hotels in Madrid?

Many travelers on this board love Hotel Europa. They were on my list last November, but I ended up selecting Hostal Acapulco on Plaza del Carmen instead due to a combination of price, location, and positive reviews. They’re located just a couple of blocks over and up from Europa, so there are very close to Puerta del Sol. Our quad with balcony and private facilities was €85 per night…doubles are quite a bit lower. Acapulco is number 2 on tripadvisor and gets 4.5 stars. I’ll most definitely stay there again. I’m sure you can’t go wrong with Europa if the price is okay for you. They have a nice café that we were able to enjoy even though we didn’t stay there.

Hotel Europa is in a very central location. We passed by it several times. I would think that some of the rooms would be pretty noisey. Some visitors seem to be troubled by the noise and others do not.

We stayed at the Hotel Preciados which was very comfortable and had a good location but not as central as the Europa. The staff was helpful and free internet was provided. If we were to revisit Madrid we would probably return there.

We were in the Hotel Europa a year ago January. Our third time in 10 years. It has been substantially remodeled and expanded within the past 5 years or so. We love the front rooms with the french balcony overlooking the street. BUT, street noise can be problem but that is only problem if you are not on the Madrid time schedule. If that is a concern, asked for a room on the back side.

I can second Michael's vote for Hostel Acapulco. We spent a week there in 2008 and loved the hotel and the location.

If you get a room at the Europa facing the street there will likely be a lot of noise.

We stayed at the Europa in May 2004. Loved the central location. Our rooms did not overlook the street, but a small indoor courtyard (from what I remember) so it wasn't noisy at all. Bathroom was probably the largest of any European hotel we've stayed at.

I stayed at Hotel Europa last September. I asked for a room in the back away from the street and I slept wonderfully. There was a little courtyard to see from my window. Grean location to everything!
I would go back in a heartbeat.

We're booked at Hostal Acapulco for an upcoming trip thanks to Michael's recommendation. They were very prompt in confirming our reservation. If none of the suggested work for you, we've also stayed at Hostal Cervantes--not fancy but a good location near the Prado.

Thanks everyone! I booked at the Hotel Europa for our stay. I am excited about the location. I requested a room on a higher floor, overlooking the plaza, and of course non smoking! I sleep pretty well and I think being able to see the Puerta del sol from our balcony will be really nice.
I'll report back when we return.

Chantielle- Glad to hear you went with Europa. I was there for 4 nights in September and loved it. We had a double room, on a higher floor that faced the plaza. Never any problem with noise. Great hotel. Loved the free interet. Would definitely stay on a return trip to Madrid. Happy travels!

Sharon: I’m not sure if you’re a light sleeper or if your stay includes a Saturday night, but I thought I should mention that the street noise can get a little loud for plaza-facing rooms as young partiers cruise between the Gran Via and Puerta del Sol all night long. We stayed at Acapulco for a week but only noticed the serious revelry on Saturday night (there’s a little noise every night until 1 or 2, but Saturday night was something special). It didn’t really bother us…I chalked it up to sort of a cool cultural experience, as Madrileños like to party. We had an early flight out on Sunday and met a 6 am shuttle at the hotel…Gran Via looked like Michigan Avenue in Chicago on a Saturday afternoon…still packed with people at 6 am! The line coming out of one of the pizza places stretched way down the block…it was crazy.