My husband and I are planning a trip to Madrid in June. It will be my husband's third trip (my first) but he was there while in college (and used student housing) so we are looking for some recommendations on places to stay.
We are trying to consider all of our options. We've been looking at the SpainSelect, VRBO and friendlyrentals websites. We've never rented an apartment, though. What other costs might be incurred with these rentals? Do we pay for a cleaning service? Linens, cooking utensils are all included, right (what about dish detergent, etc)?
The searches I've done for B & B's have, for the most part, turned up hostels. Any recommendations for websites for nice B & B's?
Is the Best Western Atlantico as wonderful as the reviews are making it out to be on TripAdvisor and Expedia?
Any help is appreciated!

The word "hostels" in Madrid (and maybe all of Spain as well, I am not sure) does not mean like a youth hostel. They are indeed like small B&B's. Some of the nicest accomodations are in these places and the prices are very good. Personally I have not stayed in one but I did check on several before our trip to Madrid last year.

For various reasons, I chose in the end to go with a hotel and I found a great price for the Hotel Preciados, a lovely hotel in a very good area. I saw the Best Western Atlantico on several of walks and while it looks nice, at least from the outside, it is a very large hotel and right smack on a very large and noisy street. So I don't know it I would choose that one, aside from the fact that it is much more expensive.

Another place I considered and gets very good reviews, here and on tripadvisor is Plaza Mayor hotel.

Never rented an apartment before but as to your questions about it, each one is different. You would have to contact whichever you are interested in and ask them specifically your questions. There is no one answer for every single apartment rental.

Good luck in your search and have a good trip.

Thanks for your reply. Those are some good recommendations.
I will add Hotel Preciados to my list to look at. I have been looking at the Plaza Mayor, as well.

how long are you staying?
We rented from Spain Select twice . Last was April 23-28 this year.
If you read the web page..all the info is there ( there is 70 euros fee at the end for admin/cleaning) but we loved staying in 2 bed ( 1 and 1/2 bath) in the center for 125 euros a night. For more than a couple days, we always prefer rentals.
This is the one we stayed in
http://www.spain-select.com/detail_v...p?id_villa=435

Most apartment rentals charge some cleaning fee and they should have that EXPLICITLY stated in the listing. You will also likely incur some wire transfer fee and a bad exchange rate on your down payment if the recipient wants his down payment in euros at his bank (or else he'll charge you far more in dollars and happily convert it to more euros by his own da*n self -- that's the Hobbesian choice we faced).

If it's just the two of you, and you're going to go out and experience the Madrileno evenings (which go LATE into the night) you should probably get a hotel that doesn't suck because you'll mostly use the place as a bedroom, not as an abode.

We will be staying about a week. We probably won't be staying out too late most nights and I think that an advantage for us with the apartment scenario would be to not have to go out to eat for every meal.
I guess it just takes reading the fine print to make sure we don't miss anything.

In Madrid, "hostals" (with an "a") are like small pensions/hotels, and typically with less services than 3*/4* hotels. I can recommend Hostal Gran Duque, although I'm not sure if it has air conditioning. "Hostels" (with an "e") are like hostels anywhere, with both communal and private rooms.

For Madrid in June, my concern would not be hotel vs. hostal vs. apartment, but whether the place has air conditioning. Maybe you can get a good deal on the solmelia.com website -- I really enjoyed my stay at Tryp Cibeles a few years ago, and it had great air conditioning.

' because you'll mostly use the place as a bedroom, not as an abode."

this is what many people do, but I find being "out" all day ( Madrid in June !) not to my liking. If one is in a city for more than a few days, it is nice to stay in a relaxing place with more space than a hotel room and have a kitchen (even just to have a morning coffee). We rents apt. whenever possible...does not stop us from eating out .

We stayed at the Hotel Preciados and enjoyed the stay very much. There's a metro stop (Line 2, Pl. Santo Domingo), just across the plaza (less than a minute), and another metro stop (Lines 3 and 5, Callao) less than 5 minutes walk away. Several restuarants, tapas bars, etc. in a 2 or 3 block radius, a block off the Gran Via, and a 10-minute or less stroll from Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol. Also, the mini-bar in your room is free! They don't load it up, so you can't chug a case of beer every night at no charge, but there are a couple of soft drinks, bottled water, and a couple of beers that are replenished every day.

Paul1950, if they have some american-style Diet Coke, I'm all over it!

There was a diet cola of some sort, but we don't drink colas anymore so I didn't notice the brand.

texastuc,
In Spain, Coca-Cola light and Coca-Cola Zero are popular.