I land in Madrid at 4pm on a Wednesday. By the time I collect my luggage and get through passport control I guess I'll be leaving the airport around 5:30pm. My desire is to take a taxi to my hotel (Room Mate Mario) near the opera. I know there is a metro close by my hotel, but with luggage and not knowing anything about the city I prefer a taxi. Any thoughts on how long it will take to get to the hotel and how much the taxi will cost? Thanks.

Set fee is 30 EUR. Should take about 20-25 minutes. I wouldn't worry about rush hours - I'm in Madrid now and rush hour seems to be much later.

It's a;ways rush hour in Madrid but the great news is the set taxi fee from the airport! Make sure it's a legit cab,stand in line outside the terminal, no charge you for luggage!
I love the Room mate hotels although they have increased their rates tremendously.I don't think they include breakfast any longer but no big deal,plenty of places close by.I wonder if you'll find a green apple on the night-stand!

Luggage and the metro are never a good mix... As already noted, there is a fixed fare from the airport, T-1, T-2 and T-4, into the city, and never a shortage of good, reliable Madrid taxis. Even in rush hour we've been able to get to the center of the city in under 25 minutes.

That sets my mind to rest. Thanks for your help.
Diane

More questions about the taxi. How much of a tip is appropriate? Do they charge for each piece of luggage? Thank you.

No charge for luggage in Madrid. We normally only tip the driver 1 or 2 Euros for handling the luggage, especially now that if you are flying into or out of T1 or T2 you're paying more because of the fixed fare.

The Spanish don't normally hand out a lot of tips. Not unusual to round up to the nearest € on a 100€ restaurant bill. But if you're happy in a taxi or in a restaurant, I like to tip some 10 %. Very touristy, but Spain is my second home country.