"Do you want to sleep with me?" is written across the front of this happening hang-out in the heart of Chueca, Madrid's gay epicentre. The rooftop terrace is the attraction for many, with killer city views, DJs and a pool in summer. In the rooms, sleek, curvy furniture mixes with bizarre prints all over the frosted Perspex that separates off the bathroom.

Top marks go to two innovative touches – the Universal Declaration of Human Rights instead of a bible and a free mini, portable WiFi router that guests can take around the city with them.

Doubles from 79 euros. See www.oscar.room-matehotels.com.

VILLA REAL

The Andy Warhol Marilyn Monroe picture at the entrance to the restaurant suggests one era but the extraordinary collection inside harks to a very different one. The corridors are lined with mosaics salvaged from Ancient Greece and Syria by the archaeologist owner.

Anywhere else, this could lead to timewarp fustiness but here there's a deliberate attempt to put the antiquated treasures into a modern setting. The rooms have a warm, extravagant plushness to them. Think shimmering burgundy bedspreads, split level dark wood floors and earthy coloured leather settees.

Doubles  from 132 euros. See www.hotelvillareal.com.

ONLY YOU

Every wardrobe should come with a panama hat to don, and every bathroom should be kitted out with garish giraffe-print robes. Well, in Only You's marvellous world of lip-smacking hipster-embracing, anyhow.

There's always something going on here, whether it's DJ decks next to the enormous Chinese vases during the boozy Sunday brunch, or pop up gluten-free cake stalls in the lobby adding something to go with the buckets of Veuve Cliquot. The nerdy level of detail in all the wackiness (such as the reception desk backed with a wall of white travel trunks) is fabulous to explore, though.

Doubles  from 145 euros. See www.onlyyouhotels.com.

HOTEL URBAN

Imagine an anthropology museum relocated into one of the sleekest, sexiest buildings you're ever likely to see, and the Urban is it. Carved wooden house posts from Papua New Guinea flank like guardian totem poles and figurines from China and Cambodia are slotted into alcoves in the rooms and corridors. But they're complemented with in-lift musical playlists, shimmering gold net curtains, and a drenching of teak floors.

The rooftop, with its small pool and loungers lined up to catch the afternoon rays, gets busy when the bar whips up cocktails in the summer months.

Doubles from 182 euros. See www.hotelurban.com.

HOTEL DE LAS LETRAS

One look at the open plan restaurant/ bar/ lounge area, and it's clear that only a small percentage of the bums on seats belong to the hotel guests. Michelin-starred chef Paco Morales' laid-back, informal raciones-style dishes have brought in the locals. Staff go for cosy chic, with preppy grey jumpers and shiny blue bow ties, while the rooms play heavily on the surrounding area's literary heritage. The walls have poems and quotes from writers emblazoned on them and the high ceilings give a sense of palatial grandeur.

Doubles  from 101 euros. See www.hoteldelasletras.com.

HOSPES MADRID

A little more restrained than the others in terms of all-out bravado, the Hospes goes its own way with a calming, blissed out vibe. The rooms are all white and creams, with white-grey marble in the bathrooms looking like rough-hewn blocks of salt. Despite the blaring music coming from the park-facing terrace outside, there's a feeling of being in a cherub-escorted entrance hall to heaven. The tiny-but-gorgeous spa area downstairs comes with a mood-lit plunge pool surrounded by brick arches that look like they belong in a church.

Doubles from 183 euros. See www.hospes.com.

David Whitley has been a guest of Hospes and Room Mate Hotels.