reddattitude

Hi there! Thanks to everyone who provided me your thoughts about my Madrid or Barcelona post! We settled on Madrid due to what you all said is available there, as well as the many trips that are easy to take from there. We are booking an overnight coach to Cordoba and Seville, and I will do a day trip to one of the recommended areas. Thank you!

We're now trying to book hotel, and are using tripadvisor to start with, due to the opinions offered from travelers. This hotel Hotel Plaza Mayor is much cheaper than the others offered through the site ($105 average vs over $150 for most) but has EXCELLENT reviews. Have any of you stayed there? Opinions? Both on hotel and location. Since it's a girls' trip, we're not looking for anything fancy. Convenient location with lots around is a must, and something clean/decent.

Do you have any other recommendations in the under $150 USD category?

There's a few over $150 that we are looking at, so if you know any of them, please provide thoughts as well:

Hotel Room Mate Alicia
Hotel del las Letras -
Best Wester Atlantico
Hotel Preciados -

thank you!!

zootsi

We stayed at the Plaza Mayor about 2 years ago. Yes it is an excellent value - great location, friendly staff, small but clean rooms. Our only small complaint were the matresses, which felt pretty skimpy. However, we would have no problem staying there again.

Robert2533

Of the four hotels mentioned, the Preciados would be my first choice, then Room Mate Alicia. The del las Letras and Atlantico are both on the Gran Via and would be a toss-up because of location.

reddattitude

Thank you!

Lolly100

Hi reddattitude,
I just got back from Madrid, Seville & Cordoba last week. And loved it!!! You will have a wonderful trip. I'm going to post a trip report soon - hopefully I can help others because I received so much help & encouragement before my trip.

As far as hotels in Madrid, I stayed at the Room Mate Mario (same chain as Alicia). And LOVED it! I can't say enough good things. The location was perfect - around the corner from the Opera metro stop. And easy walking distance to everything. The room was very comfortable, free internet, great breakfast and wonderful, kind staff. I would stay there again in a heartbeat. I would imagine the Alicia is great too since it's in the same chain. The Mario has very funky & modern decor.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I fell in love with Spain while I was there & hope you do too!

venturegirl

We stayed at the Intur Palacio San Martin last fall and really liked it:
http://www.hotelinturpalacio.com/

About a 5 min. walk to Plaza Mayor & del Sol, 10 mins. to the Palace - but nice balance as it's both in the thick of things, but on a nice quiet square next to a convent but also 1/2 block from El Corte Ingles department store -we used their travel department to avoid the huge lines at the train station to take various day trips as well as to Sevilla. (I've done a lot of train travel in Europe, but found the system in Madrid particularly confusing b/c you have to wait in the long, correct line only on the day that you want to travel. That's just too much wasted time in a train station for me...although the Madrid train station itself is very cool.)

Anyway, the hotel is very pretty - I understand that it used to be the American Embassy in Madrid - and the service was very good (we arrived an our room was still being used by another traveller and they upgraded us to a suite)...and I thought the rates were very good. We had a nice terrace with a great view of Madrid rooftops.

sjfofdc

I stayed at the hotel plaza mayor December 2011 and thought it was great. The location is excellent, the room was spotless, and fine (I was in a single). The hotel staff were not that helpful, and some were more friendly than others. The hotel is a short wall from the puerto del sol subway stop and walking distance to many major sights, including the prado. There is an elevator in the hotel, but be advised that you have to walk up about 10 steps to reach it. Although I was ere during a holiday and there was lots of resellers on the street, the room was quiet.

kimhe

Stayed in Hotel Plaza Mayor sevral times the last few years. Great value and the best location. Close to majestic Plaza Mayor, vibrant Plaza Santa Ana, the heart of the city Puerta del Sol, the fabulous tapas bar/restaurant district in and around Calle Cava Baja, the world class museums etc. etc. Rated 8,2/10, 307 guest reviews: http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/plaza-mayor.en.html

Close by Persal would nevertheless perhaps be my no 1 choice: http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/persalmadrid.en.html
Book through their homepage: http://www.hostalpersal.com/?gclid=C...FYstmAodvDQAnQ

kimhe

Hm, saw now that this was from the Stone Age, jumped on it as I miss Madrid so much...

ira

Hmmmmmmmmm,

Could sj have revived this very old thread just to be able to post an advert for the hotel?

Christina

huh? sj didn't post any ad. I think sometimes peopel search on threads related to topics they want to find out about or something they did, and they don't notice the original date

cruiseluv

I think Ira made this point because this is sj's first post. Yes, it's a bit strange.