Hi guys,
What are some recommended hotels in Madrid and Barcelona?
I of course know of Hotel Europa in Madrid but wanted some other suggestions as well. We typically would book a hotel that allows free cancellation and if possible pay later option (last one is not a absolute must but first is). We were looking for something reasonably priced and perhaps a tad more upscale from Hotel Europa in Madrid. Thank you in advance for all the suggestions!
Those are huge cities with gazillions of hotels. You'll get more responses if you tell us what "reasonably priced" means to you. For me, it's under 80 euros a night, but I'm guessing that you have quite a different definition.
Also, guidance about what you want to see in each city would be helpful, so posters can suggest geographically-convenient locations.
Fair enough.
Reasonable would probably be around $120 per night or thereabout (less would be great).
In Madrid we will be doing the usual museus, Royal Palace and in Barcelona - Gaudi and Gothic quarter.
We will be doing a fair amount of day trips out of the city as well in both places.
We love doing walks around town just enjoying the atmosphere of the new place. On our last trip we visited Paris and London - in Paris we spend pretty much every night going around Latin quarter and LOVED Paris because of it. In London we stayed right next to Victoria Station and area around us was fully residential with nothing going on at night - as a result we got in early and did not enjoy London even close to Paris.
I would love to find an area like Latin quarter in both Barcelona and Madrid.
We also LOVE Spanish cuisine and are really looking forward to doing tapa crawls and trying some genuine Spanish cuisine so areas near those are also very desirable.
Thanks!
In Barcelona ...
Hostal Grau
Muzik Boutique Hotel
Hotel Curious
Praktik Vinoteca
In Barcelona, RS Tour stays at hotel Nouvo right off the Ramblas near Catalunya circle. I wouldn't call it upscale.. Roughly comparable to Hotel Europa in Madrid. (which is a typical RS tour hotel as well).
As far as hotels go it was fine.. Catalunya is convenient as it is easy to get there from the Airport via the Aerobus (I hate airport buses but this was easy and quick). Also location is good as it is a short walk to all of the historic areas etc. I'd stay there again on my next trip.
I wonder whether Steve means the Hotel Nouvel on Carrer Santa Anna. I stayed at a different (less expensive) hotel on that street and really liked the location. It's right near Placa Catalunya and, as noted, that means it's a short walk from the Barri Gotic. It's also a reasonable walk to Casa Batllo and Casa Mila/La Pedrera, which may be on your itinerary.
There are some places to grab casual food very nearby (including some very good fruit-based popsicles), and there's a large supermarket on the Ramblas just a block or two closer to the port.
I like the Hotel Ganivet on Calle de Toledo in Madrid.
Catalunya Circle ? I'm assuming you mean Plaça Catalunya.
Taking time to use the correct name shows respect to your destination. Just as we would refer to Columbus Circle in NYC or DuPont Circle in DC and not Plaza Columbus or Plaza DuPont. Just a small thing.
We are going at the end of May and I have booked a "family room" (for our family of four - two adults and two teen girls) at this hotel: http://www.posadadelleondeoro.com/.
I saw an article about it on the New York Times travel site. The location looks great and it looks like a very "authentic" - though funky - place. Obviously I can't provide a personal recommendation yet but might be good to take a look - it's more of a boutique hotel with a well respected restaurant on the first floor.
We stayed at the Napoli Apt Hotel in the Eixample. It was a nice walk to Plaça Catalunya and beyond - had a nice, small 1 bedroom apt with a balcony that had a small table. Enjoyed it a lot and stayed there five nights
