly. Sure enough, when I pressed the fifth and sixth digits, the * on the screen naturally increased and displayed.
It’s the first time I met, I said.
Yes, also my first time. He said.
The elevators in European hotels are very small, which is not suitable for their tall and strong stature. After completing the formalities, the young man specifically reminded me that I could hand over my luggage to the porter, and the uncle also came over with expectation to take the luggage. Just like when I got off the car at the door, I declined. The suitcase was very light, and I only had 10 euros in banknotes on me, and I was reluctant to tip.
The hotel built 70 years ago shows traces of time and aesthetic style everywhere. The corridor is quaint and simple, and it is not even designed and aesthetic, as if it is a staff dormitory. The only decoration is the picture frame on the wall. It is not a painting, but a street scene of Madrid a hundred years ago, which complements the temperament of the old store. The sense of history is also reflected in the air conditioner. Honeywell is almost extinct in China, which is occupied by Gree and Midea; in the air conditioner market dominated by LCD panels, the knob-type temperature control panel is almost an antique.
I stayed for only one night, for only a dozen hours in total. I had to check out and return home at around 9 o'clock the next day, so I chose a small standard room of 25 square meters for one night. The daily rent of this room was 100 yuan per square meter. The area was small. A 1.5-meter bed, a small desk, and a TV cabinet almost filled up all the space in the bedroom. I could only spread my luggage on the desk. The TV was not facing the head of the bed, but was placed against the right wall. That night in the Champions League final, Real Madrid defeated Dortmund 2:0 to win the cup. I watched the second half with my neck twisted and my waist supported. The bathroom was also small. Byredo's bathroom products made a comeback. This Swedish perfume brand was acquired by the Spanish Puig Group in May 2022, which may play a decisive role in entering the Spanish market.
It was a good night's sleep. I didn't have time to go to the swimming pool in the morning like I did on weekdays. I got up early and went downstairs to the restaurant directly. In the small elevator car, I met a European father and daughter. The girl was slender and dignified, standing tall, about 1.8 meters tall, which was really pleasing to the eye. When the elevator door opened, the uncles in the lobby were still enthusiastic, and took the initiative to ask about needs and guide the direction to the restaurant. The wife said that this time she understood first, over the piano.
The beautiful girl standing at the front desk of the restaurant led us into the bright inner hall. The passing waiter uncle and girl greeted us, but it was not the most common morning for foreign guests in the world. A phrase with many syllables. Later I thought it should be the Spanish good morning, Buenos dias. The moment I turned into the inner hall, my eyes lit up. In addition to the bright sunlight reflected from the large glass windows, it was also because of the romantic atmosphere created by the tableware and flowers.
Taipei Mandarin Oriental has always been the ceiling of hotel buffet breakfast in my mind. I didn't expect that I would give an unexpected surprise to the Madrid Intercontinental, which I had to deal with for one night. First of all, there are a lot of varieties. There are more than a dozen kinds of bread, extending from the inner hall to the outer hall; cheese, ham, and fruits are too many to count on one hand. Secondly, it is of high quality. Spanish ham is world-famous. The worst whole ham costs 30 euros per kilogram. The price of slices of 100% Iberian black pig is several times higher. The breakfast here is full of jamon, with evenly distributed fat and a very moist taste. You can tell the quality is not low when you eat it. It was also in Spain that I developed the habit of eating cheese for breakfast every day. Although I can't tell the types and names, the rich milky fragrance and different flavors make people appreciate the magic of microbial fermentation. The sunny Iberian Peninsula is rich in fruits and has sufficient sugar. The restaurant carefully uses small cups to package them, which is convenient for eating and more effective in preventing waste. Two grades of cherries are mixed, and that breakfast realizes the freedom of ham, cheese, and cherries.
When there are few people, one or two waiters in the inner hall will take care of it. When there are more guests, it will increase to three people. The men are generally older and should be senior employees of InterContinental. The temperament is consistent with the old hotel. The girl that day looked like a Latin American. There was a clear difference in the service she provided to us and European and American guests. She walked around with a coffee pot, asked all the guests at the neighboring tables, but never came to our table. I observed her carefully and found that she was really serving dishes to people. The two uncle waiters were completely different and treated everyone equally.
I was reluctant to leave when I checked out.
Original TextTranslation provided by Google