Accommodation

Since the countdown to our big day has begun, we would like to provide everyone with some initial recommendations in terms of accommodation.

As you have seen from our previous posts, our wedding reception will take place at the Hotel Santo Domingo located in the center of Madrid.  For those of you interested in staying at the hotel, our Maitre d' has told us that he can arrange a special rate for our wedding guests.  His initial estimation was around 100 Euro per night, however, this rate may fluctuate depending on the market at the time.  Therefore, he has asked us to provide a head count of the number of rooms that we would like to book at the hotel at the beginning of the new year in order to ensure that there is sufficient space and to offer us the best market price.  Below we have provided the link to the hotel's web page so you can take a look at the rooms and decide if you would like to stay there or not.  If you think you might like to stay at the hotel, please let us know at your earliest convenience.   

http://hotelsantodomingo.es/en

For those of you interested in finding alternative accommodation at other hotels, here are a few more links.

http://www.hotels.com/

The above link is to Hotels.com  On this page once you have searched for hotels in "Madrid, Spain," the dates you would like to book and the type of room you want, a long list of hotels will appear.  Go to the left side of the page and search for the drop down menu that says "neighborhood." Our hotel for the wedding is located off of Gran Via street.  Therefore, if you would like your hotel to be close to the reception site, select the "Gran Via," "Puerta del Sol," or "Plaza de Espana" options.  If you would like to be closer to the church for the wedding ceremony, select the "Retiro" or "Salamanca" neighborhood options. However, since both the church and hotel are very centrally located, any of these neighborhoods will be very close to the celebrations and easily accessible by public transportation or even by foot!


Another option for accommodation is to rent an apartment for your stay in Madrid.  We have had friends who have used the following two booking organizations and they were very pleased with the results.  Just make sure to select apartments in a centrally located area.  Look for locations such as "Puerta del Sol," Plaza de Espana," "Callao," "Gran Via," "Palacio Real" (Royal Palace), or "Retiro Park."



 Here are those two links:

http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/europe/spain/madrid?from-date=2016-06-01&to-date=2016-06-05
https://www.airbnb.com/s/madrid?source=hdr

We hope that this information will be helpful in the event that you are starting to think about your trip to Madrid.

As always, please feel free to leave comments here with any questions or doubts you might have about accommodation in Madrid.  Or, you can always send us a personal email to:  mmarinow7@gmail.com and we will get back to you right away!

The Reception & Hotel

Following our ceremony, the festivities are planned to continue at Hotel Santo Domingo, which is about a 30 minute walk from the church or an even quicker ride in a taxi or the metro (about 10 minutes).  Hotel Santo Domingo is a 4 star hotel located in the heart of Madrid, just a short distance from the most emblematic sites and tourist attractions.

Main entrance of Santo Domingo Hotel in Madrid

The reception will begin between 7:15 and 7:30 with a cocktail hour on the hotel's rooftop terrace, weather permitting. (Let's keep our fingers crossed!)

Rooftop Terrace

Dinner will then begin at 9:00 pm in the "Belvedere Room" with views of the Royal Palace, following by dancing and more celebrations. 

Belvedere Room, located inside Hotel Santo Domingo

Here's the link for Hotel Santo Domingo's website:

http://hotelsantodomingo.es/en

(Don't worry, as the date gets closer we will provide more information on transportation from the church to the hotel)

The Church and Ceremony

Hello again friends and family! The countdown has officially begun.  June 4th 2016 is now less than a year away and as promised, we would like to update you all with more details of our upcoming wedding.

To begin, our special day will start at 6:00pm with a Catholic ceremony in the Parish Church of San Manuel y San Benito, located right next to Retiro Park.  Below we have provided some information about this church along with links if you'd like to find out more.

"Opposite the Retiro Park, on Calle de Alcalá, there is one of the most well-known buildings in Madrid, due to its original construction that dates back to the first decade of the 20th century. The work of the architect Fernando Arbós y Tremanti was allocated as a residence and church for the Augustinian priests. The patrons of this initiative were the Catalonian businessman Manuel Caviggioli and his wife, Benita Maurici, who generously donated the land for this purpose and from whom the church takes its name.

It is one of the best examples of Neo-Byzantine architecture in Madrid, along with the Pantheon of Illustrious Men, which was also designed by Arbós. Its plan centres on a Greek cross, with a large dome over pendentives where the four evangelists are symbolically represented. Inside, a side chapel “to the Epistle” is noteworthy, with a white marble altar in the centre and the two tombs of the Catalonian couple at the sides. As regards its façade, the steeple stands out, erected in the style of Italian campaniles."

(Information taken from: http://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/iglesia-parroquial-de-san-manuel-y-san-benito/ )

Photo of the Church of San Manuel and San Benito

Additional links:

http://www.spottedbylocals.com/madrid/iglesia-de-san-manuel-y-san-benito/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187514-d2240463-Reviews-Iglesia_de_San_Manuel_y_San_Benito-Madrid.html