Madrid for 5 days, where to stay and eat? 2 adults.

When we were in Madrid we stayed a couple blocks from Plaza Mayor. I think ours was Hostal Santa Cruz (but it may have been another one in the same building - we stayed at whichever isn't in Rick's book). It was 60 euro for a double - far from the nicest place we stayed but acceptable, if not special. As you are looking, I'd stay out of Plaza Mayor. The area is now populated at night by an organized group of homeless/unemployed (I think miners, they have a bunch of labor oriented signs). They take over the area when the daytime crowd goes away and detract from an otherwise nice square.

Where to eat? Generally we weren't impressed with the food choices we found in Madrid. We didn't try some of the really upscale places. The "cave" restaurants under one side of the Plaza Mayor sounded better than they were, but they aren't a horrible choice. Across from the "caves", there's a line of Tapas bars. We enjoyed the crowd and ambiance of those places - food wasn't special but okay. We also went to a diner type place down the street from Plaza del Sol. I wish I could recall the name, it was horrible. We ordered Pincho Maruno, which is often a great order, and had trouble choking down the chewy skewered chorizo they gave us (at least it was cheap). They did give us two large plates of anchovies as a tapa. They weren't particularly great anchovies and my wife wouldn't even try them. Two piles of them was more than I could handle by myself. I liked the Bull Bar in Plaza Mayor. We met a couple from Mexico who made much better choices than we did. For us it was expensive and marginal because we ordered tapas first. They are one of the places that give you a tapa with each drink. Our Mexican friends had better food choices and spent half as much just ordering drinks and letting them bring Tapas. He also had them pull some homemade liquor concoction from behind the bar for all of us to try. I can't recall the name of the concoction but it's popular and widely known.

Over the years we have frequently used Hotel Europa just off Puerto del Sol. It doesn't get any more central. Not sure where the Malasana area is so the recommendation may not be useful.

In Madrid we stayed at the Hotel Carlos V.. It's actually a Best Western, the rooms were comfortable and the location excellent for both Plaza Mayor as well as an easy walk to the Subways Puerta del Sol etc.. It seems to get a fairly consistant 4 or 5 on TA. We used Booking.Com and managed to secure a reasonable price. Enjoy Valencia we were there in September last year :)

P.S. Love Clinkerdaggers in the Flour Mill in Spokane.. You live in a beautiful City.

For lunch you can have wonderful tapas at the San Miguel Market. Everything looks fresh and delicious. Tables are shared but this added to the fun. Our favorite dinner was Paella at a restaurant called Museo de Vino on Santa Cruz near Plaza Mayor. I have had Paella several times since that meal (once in Barcelona at Set Portes which supposedly has served Paella as a house specialty since 1800 & it was disappointing at best) but none have been as good. We stayed at Hotel Santo Domingo for $105 thanks to Priceline. Enjoy Madrid!

If Claudia and her husband are staying in Valencia, the home of paella, I don't think they will want to try it in Madrid, where it is a "foreign" dish. . . . We really liked a tapas reataurant called Laterel on Plaza Santa Ana. In fact we liked it so much we went for lunch and again for dinner to try some different things. It is a "chain" in that there are about six of othem in Madrid, but don't let that put you off. It is cool, modern, trendy in decor and the food is fresh and imaginative, and not expensive.

I second Susan's suggestion of Mercado San Miguel, it's a little pricey but a great atmosphere, frequented by locals and tourists alike. we grabbed a bottle of wine and some different tapa's from various stalls.. Soak up the atmosphere and people watch:)

If you are interested in being close to the Prado, you might take a look at this hotel. We stayed there and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a business person's hotel and has an exceptional buffet breakfast that is one of the best we have had anywhere. Be sure to thoroughly explore the website for specials.