kaudrey

Hi,

I am going to Spain in February 2004 (Madrid, Barcelona, and a few towns in Andalucia). I have been reading reviews here about hotels and have come up with a few options. I took into account reviews I have read here, price, location, website pictures etc. But now I need some help picking one from my short list.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am looking for something centrally located, but it doesn't have to be "right there", just close, to the main tourist areas. I picked things around the Puerta del Sol and/or Plaza Mayor. I am also looking for under $100 a night.

So, what do you think?

En Busco del Tempo - these are studio apartments with little fridges, about $80.

Hostal Marlasca - $65

Hostal Macarena - $70

Hotel Europa - $85

Hostal Persal - $85 with breakfast.

Thanks for any comparisons or opinions you can provide!

I'll share my itinerary for your dissection once it has been fully decided.

Karen

kaudrey

Topping to get past all the nonsense threads that are being posted today, in the hopes of getting some travel advice.

Anyone?

Thanks,
Karen

allovereurope

I think the hotel Bauza has an offseason deal of 99 per night. It's supposedly hip but a little bit out of the way. I think Maribel knows more about it.

Maribel

kaudrey,
I haven't yet seen the Busca del Tiempo apartments, just pics on
www.enbuscadeltiempo.com
but some madrileño poster on www.madridman.com might be able to tell you more. They look quite stylish. I first discovered their existence on the madridman site. It appears that they no longer have a 3 night minimum.

I don't know the Hostal Marlasca, but I am familiar with the Macarena which is right on the pedestrian Cava San Miguel, right above the Plaza Mayor, the Hotel Europa on the Puerta del Sol and the Persal, off the lively Plaza Santa Ana in the heart of Old Madrid, The buffet breakfast included in the rate at the Persal is said to be plentiful, although the rooms at the Macarena are less sparely decorated.
The Macarena was included in Alistair Sawday's older "Special Places to Stay/Spain-Portugal" but doesn't make the cut in his newer "Special Places to Stay/Spain". If you choose the Macarena, I would definitely request an interior room, as it's directly across from the lively mesones (taverns) so the street traffic particularly noisy on wkds. Same applies to the Persal, next to the jazz club, Cafe Central.

But... there are two other budget properties, one newly refurbished and another new, that you might want to consider too:
the Hotel Plaza Mayor (doubles for 70-85) and the Hospedaje Madrid (double-70) both located within a block or so of the atmospheric Plaza Mayor, right in the heart of Old Madrid.
I think these two "new" budget places offer more style (rooms feel less "hostal like&quot and bang for your buck than older Europa, Macarena and Persal.

See them here:
www.h-plazamayor.com
www.hospedajemadrid.com

You can check out the Bauza at
www.hotelbauza.com
If you type "Hotel Bauza in Madrid" in the search function you can pull up my review that I posted for surlok.

Usually double wkd. rates are 126 euros, but if you can find an internet rate of 99 that's a great deal for a hip and trendy "Ian Schrager wannabe" 4 star, even if it's quite removed from the downtown action in the upper Salamanca district. There's always the Goya metro or a bus to take you downtown.

I'd also do a google search on a couple of 3-4 star hotels downtown: the Green Lope de Vega, the Suecia and the Hotel Opera.
I've heard of posters who have snagged internet discount rates of $100 for
these off peak & wks.
(We even found an unbelievable rate last spring of 100 euros through www.placestostay.com for the 5 star super deluxe Hesperia! Haven't found an incredible deal like that at the H. again, but we certainly did enjoy our "fluke" night of total luxury for a grand sum of 107 euros, including 7% vat.) You just never know.

kaudrey

Hi Maribel,

Thanks for the feedback. Hotel Plaza Mayor is on my longer list, but they wanted 100 euros for a double for Sat nite and 70 euros for the other days, so I was seeing what my other options were because of the Sat nite higher cost.

Hospedaje is also on my longer list, so I'll reconsider that one. It did look pretty good to me too.

The Hotel Bauza was a little more than I wanted to spend, but I did look at it.

I'll try www.placestostay.com as well.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

Karen

Gavin

We stayed at Hostal Persal for three nights last May. We were generally happy, given that it is budget accomodation. We picked an interior room on the theory that it would be quieter and that worked well except for the banging of doors in the hotel. The problem is that they had recently installed cheap door closers as a fire safety measure and these close the doors with a bang if not closed gently. It had the most comfortable bed of the six places we stayed at on that trip. The staff were quite helpfull. The breakfast room is non-smoking. The shower was the smallest we had ever seen measuring 23 X 18 inches...and it included a bidet.

Maribel

kaudrey,
Just in case you're still trying to decide among the Persal, Macarena and Plaza Mayor, here are some notes from "Cheap Sleeps in Spain" (Sandra Gustafson) pertaining to the three:

About the Macarena-
15 of the 25 rooms have balconies, some enclosed to become an extension of the room. #204 has nice bath & enclosed balcony plus view of one of archways leading to the Plaza Mayor. #214 has enclosed balcony, polished woood floor and can hold an extra bed. #217 is on the back, bigger room and bath. Another quiet choice is #211, with balcony overlooking pedestrian street. Hostal has an inviting sitting area which opens up onto 3 balconies, attractive hallways, wonderful collection of sepia prints of Old Madrid. Free office safe, sat. TV.

Her notes on the Hotel Plaza Mayor-
20 rms, "rooms demonstrate how a little thought and attention to decorating detail can turn a small, ordinary space into a bright, cheerful home away from home." #503, on corner is done in blue and has 3 large windows flooding rm with sunlight, brass bed coordinated with table and chair and "gorgeous" bath rivals those in many 4 star places. #303, in yellow is equally nice, she says, as is #302 with stall shower. Elevator, in room safe (for small fee), tv

About the Persal-
77 rms, run by same dedicated family for yrs., now in charge are the sons, Angel and Pepe. "Well kept, functional rooms evoke the late fifties/early sixties". #209 is a small interior room,#114 a big double with large closet & balcony facing plaza. Bar, hair dryers, elevator, free room safe, sat. tv.

About the Hotel Europa-
She says "definitely dated and eclectic aura reminds me of a granny's parlor...gaudy paintings and dried flower arrangments continue in the halls, animal skin lurking under a large dining table, oversized pumpkin and watermelon sitting on top. Rooms are spartan." #216, best room in the house, is a quiet choice with pretty view of interior patio and large bath with loads of space.

Hope this helps you a bit more to decide.

kaudrey

Thanks everyone! Maribel, you are such a great wealth of information.

My next step actually is to email my sister a few choices and then let her decide (I'm the researcher, but I'm giving her the final choice, because I'm sure I'll be pretty happy at any of these places.

I am going out of town this week, so we probably won't make a decision until next week or so, but I'll let you know what we decide.

My next post will probably be about hotels in Barcelona, our second stop...

Thanks again for the great detail! It really helps.

summercool

This past September I stayed for 1 night in "En Busca del Tiempo". Upscale hostal at best - NOT FOR THE LIGHT HEARTED, the elderly, the sick, kids, people with lots of luggage, etc. I was suppose to stay for 3 night but only made it for 1, did not feel safe, even thought I did not have any problems. The best thing about it: the place is fairly new and the PEOPLE that work there are extremely nice, helpful and friendly. Besides that, not too much more. First the location is about a block or 2 away from Puerta Del Sol which is very convenient to get somewhere else but that's about it. The street of the hotel is ony for pedestrians so the taxi will drop you off in another street and you have to carry your luggage quite a bit. Not to many tourist around that area carrying bags so you will stand out quite a bit. The neighborhood is intimidating to say the least, a voodoo shop on the corner, a few casino like establishments, lots non-tourist, non-native spanish people hanging around and eating in the few dive restaurants close by. I think this is the area were all the shaddy characters hang out after they finish trying to scam all the tourist in puerta del sol. There is no service of any kind in this hotel. You have to carry your bags and this could be a problem since the hotel has an elevator that goes from the 2nd to the 3rd floor only. You must carry your bags on flight of stairs, get on the elevator, get off and go up another flight of stairs and then you are at the reception. Rooms are small and hip. In my opinion, this place is for the young, fearless, backpacking crowd.

Wifeybug

Lucky you! I love Spain! Longing to return one day, but exploring other lands in the meantime.
We visited a friend in Madrid in July 2000, and she reserved a room for us at Hotel Bauza. It was US$99/night, helpful staff, Scandinavian decor, modern, decent restaurant, and the location was fine. It's walking distance from the Museo del Prado, and we also walked to the Plaza Mayor, etc. You can always catch a taxi to get to places. We ended our vacation there as well. Would definitely stay there again and would recommend it, based on our experience. Hope this helps.

justretired

We just returned from Spain 11/20, and in Madrid, stayed at the Hostal Macarena both just after our arrival, and just before our departure. We were in room 214 both times. We chose that room because it is very quiet. It overlooks a small, pretty empty plaza, then has outer glass windows outside the little balcony, then inner glass windows, then inch-thick wooden folding doors, and then heavy curtains. You don't hear a peep from the outside. Any noise is more apt to be from the hallway, and since it's at the end of the hallway, that's not much either. It has two beds which you can either push together, or separate with a small bedtable. The room is not gigantic, a general problem in European mid-city hotels, but was large enough for us. The bathroom is reasonably large, and has a tub.

The staff at the hotel were very helpful. You have to leave the hotel for breakfast, but there are places to eat right across the street. For lunch and dinner, it's in an area surrounded by small restaurants and tapas bars. It has good security - someone was always there whenever we went in and out.

Being "outside" the Plaza Mayor really means OUTSIDE: outside the square of buildings surrounding the Plaza, so there is NO noise from inside the Plaza. The Plaza Mayor is lively, beautiful, and fun to walk through, but we never actually ate there - the restaurants are expensive, and not a good value (the hotel actually warned us about that). When we went out other than for a meal, we tended to walk through the Plaza Mayor, and down to the Puerta del Sol, the closest metro stop to the hotel, and only a five minute walk (although we usually took ten or more, because there are things to see along the way).

Sol is ALWAYS jammed, day and night. Since this was our center, in a way, an argument could be made for choosing a hotel at the Plaza del Sol instead. But we were concerned that we might never be able to find a QUIET hotel there at a reasonable price. We were very happy with our choice of the Macarena. We made the reservation by e-mailing them at "[email protected]", and communicated our desire for a quiet room. As a final step, we had to send a fax with a credit card number to reserve the room, and a signature.

- Larry