They’ve been a few posts and questions about hotels in Madrid, and since this one is specifically in Rick’s latest Spain guide, I wanted to provide my comments. My daughter and I checked in yesterday and his description of the hotel is accurate. Overall it’s clean, has been updated, and for us as it turned out - it’s all about the location. We were given a room that faces Plaza Major and didn’t realize that the Holy Wednesday procession was going to run right past the hotel into the plaza. We had a front row seat to the procession, the music, and all the activities that go along with it. it was amazing and despite being sleep deprived from our overnight flight and being awake all day, we enjoyed the hustle and bustle that went along with the procession late into the night. Overall very pleased with the hotel, excellent price point, and the staff was extremely helpful.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7157 posts
Glad you enjoyed it. We’ve stayed there a few times and like the location. Your room faced the Puerta Del Sol, not the Plaza Mayor that is a few minutes walk away, but I knew what you meant.
Posted by
1 posts
We checked out Wednesday morning, 3/27/24. The staff at Hotel Europa is amazing. They are incredibly patient with tourists and make sure all needs are met, to the extent possible. Two things they cannot control: the noise in the plaza at night and the noise of their guests at night. We had a room with a balcony overlooking the plaza (Room 225, a renovated room). Our experience was that Plaza del Sol is a plaza that never sleeps. And police cars make their way through the plaza at all hours as needed. The point is that if you want to be sure you'll have a quiet night for sleep, this is not your hotel. The hallways are narrow and the walls are thin. Noise travels easily there. Plus the hotel is renovating rooms and they started construction at 8:00AM. Not great if you want to sleep late. If, on the other hand, you want an excellent location with exceptional service, this is the place. The food at the cafe is just OK. But it's nice to have it there. There is a department store within 150 feet of the hotel that has a supermarket in the lower floor so you can stock up on whatever you need.
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6713 posts
I stayed there in 2019 and had a room on a lightwell, so no noise problem. That's the tradeoff with the view of Puerto del Sol and its activities. You can ask for a quiet room and pay less, then go out and watch the street scene till you're ready to sleep. The hotel was fine. If you don't like the cafe, there are about a thousand others within a few blocks.