Madrid

We've stayed twice at Hostal Cervantes in Madrid. It's basic but very reasonably priced and it's best feature is it's location near the Prado.

Check out the reviews on Trip Advisor--it has apparently been undergoing renovations. If you decide to check it out I'd make sure that the construction project will be completed by the time you arrive.

Hostal Cervantes

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Madrid Man

We have always stayed at Hotel Europa. Nothing is more centrally located than Hotel Europa. Don't know the price range in Jan but it could be close to your target. Opps, just realized your target is in dollars. Something less than 80E might be a little low for central Madrid.

Just returned. I stayed at the Hotel Principe Pio. It is opposite the Palace. Review their web site for specifics.

I recommend the Hostal Cervantes.

http://www.hostal-cervantes.com/IN/

The location was perfect--very close to the Prado, and it's 50 - 55 euros for a double.

We stayed at the OPERA $100 with breakfast - a minute from the Palace; good cafes & nice staff.

Hi Madeline,

I can't say enough good things about Hotel Lope De Vega. It's less than a block from the Prado on a quiet street, and it has a cool Spanish literature theme. Spotlessly clean, very nicely decorated, and rates as low as 65 euros for a basic double room on the weekends.

It's recommended in Rick Steves, but the actual rates are much lower than what RS lists in the book. It's a business class hotel that charges business class rates during the week but budget prices on weekends -- especially if you pre-pay. We absolutely loved this hotel; we'll stay there again if we're ever back in Madrid.

Enjoy Spain!

I've stayed at two nice two-star hotels a long block from Sol, but away from the crowds that move back and forth between Sol and Plaza Mayor.

Hostal Cruz Sol and Hostal Santa Cruz are both on Plaza Santa Cruz at the very top end of Calle de Atocha, in the same building. Rates are from 50-58 Euro for a double. Go to maps.google.com and enter the following coordinates to see the area on satellite view and Street View. (40.415282, -3.705613)

You might check out Hostal La Macarena, near Plaza Mayor. It was recommended to us by a friend who lives in Madrid. She has had visiting family members stay there.

I visited Madrid in September of this year and stayed at the hotel Europa. I paid 74.00 Euro for 1 person. I asked for an inside room away from the street (no noise) and it was great for me. It was walking distance to everything.

Again a vote for Hotel Europa - central- ask for room inside like previous poster- quiet - been refurbished was there in 2007 - paid 98E / night . A little over your budget but worth the location IMO

Just returned on Monday from a stay at Hostal Acapulco on Plaza del Carmen…half a block or so down from Gran Via and a couple of blocks over and up from Puerta del Sol and Hotel Europa (i.e. smack dab in the center of the city). Our quad with terrace overlooking the plaza was priced at €85 per night, so a double would be less yet. I’ll highly recommend this lodging. Check it out on tripadvisor…very clean and highly rated. One word of caution about street-side rooms, however, is that Madrileños like to stay out and party all night long. So, you’ll hear revelry all night any night of the week if you’re a light sleeper as folks move from PdS to Gran Via (and vice versa) through Plaza del Carmen. It didn’t bother me…thought it was sort of cool. The craziest night was Saturday night. We had to catch a shuttle to the airport at 6:15 a.m. on Sunday…young people were still out in masses, especially up and down Gran Via. The pizza place had a huge line stretching way down the street. It looked like Michigan Avenue in Chicago on a Saturday afternoon. Crazy but fun!