Hotels in Madrid
 

We have never been to Madrid and I'm not finding it easy to choose a hotel location from looking at maps. Can anyone suggest a Madrid Hotel, 3 or 4 star, that is handy for sightseeing and an easy walk to a metro station for the airport? (It would also be great if there were a nearby car hire return point.) We would like to go to The Prado; The Plaza Mayor; some shopping and eating of course and any other suggestions for a 3 day stay would be much appreciated.

You want to be within the museum triangle. There are a number of great options including the 3-star Hotel El Prado. You might want to download a copy of Maribel's Guides to Madrid, the hotel and dining guides should help (www.maribelsguides.com).

Definitely download Maribel's Guide.

We recommend the El Prado Hotel. It is a three star hotel
and is very comfortable. The location is very good-we walked to the art museums and there is a metro stop about two or blocks away.There is also a street behind the hotel that has
many restaurants-the Italian one is particularly good.

Have fun!

Pat

Try the Persal, but it maybe only two stars.

BTW, the amount of stars a hotel gets in Spain is determined by criteria set forth by law, rather than by inspection.

As usual, excellent replies - thank you. The hotel looks good so I will check it against the map of things we want to see. I had not come across Meribels guides but I have already found some v good tips about transfers to the airport.

If you are suggesting the All Seasons Prado I would agree as well. We stayed there in January and found it very nice, it came with a good breakfast as well. If you are looking for nicer in the area there is a Westin , the Villa Real, the Vinni Soho. I would avoid the Plaza Mayor or Sol area far to noisy for my taste. The Chueca area has some nice hotels as does Salamanca but they are a bit further from the museums.

Another vote for Hotel Prado. Planning to use it again for my upcoming trip. Its not far to Plaza Mayor from there, about 15 mins walking. The closest metro station is Anton Martin, about a 5 mins walk.

AC Recoletos is a 4 star establishment which we really enjoyed. It has contemporary/hip decor (modern), walking distance to the museums, Retiro Park, and located in trendy Salamanca district (shopping) on a quiet side street.

I would stay there again without hesitation. Be aware though that there is a frosted glass wall between the bathroom and bedroom - not a problem for us, but for some people may be an issue. This provides for some natural light reaching the "zen-like" bathroom.

Great info...thanks, everyone.

We stayed at the NH Nacional on Paseo del Prado because it was near to our hire car drop off point (Atocha Station). It is an OK hotel with underground parking if needed. We did use the car park when we dropped off our cases but it has a very steep and twisty ramp leading to a very tight car park. I wouldn't like to attempt the ramp with a big car! Our room was on the second floor and although there is double glazing I found it hard to sleep because of the traffic noise. The hotel is opposite the Botanic Garden and a short walk from The Prado and Reina Sophia Galleries. We walked to the Palace, visiting lots of historic buildings,the Plaza Mayor and the shops on the way. On our last day we spent time in Retiro Park which is huge and has lots of different areas to explore, including another gallery where they were giving free entry tickets to Reina Sophia. N B there are free entry times for Madrid galleries; look online to find out when. We ate in the area just to the north of our hotel where there are lots of restaurants and bars. You can use wifi for free in the lobby.