Hotel in Madrid

We have stayed several times at Hotel Mediodia, across street from Atocha Station. While Gran Via isnt close (except by metro), it is walking distance to the Prado, next door to the Reina Sofia, walk to Gran Retiro ( a large park) and also to the Botanical Garden. There is healthy sidewalk cafe traffic nearby and shops abound. Madrid's metro is so good that anyplace else in the city is a few minutes away

Hostal Santa Cruz and Hostal Cruz Sol are two nice little two-star hotels (recently renovated) in the same building on Plaza Santa Cruz, which is about 2 blocks from Puerta del Sol, and about 75 meters from Plaza Mayor...but since it's not on the direct route between the two, the area stays relatively quiet. Double rooms are about 55 Euro/night. Check hostalsantacruz.com and hostalcruzsol.com . For location, go to maps.google.com and copy and paste the following coordinates (40.415275, -3.705619) then turn on the satellite view, and you'll see the building that houses the 2 hostals. Yes, there is an elevator, albeit VERY small.

We rented an apartment from the Hotel Plaza Mayor, which we thought was perfect. We paid 100 euros/night to have 4 people (2 on a sofabed). Everything was very clean and modern inside. It's about a block from the hotel; and, therefore, very close to the P.M., Puerta de Sol, etc. The staff at the hotel are super helpful, and the hotel itself also looks very nice.

2nd vote for the Plaza Mayor...best location for the restaurants and central to all sites. Price for us was about 110 Euros, with a delux room overlooking the main square in front of the hotel. Good ratings in RS and TripAdvisor.

We recently stayed in Hotel Preciados. We enjoyed our stay there and would return if we were to visit Madrid.

Hotel Europa is ideal for you plans. Clean, great staff and breakfast and right in the center within walking distance of most sights.