I have just completed 3 weeks of Intensive Spanish at AIL Madrid, and am very pleased with the results. The school itself is OK (although their new location doesn't have air conditioning, I'm told, until May and this is a serious problem they must resolve) but ultimately my review is based on the skill of my teacher, Ernesto Holguera. It's not easy to keep a class interested for 4 hours a day, but he not only achieved this but also engaged us in such a way that I feel that my progress would not have happened without his methods. I also studied with another teacher, a nice fellow but not nearly as gifted as a teacher, so I doubly appreciated Ernesto's skill. I hope to come back to Madrid in the Fall and will return to the school provided that I can study with Ernesto once again. The quality of the instruction, for the cost, is very fair. PS: I'm a 60 year old native of New York City who's doing this to improve his language skills and his mind. I speak Italian fluently so that helped me learn much quicker. I hope this information is useful when you make your choice of school, but if you come at the end of April or first part of May, bring a portable fan as I did! read more

I can without reservations recommend AIL Madrid for Spanish language classes or immersion stays in Spain. They arranged two months of evening classes as well as accomodations for my 20-year old daughter. It was pretty much flawless. Their response was extremely fast and they met all our needs or wishes regrading schedule, location, etc. without any difficulty. Approach them in confidence. read more

I loved my time studying at AIL Madrid! I'm 17 and from the US and went solo to take classes for 4 weeks in July. I started at B1 level and although I did not take the final exam, I am confident that my Spanish has improved to B2 through the quality instruction of my professors and curriculum. It was easy to connect with other students through the fun after-class activities and I had a great time exploring Madrid with new friends from all over the world. My hosts were incredibly kind and supportive, and my Spanish improved with our conversations. If you are considering this program I would go for it! It is a great time for all ages and levels and I felt supported the whole trip by the student team. *I would recommend avoiding planning classes in the hottest months because the heat was a challenge:) * I took the intensive course (4 hours a day) -- would recommend putting in a request for morning hours as it is a more convenient slot for planning your day out. read more

An excellent school known for the quality of its teachers. The international staff is friendly and helpful. The school has three locations in Barrio de Salamanca, an elegant central neighborhood. I attended classes in two of the locations and they were attractive and comfortable. I took the intensive course with four hours of class daily plus a half-hour break, followed by an optional activity. The B2 class I started in, while excellently taught, turned out to not be challenging enough, so I asked to be moved to C1. Although the school did not currently have a C1 class, they opened a new section the following week to accommodate me and some other students who had expressed interest. I really appreciated their flexibility and responsiveness. As an advanced learner, I found the C1 class much more rewarding and challenging. I loved that the student body was so international; in my two weeks there I met students from two dozen countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The majority of the students were in their 20s, but there were enough older students that as a 44-year-old I felt comfortable. Everyone, students and staff, was unfailingly friendly and welcoming and I never felt out of place because of my age. The daily activities offered by AIL Madrid were an important factor in my choice. Monday through Thursday there are two cultural excursions and two workshops that take place at the school. The cultural excursions were always well-organized and fun and the workshops had interesting interactive topics like how to argue in Spanish. On Fridays there is a bar night, and every weekend they offer a paid excursion outside of Madrid organized by an outside tour agency. I didn't do any of the paid tours though as they were expensive compared to going on your own, and I generally prefer to sightsee independently in any case. The school is very savvy about social media. They post interesting learning content and updates on school activities on Facebook as well as offer online interaction with teachers and classmates. My one (minor) quibble: My first week in Madrid I arrived after group classes had already started, so when I booked my classes five months in advance I decided to take four private lessons the first week. However, in the meantime I started online classes with other Spanish tutors and really didn't need the private lessons anymore, so I tried to cancel them with four weeks notice. However, the school informed me that to cancel according to their terms and conditions I would forfeit €100 of my down payment. I understand of course that the school must protect itself from arbitrary cancellations, but I found this lack of flexibility a little frustrating since I had given four weeks notice and was still planning on taking the two weeks of group classes I had scheduled. My expectations may also have been shaped by the small school in Mexico I attended previously that was extremely flexible and accommodating. To avoid frustration, I would recommend waiting to book any classes, private or group, until you are absolutely sure you plan to go forward. read more

AIL Madrid is excellent! - Pre-arrival communication: I emailed many Spanish language schools in Madrid while trying to decide which school to go to, but AIL Madrid was always the quickest to respond, with ALL of my questions answered, really nice and friendly too (while the other schools may just tell me to refer to a link...). They arranged my class, transport, host family and everything really smoothly. - Arrival and Start of the Course Arrival was smooth, as I booked a pick-up with them and they have arranged everything and sent me all the necessary information. On the first day, they have a Welcome Presentation where Isabella explained everything we need to know! - Classes My teacher Carmen was fantastic! She is really good as a teacher, and also really funny! In our class, my classmates and I were constantly laughing. Most of the class we were having conversations, using the grammars and words we'd just learned, it was really good practice. Other than our normal classes, they also have other interesting classes such as taking a dance lesson or cooking lessons in Spanish, etc. If you have time, you can sign up for these too. I wish I had had time. You can also always request for private lessons to focus on something specific, or just to practice more. - Events and Activities They arrange a Welcome Tapas on your first day, so I already got to make so many new friends that night! Throughout the week they have after-class activities (attendance is up to you) with interesting topics and excursions to places in Madrid. These were all really interesting and fun to attend, while learning new vocabs and learning about places in Madrid! - Overall Everyone was really friendly and helpful throughout the time. I really appreciate this, and the classes were excellent too, I couldn't be happier! definitely recommend AIL Madrid to anything considering taking Spanish lessons in Madrid!! read more

I was only able to spend a few weeks at AIL, but my Spanish improved dramatically during that time. The facilities, teachers, materials, and teaching methods are all top notch. The evening supplemental activities and weekend excursions were fun and really expanded my knowledge of Madrid and Spain, although, being 70, I didn't participate in the Friday night clubbing. read more

It was the best decision of my life to travel alone to Spain, and spend a whole month with AIL Madrid! I was quite nervous at first (kind of felt like I was on my first day of high school again haha) but everyone at AIL was so welcoming and friendly, it wasn't long before I made friends to eat with, go out with, and even travel with on the weekends. Even when I was with people who were able to speak English, we chose to only speak Spanish to maximize our learning experiences. The classes were conversation-oriented with lots of opportunities to communicate with the instructor as well as the other students. It was amazing! I also recommend staying with a host family, or in my case, a lovely Spanish woman, because living with a local definitely immerses you in the culture and the language that much more! I would love to go back and take classes at AIL again!! :) read more

I have to start off by saying that I began my journey having the most warm and welcoming phone call with Isabella, who spoke to me several times before I made my decision to come to AIL. She was supportive and ready to answer any questions and was able to give me a lot of advice before booking. Once I booked and actually attended my classes I was beyond pleased with the structure of my classes and my private tutor Guillermo is outstanding. I have to say if you want to study in Spain, take your classes here because the outcome is well worth it! Gracias por todo!!! read more

I spent 3 1/2 months studying Spanish in Spain at 4 different schools including my last month at AIL Madrid. I live in Metro San Francisco and either did not see/ignored any AIL references while researching alternatives. That's too bad because AIL is an amazingly good school on every metric: Teachers, teaching, text books, number of different class levels, professional environment, price, students and something special that comes from having enough students to intersect with outside of class and staff that performs beyond expectations to address your logistic needs, education, cultural and fun experience. AIL is a great place to learn Spanish whether you're 20 or 70. read more

Just moved to Madrid and, like the other reviewer, I already have an advanced level of Spanish, but wanted to improve since I am living here now. I checked out several Spanish Language schools, and in the end settled on AIL Madrid, and have been satisfied with my experience so far. Pros: - Nice Location: well connected by Metro and in a beautiful location (near el Retiro) - Small Classes: Teachers can give you personalized attention and answer any questions, and you get to know your fellow classmates pretty well. - Friendly, helpful teachers and staff members that speak English (useful if you are a beginner, some language centers do not have staff members that speak English fluently... which obviously makes things intimidating and more complicated) - Flexible class dates: you can start or change classes whenever you want without being penalized, and you purchase classes, not weeks of class, so if your class falls on a holiday(there are many in Spain), you go on vacation, or just want a day off, you don't miss out on classes you paid for (as long as you give them 24h notice). -Nightly workshops and outings with other students during the week. I honestly haven't been able to make any of these, but they look very useful to someone new to Madrid. -Nice atmosphere: great way to have fun while learning Spanish, make friends and meet people. Cons/Mediocre Qualities: - The price is fair or about average, but there are other schools that provide more hours of instruction for the same price (and the students seem satisfied with the instruction there as well). - Quality of Instruction. My instructor tends to follow the text book pretty religiously and most of the class is spent doing worksheets and exercises from a book. Not a terrible way to learn advanced grammar and vocabulary, but I would prefer exercises that more closely simulate "real life" to practice and solidify the concepts we are learning (just because you can "fill in the blank" doesn't mean you can come up with your own correct sentence in a conversation)...but I guess that's what the rest Spain is for. :-P Overall, while not the best Spanish class/instructor I've ever had, if you are in Madrid for an extended period of time and would like some extra help with your Spanish in a relaxed, flexible, and friendly atmosphere AIL Madrid is a pretty good choice. read more

As I continue my stay in Madrid and wanted to perfect my Spanish just a bit more I decided to find a Spanish Language School. I finally opted for AIL and I really looked out. The school location is great since it is in one of the nicest neighborhoods of Madrid and the Retiro park is a couple blocks away for lunch outdoors. The teachers were very good and help me advance quiet a bit even though I already have a high level. Small class size and met some great people. Totally Recommendable read more

I just finished a 2 week course in immersion Spanish and was very impressed by this program. The faculty and staff are very professional, helpful and friendly and it was a very nice and productive experience. I would certainly re immense it as an excellent quality school. read more

I can't speak highly enough about AIL Madrid! I thoroughly enjoyed my time here. I'm from Seattle and was in Madrid for 3 weeks. I signed up only a couple of days in advance. and the staff was very helpful in getting me set up with accommodation, getting me placed in the right class, and was always there to help if needed. They were flexible, friendly, and knowledgeable. Most people I talked to had 4 hours of class time a day, with the classes either being from 9-1 or 1-5. The class size is never more han 8 people (mine had less) which means you get ample opportunities to practice and receive individualized assistance. Generally the focus was grammar for half the day, and conversation for the other half, but Spanish was always being practiced no matter what! We had a rule in our class that you couldn't speak any other language other than Spanish. They also had after class activities daily, ranging from discussions about Spanish culture or language, to walks through certain areas, or trips to famous places in the city. These were an awesome way to meet people and see Madrid! My Spanish improved greatly, and I am very happy with my time here. Dani was my professor, and you'd be lucky to have him! Thanks AIL Madrid for a great 3 weeks! read more

I loved my time at Ail Madrid, the staff are very professional as well as being relaxed, friendly and fun. I laughed every day in class! In fact I loved it so much I decided to return for more lessons. read more

Great teachers and great atmosphere at the school. Very good option to learn spanish, maybe the best one in the city!

My wife and I really enjoyed our time at AIL Madrid. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. Our classes were tailored to our level of understanding which allowed us to learn at an adequate pace. The combination of grammar and speaking along with the homework and additional activities enabled us to retain what we'd learned. All of the professors were professional, personable, and well prepared. I would highly recommend AIL Madrid for anyone that wants to learn the Spanish language in a fun, comfortable setting. read more

I followed at AIL Madrid the evening course Spanish for three months. During this period i improved my Spanish, both vocabulary and grammar. The lessons were professional and in the school was a nice atmosphere. If i had more time i would certainly follow the intensive course. I will recommend AIL Madrid to everyone who wants to improve his Spanish. read more