Hotel or apt for Barcelona and Madrid?
 

We will be 4 nights in Barcelona, and 3 nights in Madrid the 23rd-30th of April.
We're experienced travelers and usually book an apt both for the extra space and kitchen facilities, but our previous trips were longer stays, and I didn't feel the need for a concierge/desk clerk, since I had a little bit of Italian in Rome, and a little more French in Paris.

We want to spend around $200 USD per night(or less). We don't require luxurious surroundings, but we do want to be fairly central. I have successfully used Priceline in London and Hong Kong, so that's another possibility. I made a brief stop at Bidding for travel.com, and that may be a way to go.

I appreciate any help --thanks, Barb
















































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Barb, my husband and I were in Barcelona at the end of October and we rented an apartment for 6 nights through www.lodginginbarcelona.com

We were extremely happy with all of our dealings with this family run business. We rented Rambla D which is an apartment in a building on the Ramblas very near the Placa de Catalunya. It was a perfect location (and we did much research and are particular about apartment locations) as we were able to walk pretty much anywhere. It is located near a Metro and we used it a few times. The apartment was roomy, clean, nicely appointed with a full kitchen. The ONLY drawback is the noise at night. That area of the city reminded me of NYC...a place that never sleeps! People noise, not so much traffic noise, however we knew from experience that staying in the center of a city is oftentimes loud, we brought earplugs and they worked beautifully. We were not kept awake by the noise outside.

This apartment is on 3rd or 4th floor (by American standards) and there is a reliable but antique elevator. Right next to the apartment where we stayed is a unit that is a corner unit and it has huge windows and is very nicely situated. By the way the apartment was definitely under $200 per night.

My husband traveled on to Madrid after I came back home and he stayed in the Europa Hotel situated in the Puerta del Sol. He said it is extremely convenient walking distance to so many of the museums, etc. He is an architect and enjoys staying at cool places with ambiance and he very much enjoyed this hotel, particularly the service it offered. For a single he paid around $60-70.

Do you have any idea what area (or type of area) you want to stay in in Madrid? Also, what type of hotel do you generally like, big and modern, small and quaint, boutiquey, etc.

My daughter and I really enjoyed our stay at the Hotel Preciados in August. The room was small, but so well designed that the size was inconsequential. The bathroom was large and excellent (great shower). Good closet, room to store luggage, FREE minibar, flat panel TV. It's a modern boutique hotel a block from the end of the pedestrian-only Calle Preciados, near the Puerta del Sol, also near the Plaza Espana, Gran Via, etc. Some people do not like this location, because it is not a &quot;quiet&quot; neighborhood (the way the hotels nearer the Prado would be), but we loved it. Our room was very quiet, I guess due to the double-glazing of the windows (plus we overlooked a side street). Anyway, it's a thought. Do be aware that a lot of the moderately priced modern hotels have bathrooms that are not completely closed off from the bedroom (so the person sitting on the bed can see the person taking a shower). The Preciados' bathroom is <i>private</i> (gee, what a concept)!

I think I posted a review on Tripadvisor (same screen name).

We ate at the Cafe Europa on the ground floor of the Hotel Europa a couple of times!

Hi Barb,

I have been several times in Barcelona and Madrid, and we always have stayed at hotels. However, this year for the first time we will stay in an apt in Madrid as our two teen aged kids will come with us.

How many are you? If I was travelling just with my husband , I would opt for a hotel, but that is just me. Maybe if we have a good experience with the apt we will go that route in the future.

In Barcelona I can recommend the Apsis Atrium Palace, a nice 4 star hotel , very well located. We have paid around 130 Euros a night there.

In Madrid we have stayed at the Westin Palace (too pricey for us now!) and the Villa Real, which depending on dates could be below your $200 per night budget.

Good luck!

We rented from
http://www.habitatapartments.com
in Barcelona in Oct. 2008 and were very happy with the apt.