Madrid - Accommodation Location
 

We, along with 2 other couples have booked 2 tours, one for Spain and one for Portugal. There are about 6 days between tours so we would like to spend an additional 3 days in Madrid after the tour ends. I am looking for a rental for the 6 of us and since I am totally ignorant about Madrid I am hoping someone can give me some insight.
Our tour ends at the Ayre Grand Colon and I was hoping to find something not too far from there but don't really know what district to look for. It did mention it is not far from the Retiro, if that helps.
Also, we are all arriving at different times as we are coming from 2 places in Canada, and 1 in the US. We will be arriving the day before our tour so will need to find our own way to the hotel from the airport. What is the best (most economical) way there?
Thanks in advance for your help. I am sure I will have lots more questions. :)

The Ayre Grand Colon is an nice property in a fairly decent location, with both excellent bus and metro connections (Sainz de Baranda metro station). It's also only an easy 15-minute walk to the best tapas and small plates restaurants in the Retiro (http://tinyurl.com/h6mxcfd).

We where just there in Feburary (8 nights). See if you can get one of the suites.

Take a taxi from the airport. It's a flat rate of 30€.

Bookmarking and downloaded the pdf.from the link. The Retiro district tapas and small plates restaurants crawl seems perfect for when we're in Madrid in early November. (I'm following the posts for Spain and Portugal for our upcoming trip.) Thank you for posting the link to the pdf guide!

Thanks for the link on the restaurants. I have downloaded it.
We are actually looking for accommodation via VRBO, Airbnb or something similar and are looking for something that can accommodate all of us without breaking the bank. It was hard to know what area to look in as there were several areas listed. I am guessing it could be called 'Central' or 'Historic' area or??
Thanks for you response.

Check in the Retiro (Ibiza) or Salamanca neighborhoods, as well as Barrio de La Latina and Huertas.

Thanks Robert, that helps.