Spain Madrid hotel recommendations

Hotel Europa - dead center of Madrid. Has great French balconies.

Hotel Europa is highly recommended by RS in his book. Based on that we booked additional nights at the end of our RS Best of Spain tour. While on the tour we also stayed there and we were very disappointed. Rooms were bare bones at best. Location was very noisy. Breakfast inedible. Too late to change our end of tour booking. But, the room then was much better. Still not the Ritz, but an improvement. Even given that we would not stay there again.

Thank you for the reviews. Europa is fully booked, so we looked to a more expensive location, which I think will be more comfortable for four adults. We are traveling with our adult children. Your appraisal of the 'bare bones' delighted me, and confirmed our decision. Thank you!

I guess it is all a matter of perception. Over the years we have stayed at Europa four times and would never describe it in the manner that was used with one exception. It can be noisy if you have a room on the front with the balconies and you don't follow the local time schedule. We prefer the front rooms just to be able to look over plaza and watch the action in the street. If that is not your preference request a room to the rear - much quieter. Breakfast always been good for us. As for min room, they are typical Europe hotel rooms - relatively small with min furnishing so I don't know what that comment means.

Frank you are right about noise and location. Our second stay, in a nicer room, was in the rear and quieter. But we still used ear plugs. We are used to small minimally furnished European hotel rooms. But, our first room at Europa was below that- a single desk like chair, worn furnishings, smaller than usual bathroom. Maybe that fact that we came from a very nice place in Barcelona, and that the RS book was so laudatory regarding Europa contributed to our letdown. And we encountered surly staff when we could not figure out how to use the room safe. The eggs at breakfast were so bad the tour guide asked that something else be served the next day.

I highly recommend the Hotel Ganivet. I shared a very nice room with my parents and we had enough space for the three of us. It is located directly between 2 metro stops and about a 10-15 minute walk from Plaza Mayor or a 5-10 minute taxi ride to Atocha. The breakfast was amazing! I have stayed there twice now and would stay there again without hesitation.

http://www.hotelganivet.com/en/

I stayed here for 4 nights in 2009. Quiet location near Plaza Espana. Great value.
http://www.suitesviena.com

We stayed at the Hotel Wellington. While we were there (May), it was bullfighting season and the picadors congregated nightly in the lobby on the way to the ring. Check the reviews and the location.

Sorry Europa is booked. I agree the breakfast is terrible for the money, but we enjoyed the hotel and its location. We were given a room upgrade when we stayed there and it was on the 3rd floor right on the front corner. We liked opening the window to watch all the people. For breakfast, chocolateria San Gines has great churros and is very close by.

We stayed several nights last October at the 3-star Hotel Mora. The hotel lobby looks 4 star in my opinion but once you get in the hallways, it's like a Motel 6, so I was prepared for the worse. Plus, our room faced the street corner! I was all set to be disappointed and have to put up with a lot of noise. But actually, it turned out to be one of our favorite hotel stays! Great location. And unbelievably quiet at night. The double doors to the balcony cut out the street noise. Lots of hot water and comfortable beds. Several of the hotel clerks spoke excellent English; they were very friendly and helpful. I highly recommend it.

We stayed at the Matute11 Suites a couple of years ago. They have small apartments just a block off one of the main streets - Calle Atocha. It's a little east of the city center, but very convenient to a metro stop and close to the big three museums. Found them on booking.com. It's self-catering, and there's a nice little coffee shop just down Atocha street. My mom and I rented a one bedroom apartment with a little kitchen. The living room had a pull-out couch and the bedroom had a double bed. It was super-easy to hail a taxi on Atocha street. Also very close to a little grocery store. I would stay there again.

I stayed 4 nights at the Hotel Mora last October.
It was reasonably priced, with no breakfast; and the room was spotless and comfy; though small, as with most European hotels in that range.
I would totally recommend it.
I had a room at the front facing the main street , and did not find it noisy at all, and I'm a light sleeper.
There is an attached restaurant, which I wouldn't recommend, but if you turn left out of the hotel and then left again into the smaller streets, there are plenty places to get breakfast and wonderful coffee.
Ask for their biggest rooms!