Madrid Accommodations

Rick has several good recommendations. One we stayed at was Hotel Plaza Major...very nice location, good rooms and good food. The price as I recall was about 110 Euros for the deluxe double.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187514-d286358-Reviews-Hotel_Plaza_Mayor-Madrid.html

I usually stay at either Hostal Cruz Sol or Hostal Santa Cruz, both in the same building a floor apart on Plaza Santa Cruz in downtown Madrid. It's 2 short blocks from Sol and about 50 meters from Plaza Mayor, but because it's not on the direct route between the two, it remains relatively quiet. Basic but modern and clean accommodations. 40 Euro for a single, 50-53 for a double. See http://www.hostalcruzsol.com/index.english.html and http://www.hostalsantacruz.com/ingles/index.html . To see where they're located, go to maps.google.com and copy and paste these coordinates in the search box (40.415314, -3.705601). Click on Satellite and you'll get an excellent view.

Hostal Adriano, near plaza Santa Anna is a good place to rest. Clean, well run, and central location.

You might also check www.madridman.com for other places...and for general information as well.

2 years ago we stayed at Hotel Abalu, a botique hotel. The rate was affordable, it was close to 2 metros, and close to the gran via.
Each room has its own private bath, which was nice.

www.hotelabalu.com

Thanks for the info!

I went to Madrid last year and stayed at the Vincci Capitol Hotel. The staff was helpful, but a little stuffy at the front desk. All in all I really don't care too much about the hotel staff, as long as they keep the room clean, since we don't spend to much time in the hotel. I try to pick my hotels based on how safe the area is, how close I'm to public transportation, how close I'm to local attractions, is there the tourist Hop-on Hop-off stop close by (since we usually do this on our first day to get a feel for the area), is the area teaming with locals and cafes (in Madrid, Tapas bars). The hotel sits in the Plaza Callao on the Gran VIa. The metro is just outside and the tourist bus is down and across the street a little bit on the Gran Via. If you want a cheap quick bite to eat in the morning, there is a PanPan restaurant in the plaza. I did communicate in english to the front desk with no problem (I'm Cuban, so I speak spanish perfectly). Check them out on Tripadvisor. And Google Earth. DON'T USE BACK PACKS OF ANNY KIND IN EUROPE TO DO ANY SIGHTS.

www.vinccihoteles.com

Of course it all depends on where you want to be and what you are willing to spend. With that said the Wife and I stayed in the Hotel Europa in Mar 08 and thought it was a great value with a good location and a pretty nice restaurant. I would stay there again.

Just left Madrid three days ago and we stayed at Hotel Preciados and found it excellent. It's just down from the Grand Via in Via Preciados and is in walking distance to everything. Staff very helpful and spoke perfect english. The breakfast was the best I have had anywhere in Europe. Rooms large and clean. Could not recommend it more highly.