I was told that some hotels may not turn on their air conditioning until a certain date. Is this true? Have you been able to get AC when you needed it?

You heard right! You will only be able to turn on the air conditioning in a hotel with separate room units.

Some areas or style or certain building styles you will not need AC during May.

Both folks who've posted on this thread are correct. Also, you may be able to turn A/C on in some locations, but there will be a surcharge for it. If you have specific hotels in mind, check with them for their policies. You may also want to use www.wunderground.com for information on climate conditions/temperatures for the cities you're visiting for that month, in terms of weather history.

Re: Weather

Be sure to check the 15-day forecast online before your leave the US -- the May weather in Madrid can be quite variable. But I can tell you that when I was there in mid-May 2006, the temp reached 98 F one day...but that, apparently was not normal.

The hotel we stayed at (Hostal Acapulco) had in-room AC, so we were fine.

SS

Double check with the hotel that 1) AC will be on and 2) you can control the temp in your room. We were in Madrid in beginning of May and it was humid and almost 100. They said that was unusual - but without AC we could control it would have been torture.

Double check with the hotel that 1) AC will be on and 2) you can control the temp in your room. We were in Madrid in beginning of May and it was humid and almost 100. They said that was unusual - but without AC we could control it would have been torture.