Thanks for the recommendations.

Hostel Adriano has come up on a few sites, including Maribel.

The ratings for Adriano and La Perla are pretty close, and in the same price range.

From the folks who know Madrid, is there one recommended over the over? Is one nicer? Rooms more recently done?

I note from DDD that Adriano is in Letras, which I like from kimhe description. I like the quietish street also. How does La Perla compare?

The two places are only 200 meters apart, I have only stayed in La Perla Asturiana, and Adriano is newer and gets more or less the same review rating (8,4 vs 8,6/10): http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/host...ano.en-gb.html