Choice between 2 areas/hotels in Madrid
 

Its been 25 years since I've been to southern Spain, and just went without reservations then. Now a friend & I will going & will be spending 2 nights in Madrid & are looking at a choice between the Iberostar Las Letras, which is on the Gran Via, and the Room Mate Alicia on Plaza Santa Ana. We want to be close the main sites, but have seen recommendations to not stay on the Gran Via. Any recommendations for either? Also looking at driving to Caceras & Merida, would like to know which Paradores would be better. Thanks for any help!!

I am not a fan of GV...

Santa Ana is very lively and more intimate - would be my choice of location
not familiar with hotels

We stayed in an apartment near Santa Ana through Spain Select and loved the area. Neighborhood cafes, restaurants, and a residential feel. Still walking distance to pretty much everything. Plaza Santa Ana can be loud at night so keep that in mind if you're staying right on the plaza. Gran Via felt too commercial for me.

I third the Santa Ana location. I also stayed in a Spain Select apartment near that location, on Calle de Leon, and Iiked the area.

We stayed at the Room Mate Alicia in Oct 2016. And we have stayed at the Persal (which is Spartan and clean and two blocks away). And in April we will be staying in an apartment less than ten minutes form Plaza Santa Ana.

Alicia is very trendy with an extremely friendly staff. It is a very convenient neighborhood, although we have been very unlucky with finding a better than average place to eat on Plaza Santa Ana. And the food their is a little pricey.

We walk most places and Madrid has an extensive and reliable subway system.

As the others have stated avoid the Grand Via but also avoid Calle de Atocha and Paseo de Prado. All major thoroughfares .


Whatever you do, do not rent a car until you leave Madrid.

There are paradores in Caceras & Merida. We have never stayed at the one in Caceras and stayed so long ago at the one in Merida as our advice would be useless. But we were once in Merida in June and it was too hot to go out in the noon day sun.

I think the one at Santa Ana is a more central, convenient location in general. Gran Via is a big street, of course. But that hotel Las Letras isn't really in the part of Gran Via that I think is so bad, actually, and it is actually closer to a metro stop than the other one, so maybe it's a tossup. Gran Via is still a bigger, busier street, of course, depends how much you care about that. But I would not count on that Roommate hotel as being quiet given its location, either. I'd probably give the nod to that location, though.

The room we had at Room Mate Alicia was quiet as I do not recall a window on the street. And we stayed twice at the Persal which is 1/2 block from Plaza Santa Ana and it was quiet.