First thing, this is NOT your typical DoubleTree. In all respects this is a European Hotel, outfitted and run the way you expect. And yes, they have cookies. We had ZERO complaints about this hotel.
When trying to select this or other properties in Madrid, I emailed the hotel for information about their fitness center, airport accessibility and about the possibility of early checkin (due to early arriving flight). Responses were helpful, timely and complete.
Upon arrival we were able to check in (10:30 AM) with both of my rooms available. I also noted during the week that they were similarly able to accommodate other travelers with early checkin as well. Maybe it's just because this is winter season.
Location is perfect. You WILL want to walk everywhere. Close to the Prado, and lots of local restaurants. Within 15-20 min walk to the city center and all sites. Honestly, I considered an AC property across from Retiro Park, but I'm glad we didn't stay there because we were much closer in the evening to great eating and bars at the DoubleTree. My wife was still able to get to Retiro almost daily for a run. Location is also close (15 min) to the Atocha train station which is your portal to Toledo among other trips. It is NOT close enough to the other main train station Chamartin unless your up for a lengthy walk which you probably don't want if you're looking for a 0730 or so train.
The hotel is very clean. Daily housekeeping was excellent. The breakfast was free for us (Diamond status) and I think was only about 14 Euros otherwise (don't quote me). The entire spread offered meats, cheeses, scrambled eggs, made to order omelet or fried eggs, coffee, espresso, coffee con leche, wonderful European breads (compared to the bland breads we often get in the states) cereals, sushi, fruits and champagne. I probably missed some. Oh yes, GREAT yogurt. This was much better than what was reported at the Marriott properties I looked at.
Front desk staff were excellent, around the clock. Trust me, you'll meet the night crew since everyone stays out late in Madrid. Restaurant recommendations were accurate and helpful. We didn't feel like we were being referred to pre-arranged spots. Basically, we found more locals where we ate than tourists.
The rooms were very good size, with a great shower (water leaked around the door a bit, my son's room didn't have a shower door). But the water was hot, the rain shower fixtures first rate and the other fixtures modern European in design. Great linens (slippers and robes included). Bed (king) was great. Even my wife liked it. The HVAC was SO QUIET you literally didn't know it was running, only that the room temperature changed on demand. Amazing! Try that stateside DoubleTree!! And the windows opened enough to let fresh air in. Which leads me to the only thing that negatively impacted our sleep. So... Spaniards eat late. And they party until 2 AM, even during the week. Spaniards are also passionate people and for that you've got to love them. But at 0230 as the energetic and sometimes boisterous are going home, the street noise was a bit much - some nights. Unfortunately I even witnessed (audibly) a poor guy getting dumped. Man was he wailing. I felt so bad. Anyhow, this is not the fault of the hotel. And my son said that closing the window blocked out the noise effectively.
Departure was excellent. The car the hotel arranged was there early. Try getting that in NYC.
If you're going to Madrid to watch TV, bring your Spanish translator. There were only 5 English language channels, and CNBC and BBC wouldn't lock a signal. However, CCTV (Africa) and a French channel (in English) and Russia TV (RT) did lock. But if this really means that much to you, maybe you shouldn't go to this great city to begin with.
You might want to know how long our stay was. We stayed 6 nights, so had a pretty good sampling of this hotel.
Okay, in summary. Don't shy away from this property because it's Hilton. It isn't your typical DoubleTree. I know, I stay in Hilton properties 45 weeks out of every year. It is the only Hilton property downtown. The airport Hilton is NOT a place you want to stay to see central Madrid. Unless you like taxi rides in packed traffic. While the hotel is nice, the staff made it special and enjoyable on a daily basis. read more