Hotel on the Plaza Mayor, Madrid

Hotel Plaza Mayor is 100 meters from the Plaza. This is an excellent hotel with an elevator, AC, and free WiFi.

What kind of budget did you have in mind?

We stayed at Hostal Santa Cruz which is about 2 blocks from Plaza Mayor. RS listed it as a budget lodging in the 2011 book so I imagine that it is still quite economical. It was clean, had wi-fi and A/C, and was fairly quiet.

We are big fans of Priceline. We got Hotel Santo Domingo(quiet,has AC, elevator) for $100 per night(always in USD). It is just a few blocks from PM and overlooks the Palacio. Metro station just in front of the hotel.

You don't want to be on Plaza Mayor - find something near there. In April, there were hundreds of homeless people sleeping there. They had banners - so it may be a political statement - but they looked like they were planning to stay until the economy improves. Each night they roll out their mattresses and construct their cardboard shelters inside and immediately adjacent to the plaza (under the covered walkways). Just a block or two over from Plaza Mayor, we stayed at Hostal Cruz Sol. It was just okay - certainly nothing special - but reasonably priced. It's in the same building as Hostal Santa Cruz (one is the third floor and one is the second floor). Our hotel was on the third, but they took us to a room on the second (which makes me think they overflow into each other).