Viva editor Amanda Linnell makes the most of a luxurious business trip to live like a local.
There’s nothing quite as exciting as a work trip — especially when it’s overseas, especially after not being able to travel for so long, and especially when it’s with premium car brand Range Rover. Recently, I travelled to Madrid to test drive the 2023 Sport and plug-in hybrid model.
No, I’m not a car journalist but this on-to-it company recognises that there’s more to driving a car than what goes on under the bonnet. It’s the luxurious touches that elevate your daily driving experience as much as the power of the engine. So, for a glorious few days I was cocooned in a glamorous and oh-so-chic world of luxury travel.
I am met at the airport by a chauffeur who whisks me away in the latest Range Rover SUV to our base, the chic Edition Hotel designed by British minimalist architect John Pawson.
Here I get to swim in the roof-top pool, have a massage in the elegant spa, and drink cocktails at the bar late into the night with fellow journalists from around the world.
We are wined and dined at leading restaurants and cafes, and sent on driving adventures to destinations such as the elegant Finca Coto Mazanque, a stately former hunting lodge where we drive the eye-catching Sport P530 First Edition in sexy Firenze Red, complete with a black contrast roof and mysterious privacy glass, and master driving across rough terrain on dusty farmland in the Range Rover Sport PHEV.
There is the option to take an exclusive tour behind the scenes at the Prado museum and visit the Norman Foster Foundation — one of the world’s most prolific architects.
It is a whirlwind adventure, as to be expected when you’re behind the wheel of these elegant SUVs that hug every curve with ease as you power along the motorways or weave your way through the narrow streets of Madrid’s barrios.
We’re travelling in a fleet: heads turn at the clean lines and reductive designs of the SUVs standing out against the ornate architecture and bustling streets. One can’t help but feel just a little bit special, relaxing into the handsome interiors and sculpted seats decked out in perforated Ultrafabrics — a tactile animal-free leather in soothing hues named Light Cloud and Ebony.
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Advertise with NZME.It’s the finer details that make all the difference to travelling in luxury — the active noise-cancelling system, the adaptive cruise control, the Meridian sound system and headrest speakers, the massaging chairs, the Champagne fridge in the back ... This, I decide, is a life I could get used to but alas it must come to an end — or not quite.
Using Booking.com I’ve found an apartment to rent so I can live like a local for a few days before flying home.
Swishing around the city in an air conditioned Range Rover has its advantages — especially when it’s hot outside — but there’s nothing quite like exploring Madrid, with its myriad laneways, on foot.
It is a four-flight climb to the apartment, but every step is worth it. It has a laidback bohemian vibe: floor-to-ceiling shelves laden with books, old comfy sofas, a dining table and two steps leading up through wide glass doors onto the rooftop terrace. Down a long hallway, lined with more books, there are two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a large kitchen.
The apartment has the Booking.com travel sustainable badge, which means the property encourages recycling, reduced use of energy and supports the local community. This feels good.
We fling open the windows looking out across terracotta-tiled roofs, unpack our groceries — well, olives and wine — and tuck in. As we sit on the terrace in the evening sun, the sounds of the narrow road below, there is the delicious feeling that we’ve been here forever. Salud, we toast.
This is the pleasure of being in an apartment rather than a hotel. Being able to really spread out, setting up a desk at a corner table to write and answer work emails, one person at one end of the house, another in a bedroom enjoying a siesta.
Plus, it’s easy to nip down (those four flights of stairs) to get supplies from the Bio Corre Fleure (organic) store on the corner, to have a vino and tapas at one of the many bars before heading home to cook or go out and explore the nightlife — which Madrid has plenty of.
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Advertise with NZME.Madrilenos of all ages make the most of all that is on offer, and the streets throng with energy into the wee small hours. The only time things quieten down is during siesta, though most tourists push on despite the heat of the day.
But, living like a local and reclining on the chaise longue back at the apartment is far more appealing, especially when you know the night lies ahead and you don’t have to rush out because everything is closing soon.
Indeed, it seems in Madrid there’s no need to rush at any time of the day, and it is all too easy to slip into the relaxed rhythm of the city.
Don’t miss
This heritage site (made out of cast iron) is a buzzing food market with a tantalising array of stalls and bars. Pull up a stool alongside the locals and settle in for a feast of fresh Galician seafood, porcini croquettes, cheeses, olives and more — all washed down with a glass of crisp albarino.
Cine Dore Filmoteca Espanol
The Art Noveau building alone is worth the visit, but so is the fascinating mix of films on show from the Spanish National Archive, from classics to the experimental. There are often silent movies showing along with live music, and most films have subtitles. If you’ve watched Pedro Almodóvar’s 2002 Oscar-winning film Talk to Her (Hable con Ella), you might know he filmed a scene here. If you do visit, don’t miss the bar and outdoor cinema on the rooftop — perfect on a balmy evening.
As you would expect from a city as urbane and sophisticated as Madrid, the luxury brands are all out in force — especially on the Gran Via or the more upmarket suburb of Salamanca — but the one not to miss is Loewe, Spain’s leading luxury fashion brand which opened in Madrid in the mid-19th century and is now owned by LMVH. Creative director Jonathan Anderson is responsible for breathing new life into the brand, making it a true global player.
My cupboards at home are full of colourful pottery plates and bowls sourced from trips over the years to Spain and Morocco. In Madrid, check out Cocol for artisanal crafts, pottery, hats, leatherware and more. The perfect place to pick up gifts for folks at home.
Amanda travelled to Madrid as a guest of Range Rover. Read the full story about Amanda’s Range Rover experience in Madrid here. She booked her apartment through Booking.com
