Madrid - hotel help - near Sol
 

Hi

Thanks for previous advice on my itinerary for September.

In Madrid, we have decided to stay central in the Sol area. Some of our group (of about 15) have booked at Hotel Suecia, but they are now full, so I am hoping you can help me pick another hotel close by so the group is near. Two that were recommended:

- Reina Victoria (is this nearby? there were some negative posts about it on this board...)

- Petit Palace Londres (is this a good place? centrally located? i can't find very much on it, but the website for this hotel group looks okay)

Any other suggestions? Sol Melia group? Any off-the-beaten-track spots that we missed in all the guides or boards?

Thanks in advance for any advice on this!

We recently stayed at Best Western Carlos V (not the typical Best Western). Lots of charm, in Sol, reasonable and just 1-2 blocks from the petit palace. In fact I liked Carlos V location better, since it's on a pedestrian side street. You can check it out or book at www.bestwestern.com.

I second the Carlos V. I stayed there last month - nice sized rooms and bathrooms, very friendly, great breakfast room and ground zero location - a block from Puerta del Sol and a block from Plaza Callao. Also, the El Corte Ingles department store is just across the pedestrianized street.
Also, there are facetowels in the room, which I've found to be kinda rare in Europe.

I third the Carlos V. The staff was friendly, the room quite adequate, but ask for one of the rooms NOT on the street. We stayed there twice last September. The location is superb, but the street is narrow and sound truly reverberates into the street-side rooms at night. The early morning garbage pickup was also noisy. In the inside rooms, we never heard a thing. The Corte Inglés is great for many things, not the least of which is there grocery which is loaded with picnic makings and lots of great items to bring home as gifts. Enjoy Madrid!

We stayed at the Reina Victoria in May. It's conveniently located, a short walk to the Puerta del Sol and just about everything else. The Plaza Santa Ana, however, is noisy, so if you're sensitive to noise, forgo the view of the Plaza and get a room in the back of the hotel. I thought it was a pretty good hotel; the nightly rooom rate was less than half the Westin Palace.