From historic golds to flashy neons, the AXEL Hotel in Madrid by EL EQUIPO CREATIVO

Located on Atocha Street in Madrid's Barrio de las Letras, the AXEL Hotel was designed with the intention to provide a fun, carefree atmosphere for all visitors to enjoy.  Designed by Barcelona-based practice EL EQUIPO CREATIVO, the project's interior design focuses on the use of color to create different moods and references to the neighborhood's cultural and literary history, such as the “Movida Madrileña”.

Completed in 2017, the Axel Hotel was recently named a winner in the Hospitality category in the 2019 World Architecture & Design Awards. Read on for more about the project!

Project description: “The Hotel: The Common Areas and Noble Rooms - Posters, brightly lit with cinematographic and musical references to the ‘Movida Madrileña’ together with mannequins and other flashy elements invade the entrance way to the hotel and its reception area, welcoming the guest to a carefree and festive atmosphere. The introduction of texts, words, and phrases in the form of bright lights and neon makes reference to the literary past of the neighborhood, but with more popular messages and winks/insinuations.”

“Located on the first floor were the original noble rooms that feature a rich variety of finishes and colors. The common element is the golden decorative detail on the walls, ceilings, and handicrafts. Some of these rooms were converted to public lounges or suites in the hotel's redesign.”

“The design of the hotel rooms mixes visual references to the esthetic of the bullfight and the ‘mantilla’. Two large curtains are the outstanding decorative elements, one fuchsia, the color of the bullfighter’s cape, and the other of a translucent black texture like a ‘mantilla’. The room's muted blue walls and wooden floors create a more relaxing atmosphere.”

“The Restaurant: Las Chicas, Los Chicos y Los Maniquis (The Girls, The Boys and the Mannequins) - What was originally the entrance to the building for the horse-drawn carriages is now the entrance to the hotel and divides the most public part of the restaurant into two rooms.

“Both spaces are designed under the same concept: a carefree atmosphere with a distinctly colorful character employing large graphic elements of color with references to the ‘Movida Madrileña’ and the visual universe created by well-known Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar.”

“The main elements of this colorful interior are the two large red bars that preside over the two rooms, which function as buffet tables for breakfast and snack and beer bars throughout the day. EL EQUIPO CREATIVO's design pays sincere homage to Atocha Street's iconic neighborhood shops by filling the space with large luminous posters with attractive commercial names,” the design team says.

The restaurant also contains three small interconnected dining rooms that each express their own personality through their monochromatic interiors. Their designs were inspired by the noble rooms of 19th-century palatial homes.

“The Nightclub: Bala Perdida Club - Hidden underground beneath the hotel is the Bala Perdida Club (Lost Bullet Club), which occupies two vaulted brick spaces. Mirrors were placed on both ends of each vault to produce the ‘endless mirror’ optical illusion. At the axis of the two vaults, the designers proposed two longitudinal, dynamic LED lamps cast among the suspended acoustic panels that change speed and color, depending on the different scenes at the venue.”

Project data

Location: Calle de Atocha, 49 — 28012, Madrid
Client: HI Partners, Hoteles Axel
Floor Area: 3600 m²
Interior Design: EL EQUIPO CREATIVO
Completed: August 2017