My husband and I will be taking our 14 year old daughter to Madrid in March 2007. We have never been there before and don't know
where to stay. In reviewing other posts,
the museum triangle appeals to us, but we
don't want to spend a fortune for hotel.
Any suggestions for a comfortable, clean
hotel in a neighborhood where we can walk to
sights and restaurants? Thanks in advance.

JMK38,
You can read through my hotel recommendations in all price ranges in my Madrid guide here:
www.maribelsguides.com

Although I don't know your exact budget, these are my museum triangle area "budget to moderate" recommendations: (I've left out the 150 euro and above options, which excludes the Gran Hotel Canarias, Catalonia Las Letras, Hard Rock, Derby Villa Real, Westin Palace, Ritz)

Hotel Plaza Mayor
www.hotelplazamayor.com

the new Hotel Alicia
www.room-matehoteles.com

the new Hotel Vincci Soho
www.vincci-hotels.com

or the older Hotel Kris El Prado
www.krishoteles.com

or the Lope de Vega
www.hotelgreenlopedevega.com

I really liked Hotel Plaza Mayor -- very inexpensive, centrally located, and comfortable (although the rooms are pretty tiny). We found Madrid very easy to get around in, too. The subway system is simple and convenient and you can walk to most places too.

Sorry, the link for the Hotel Plaza Mayor is
www.h-plazamayor.com

We have friends who have just returned from there and took the penthouse Palomar Suite for 2. They loved it, especially its high price to quality ratio.

We stayed at the Hotel Plaza Mayor for 1 night. We were there about 3 weeks ago. We had a triple room. We really liked this hotel. But, it was a budget hotel and our room was just three single beds with a little space around each bed. There was not much room for our luggage at all. The bath was very simple. The furnishings were very simple. The guy at the front desk was very helpful in making recommendations, helping to get my internet working, and making reservations for dinner and a flamenco show (which we liked very much). The location was great.

Thank you all for your help thus far.
As I have never been to Madrid before, I am unsure of the city's layout, distances, etc. We will be visiting the museums and my husband is a runner
who will enjoy running in the park, so I was focusing on that general area - but
will we be able to walk to sights and
restaurants? thanks again

Fear not in Madrid.

If you donlt feel up to walking everywhere the city has an excellent Metro system which is easy to use.

We stayed at Gran Hotel Lope de Vega. It's a small hotel right across the Prado Museum and in the vicinty of Calle Huertas area, a pretty area of small alleys, lots of tapas bars and quaint art shops.

The hotel rooms are very comfortable, quiet, very clean and has all the modern amenities.

Is the Lope de Vega that nice? The
website picture of the exterior looks
quite dreary - thanks in advance for
your info.