nans

We have had some difficulty getting hotels to definitely commit to a non-smoking room. The Plaza Mayor hotel has a superior twin non-smoking on the first floor only. Has anyone had experience with this particular room. Is the first floor more noisy? Can you hear the constant hallway traffic. We are also considering the Hotel Preciados and Hotel Meninas. Any answer to my questions and feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Nan

amsdon

My friends stayed at the Preciados & were very happy.
But they liked that location better.

scdreamer

I love the Hotel Plaza Mayor ... stayed there last summer and then again just last month.

Last month my transatlantic flight schedule had me arriving in Madrid at 7:30 a.m. --- I was hoping for an early check-in at the Plaza Mayor. In addition, I had requested a non-smoking room - even though I was traveling on my own, I had reserved a double just to be sure I got non-smoking, as I am very sensitive to the smell of smoke.

When I arrived at the hotel at about 9 a.m. the room I had requested was not ready (normal check-in time is one o'clock, I think), but they had a smaller single room available. They said it wasn't non-smoking, but that it didn't have any smell of smoke, so I agreed to see it. It was perfect ... and I couldn't tell at all if anyone had been smoking in the room. It was on the third floor, on the little alley side (to the right of the front entrance as you are facing the hotel). My window faced west across the alley, so it was cool in the mornings, but got a bit of sun in the late afternoon. They gave me the room at a much lower rate than I would have paid for the one I had initially reserved.

The room was quiet, even late at night when the plaza was noisy and busy. Never heard any hallway noise, and I was in the first or second room along the corridor, so I am sure there were other hotel guests passing by my door. Clean cheerful room, lovely bathroom, comfy 3/4 bed, and the staff at the hotel are just great. You can't beat the location, either.

Last year, I was traveling with my sister, and we had a double room at the PM. It was an interior room ... had an inoperable large glass window that looked down to a small shaft, so it stayed dark most of the time. The a.c. worked great, and the room was deadly quiet (which is what we had requested). Very comfortable, and again, a lovely bathroom.

I highly recommend this hotel - I plan to stay there any time I am in Madrid.

cruiseluv

nans,

I see you have a concern about noise in general. I haven't stayed at any of the hotels you are considering , but know from Maribel that the front rooms in Hotel Meninas get a lot of noise from the street.

yk

I've also stayed at Hotel Plaza Mayor in 2008. I had a single room - even though the website said it was a smoking room, there was not a trace of cigarette smoke at all (and I believe there's a sign in the room saying NO SMOKING). My room was very quiet, the only noise I heard was people talking and walking past my door when they returned at night. There was no carpet in the hallway so the footsteps were quite loud.

nans

Thank you all.
SCdreamer, it's nice to hear from someone who keeps returning to a hotel.
Amsdon, I'm not sure I understood which location was better, the Preciados or the Plaza Mayor.
Cruiseluv, it's not the noise so much, but the concept of a first floor room. I'm not sure why. I have eliminated the Meninas.

I'm now down to 3 hotels, the PM, Preciados or the El Prado. Any personal input on the Prado.

Again, thanks to all.

amsdon

"Amsdon, I'm not sure I understood which location was better, the Preciados or the Plaza Mayor."

Well Nans our friends liked the Preciados location but they wanted to be close to Gran Via, which is busier but they wanted to to be in the thick of things. They reported they liked the hotel alot.

I think as a general rule however the area of the Plaza Mayor is preferable. It would be nicer for strolling etc and is prettier.

However I understand there is alot of renovation happening in the general area of Opera, not far from Plaza Mayor. I believe Meninas is near there.

<B>Can anyone recently returning from Madrid comment on the roadwork in this area for the op? & how this affects access to the Hotel Plaza Mayor? Maybe Maribel knows...</B>

I assume you have double checked with PM about any other availabilities other than that 1st floor, that would concern me. I have stayed in the Opera area nearby & loved it.
Still take your earplugs as the trash collection every day does make alot of noise everywhere.