We've stayed at two places/neighborhoods in Madrid:

The Suecia:

http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/s...iew-34075.html

Hotel Coloso:

http://www.hotelcoloso.com/

Both were fine and provided good value for the Euro. I think the Coloso was better for location--it was about two blocks away from the Royal Palace and in a more interesting neighborhood.

Well, the ME is beautiful but quite a bit more than I want to spend! The Roommate Alicia (what a weird name for a hotel) looks great, but I can't tell if they have twin-bedded rooms available. I've written them an email.

hi brendan,

we stayed in Madrid for three days in February 2006 and the weather was fine - we ate lunch outside every day - though there was one rainstorm, and all the locals were wearing their fur coats!

we stayed at the hotel opera for about 100E per night and it was fine. close to the royal palace and gardens, the opera, obviously, [well worth the money if you can get tickets with a good view; if not, don't bother] great tapas bars and restaurants, the plaza mayor, etc. etc..

it is quite a hike from the museums, but taxis and the metro are cheap.

you'll have a great trip,

regards, ann

The Room-mate Alicia looks great, and the price is right (117 euros, including breakfast)! And it's available for my dates, too. Question, though: given its location, is it just too noisy? Should I request an interior room (what does an interior room look out on -- a courtyard, or an air shaft?)

Also, is it correct that the shower at the Alicia is "open" to the room? I'm traveling with my daughter, not my husband, and she won't appreciate the lack of privacy!!

We stayed in a junior suite at the Hotel Roommate Alicia, so I don't know what it is like in the regular rooms. The shower was in an area tucked behind a wall from the bedroom but there were no doors into that area. There was adequate privacy because of the clever design. There was, however, a bathtub with a view that was not separated from the room or the floor to ceiling windows by a wall. We didn't use it.

It was not at all noisy, and we had two whole walls of windows open to the plaza. But it is possible that there are no twin-bedded rooms.

They do have twin bedded rooms (not guaranteed but requested). My only concern is the shower right now. The hotel gets such good reviews though.

We only went to Madrid for a few days in April, but we really liked the Hotel Catalonia Las Cortes hotel right near Plaza Santa Ana. We paid 181€/ night including a wonderful buffet breakfast. I just loved it, loved the location - loved Madrid! Have fun.

Bookmarking thanks

dmlove, I have only seen a couple of the normal rooms.

I remember that the shower door is glass, so you could say that it is open. In the rooms I saw it wasn´t very open to the room, but I think everything depends on the privacy threshold of everyone.

My friends said that the room was really well isolated and it was really lovely looking over the square.

Bye, Cova

What about the Room Mate Mario or the Meninas? They are both mentioned on Maribel's guides.

Hi Brendan,

Have you made a decision?

I just wanted to say that we stayed at the Hotel Opera in Madrid which had a great location. But I did not suggest it to you because it was less than ideal in that the rooms were old (but clean) and musty and they leaked all over due to remodeling. Weary and tired, but basically OK.

Well now they look great and some have a terrace with an enclosed jaccuzi! Our room looked NOTHING like this.....check it out.
http://www.hotelopera.com/en/photos.html.

Just be SURE you are getting a room like the one with the terrace
or else they may look like this.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationP....html#17225771


Let us know where you decided to stay.

FWIW, we decided to stay at the Hotel Preciados, which we really enjoyed. It's located just a couple of pedestrian-only blocks from the Puerto del Sol. The room was very small, but so well designed that we didn't find it a problem. It's not an elegant hotel like the Westin Palace, but a small, very contemporary (in decor) boutique hotel. I posted a review on TripAdvisor along with some pictures.

We stayed at the Hotel Europa near Peurto del Sol. We took the metro right from the airport and it was only a block to the hotel which was clean and the staff was friendly. We found it in a Rick Steve's book. This was a few years ago.

---

Chris Chirstensen
Amateur Traveler - best places to travel to
http://AmateurTraveler.com

Another vote for Hotel Europa; I typically never stay at the same place always open to experience new places, but HOtel Europa's location and nice staff makes it difficult to stay away. Recently remodeled, it now has handicap accesible rooms.

I LOVE Madrid- plan some awesome day trips; Toledo, Avila, Segovia, El Escorial, Alacala de Henares, etc....