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Need hotel recommendations for Madrid, Toledo & Andalucia

Need hotel recommendations for Madrid, Toledo & Andalucia

Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 12:29 PM
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Need hotel recommendations for Madrid, Toledo & Andalucia

I appreciate everyone's advice in helping me plan my trip to Spain in September. Advice on the itinerary and how many nights to spend in each city was very helpful. Now I would like recommendations for hotels.

This is our itinerary:

Madrid - 4 nights
Toledo - 1 night
Cordoba - 2 nights
Granada - 2 nights
Malaga - 2 nights
Seville - 4 nights

I have booked hotel accommodations at the El Ladron De Aqua in Granada, recommended by Progol on this site. So far this is the only hotel I have reserved.

Our budget is no more than $150 per night.

For Toledo, I almost booked the Hotel Carlos V, but then I read some negative reviews, so I have decided to look at other places. Now considering Hotel Abad, a block inside the Bisagra Gate, or Hotel Eurico, close to the cathedral. Has anyone stayed at these hotels? Where is the best area to stay in Toledo? Near the Bisagra Gate, near the Cathedral, or near Plaza de Zocodover? We will be in Toledo for only 1 night, so convenience to sights is important.

I'm open to any suggestions for my other destinations. Cleanliness and central location are the most important to us. We don't need luxury/high end hotels.

Thank you!
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Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 02:00 PM
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I've never stayed in a hotel that wasn't clean anywhere. The one I stay at in Madrid is a little over your budget, I think.

In Seville, I've stayed at both the HOtel Amadeus and the Hotel Alfonso Rey X, which are fairly close together in the Santa Cruz quarter near Santa Maria church, an area I find very convenient for tourism and restsurants and the bus line down ave Menendez Pelayo. They are both around 130 euro for a superior room in September, probably, but Amadeus won't book this far out. Amadeus is more a B&B type place (not exactly a real B&B but reiminescent of one) and the Rey Alfonso is modern. It was actually more comfortable for me than the Amadeus which is a bit quirky and the room I was given was noisy and the hotel played loud music in the atrium every day which I didn't appreciate as you couldn't nap if you wanted to. My room was clean and the bed comfortable enough but maybe a bit shabby in furnishings. The TV didn't work very well at all and I like watching the news and stuff at night when traveling, it helps me learn the language, also (I do know Spanish to some degree so listen to the Spanish broadcasts there),so I didn't like that. I was alone and probably got one of the worst rooms in the hotel however even though I think it was the superior category. It was next to the maid's room where they started making noise around 6 am banging stuff around and it was near the coffee machine on this walk-around area on the first floor (not ground) where people congregate and talk noisily. I didn't like it. Which is why I moved to the Alfonso Rey on my next visit. But some of that is the luck of the draw. They do play loud opera in the atrium though, at least used to.

your preferences may vary from mine
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Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 02:09 PM
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In Toledo we loved our apartment...Casa de los Mozarabes, Callejon de Menores 10. 140 euros a night. Perfect location. Great hosts.

http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/chap...ing-to-toledo/

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...La_Mancha.html

https://www.casadelosmozarabes.com/

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Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 04:32 PM
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Maitaitom and Christina,
Thank you for your recommendations. Maitaitom, I looked into the apartment you stayed at in Toledo, and they have a 2-night minimum stay. We are staying for one night in Toledo.

Christina, what is the name of the hotel you stay at in Madrid? I'm willing to check it out. I'll also look into the Alfonso Rey X in Seville.

Has anyone stayed at the following hotels in Madrid:
Hotel Europa, Hotel Plaza Mayor, Cason del Tormes (near Plaza de Espana), and Hotel Lope de Vega? I tried Hotel NH Paseo del Prado, and they are fully booked for our nights in September, which surprises me. Are there conventions in Madrid in September?

I appreciate any advice and recommendations.
Thank you!
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Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 08:12 PM
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We enjoyed our stay in Hotel Puerta de Sevilla, nestled in a quiet corner of Barrio De Santa Cruz and within walking distance of all the great attractions / restaurants in Seville, few years ago.

In Madrid, we found our location near Puerta del sol to be very convenient - I think it was the Hotel Regina.
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Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 11:05 PM
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I stayed at the Hotel Lope de Vega in Madrid in 2004 -- perfect for my needs! But that was a long time ago; no promises about what its like now....
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 05:46 AM
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I thought the Hacienda del Cardenal in Toledo was quite nice. But make sure you get a room with a decent view. It is set into the walls of the old city and they have a good traditional restaurant. My visit was about 6+ years ago, however:



http://www.haciendadelcardenal.com/

I have some details at the start of this report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nd-segovia.cfm
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 10:25 AM
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Hi :

In madrid, hotel Regente is perfectly located at Gran Via, you can walk almost anyehere.

In Malaga, we enjoyed hotel Barcelo. Just by the AVE train station, and some 100 metres to the bus station. A 10 to 15 min walk to Larios pedesrrian zone. We never catched a bus or taxi.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 11:00 AM
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We really liked Hotel Preciados - centrally located, easy walk or metro to nearly everywhere, clean, with a great breakfast.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 11:15 AM
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We had a good experience at Hotel Europa in Madrid. Be sure to ask for a quiet room!
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 01:22 PM
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Thank you so much everyone!

Claire50, it's so helpful to hear from someone who stayed at a hotel I am considering.

dweislaw, I will check out Hotel Preciados!

jelopez33, I will also look into Hotel Regente and Hotel Barceló.

ekscrunchy, I read your trip report about Toledo. And the Hacienda del Cardenal looks beautiful. However, I am a little concerned about having to use the escalator to see the sights. Did you think that was inconvenient? Time-consuming to walk to the sights? We only have one night in Toledo.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 02:38 PM
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In Toledo we were very pleased with the Hacienda del Cardenal. You are wise to spend the night. Toledo becomes a very different place after the day trippers leave.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 02:45 PM
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basingstoke2, did you find having to use the escalator to get to the sights inconvenient? How many nights were you in Toledo?
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 03:41 PM
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No, we did not find getting to the sights inconvenient. We were in Toledo 3 nights on 2 different trips. On the first trip we stayed elsewhere outside the wall but visited the Cardenal and were entranced by its old Spain ambiance and charm so vowed to stay there on the next trip and were happy that we did. It is a lovely place.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 04:08 PM
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I should add that in our travel, when choosing a place to stay we tend to value overall ambiance and sense of place and history over luxury. We did not find using the escalators inconvenient but even if we did, it would have been outweighed by the overall experience. Our sightseeing tends to purposeful wandering with certain destinations along the way. The Cardenal, is not 5* luxury, but quite comfortable, clean, well located for most things and a pleasant oasis after a day of exploring. Their restaurant is not inexpensive but in our opinion worth the experience, particularly if the weather permits eating outdoors.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 04:24 PM
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I have a question about booking.com. I notice that some of the hotels I am interested in are already booked. Is this possible for September? Or they say some hotels have only 2 or 3 rooms left?

Or does booking.com get an allocation of rooms from each hotel, and their allotted rooms are booked? But not the entire hotel?
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 04:32 PM
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Basingstoke2, thank you so much for your detailed reply! I'm going to take another look at the Cardenal's website. I remember thinking it looked beautiful when I saw it earlier, and we prefer the old Spanish ambiance over contemporary.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 05:20 PM
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The escalators were no problem at all for us. You do have to schlep your bags from the parking lot on check in, however. But I am sure if you need help they would offer it.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 06:07 PM
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Another vote for Cardenal and it's restaurant. Wonderful!
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 08:00 PM
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KarenWoo, I have found that if I look on the hotel's website, they often have rooms available when booking.com does not. The hotel will possibly release more rooms to booking.com, expedia, etc later on. But I like to book through the hotel's website when possible, as I find we sometimes get better rooms assigned to us.
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