breathe

After 8 weeks of traveling, I have discovered that we prefer a hotel right in the middle of shopping, restaurants, etc... In most hotels with a/c, noise has not been a problem. Right now I am in Barcelona in the Las Ramblas area, and loving it. I'm headed to Madrid next, and currently have a reservation at the Trip Victoria, but am thinking of cancelling.

Any reccommendations for a 3 or 4 star hotel in the middle of everything in Madrid at somewhat reasonable price? I don't have time to do much research, so would appreciate any input. Thank you!

TopMan

Since you apparently have on-line access you might go to www.maribelsguides.com and check out her extensive recommendations. The hotel recs for Madrid are near the end of that particular guide. Perhaps it depends on YOUR definition of "where the action is" but I think this is an excellent resource as opposed to an on-line guidebook.

Good luck.

Eloise

Maribel's guides are highly regarded, so the recommendation to look at them is a good one.

My suggestion would have been the Reina Victoria on the Plaza de Santa Ana, the hotel that you are thinking of cancelling. It's in the middle of old Madrid, within easy walking distance of almost anything you would want to see, dozens of restaurants and many shops all around, life on the Plaza goes on far into the night. But if you want high-end shopping, you have to go to the Castellana district, which is quite far away from old Madrid.

As TopMan has said, only you can define where "the middle of the action" is.

bbib

Last month I satyed at 3* Best Western Atlantico on the Gran Via - a/c worked and noise not a problem. Lots of shops on the door step and restaurants within walking distance too. Only 5-10 mins walk from Place Mayor. I would go back to this hotel.

mr_go

The Best Western Carlos V near the Puerto del Sol is a solid 3-star choice, within walking distance to everything. Adequate room & beds, with great hot water pressure in the bathroom and very good breakfast buffet with outstanding coffee.

MFNYC

We also were very pleased with the BW Carlos V. We had a good-sized quad room.

cruiseluv

Just stayed for 2 nites at the Villa Real which is located in the Plaza de las Cortes, accross the Prado and next to the Thyssen museums. It is also a short walk to Plaza Santa Ana and Plaza Mayor. The hotel is 5 stars, great service and very nice standard room. We booked in their website and got a rate of 140 euros per night which I thought was very good for that kind of hotel.

martytravels

A third on the Carlos V. It's around $100 per night and you can't get any more central in Madrid - it's a block from Puerta del Sol, a block-and-a-half from Plaza Callao and 2 blks from the Gran Via. The rooms are nice-sized, if kinda bland, and the breakfast room is fantastic.

Wildfire

I would recommend the Intur Palacio San Martin...it is literally one street over from the Carlos V on a nice quiet plaza kity corner from the Descalzas convent.

Its a 4* but good rates. (i paid about 150 last year) for a single, but was given a glorious double. very comfortable, quite large room, very central to all the sights, the only thing they really didnt have much of wa s a lobby in case you like to hang out and have a drink in the lower floor, theirs was quite small.

Was easy to get to. On Madrid metro the stop is Callao. for taxi (etc.) the location is Plaza San Martin, but madrilenos seem to know it as Plaza Descalzas. about 6 euro fare to the train station.

If you are travelling to other points in Spain by train i would recommend just using a cab to get to the metro, the stations on the route do not have escalators, so if you are carrying more than one small case you will have to deal wiht going up and down stairs etc..

Anton

I second the Palacio San Martin. We stayed there last October and liked it very much. It is right in the center of things, but being one block over on a side street was quiet. Has a great breakfast buffet with a nice view over the rooftops of Madrid out the window.

Lois_L

We stayed at the Reina Victoria a few years ago, and were very pleased with it from the point of view of being right in the throbbing heart of Madrid nightlife. Good thing you have no difficulty sleeping, with all the racket outside until almost dawn. It was very pleasant, comfortable beds, nice atmosphere, reasonable rates--quiet until the nighttime revellers got loose. But hey--that's the point of being in Madrid.

Wildfire

A cheaper alternative is the Hotel Mediodia, directly across the street from Atocha station. close to the buen retiro, the prado and transportation. It is also directly in front of the Reina Sofia gallery. much cheaper than the Palacio San Martin and quite a favorite of tour groups apparently. i found it loud but the room i had overlooked the plaza in front of the reina sofia, very spacious and quite comfortable. for an overnight stay this was fine,,,,still recommend the San Martin if you dont mind a few extra bucks for the additional comfort.