For the price, this place is great. First, it seems to be quite a bit a business man's hotel- we saw a lot of business men during the week. It is right off the metro- and lots of cabs are all around. Also, we met no English people- French, German and Spanish- it's not "touristy" nor is it in a tourist district- which we liked very much. There are many restaurants all around ( Cafe Manolo is literally just behind the building one street over- and they have amazing pastries and coffee. ) You are a 6-7 euro taxi ride from the Prado (not at rush hour- when it's slow) and it was about 13 euros by cab to the Palacio Real. So you are not really near any museums here- but there is the metro, or cabs (the cabs were great).
The room we had was very very small. There was about 18" between the foot of the bed and the wall. There was a small desk with a chair, and a closet, and a fridge and a small safe (will not fit a 15" laptop). There is no hot water machine or coffee maker- sad face. The bathroom was very nice (nicest thing about the room) VERY large walk-in shower- no stepping over an annoying tub (because there is no tub- which is great. we like that.) The amenities the Zenit gives you are great- a tooth brush!, a shoe buffer, a shower cap, hand cream, soap, tissues! (which is great since so many bathrooms in Madrid have no toilet paper- keep those tissues with you!)
Air conditioning was great and the windows open if you prefer fresh air.
Elevators- 2- are quick.
Lounge is attractive and large. Bar is small. We did not use it.
BEWARE- the hot water is scalding hot. SCALDING. STEAM comes off this water. We saw no children here, but if you had a child, I think this might be an issue- same issue in the shower. VERY hot water. (Washes clothes out quite nicely)
The guests next door might be noisy. We had some drunk ones come in on one side of us at 2am one night- the walls are not super thick. We could hear them until they passed out- which, thankfully, was soon. Mostly we did not see younger people here- which is nice. Older business people are quiet. Good neighbors.
The room was quite dark, we thought, even with all the lights on. But you're not in your room that much, so I don't think that's a problem. Wifi was good- free and easy to use.
The service is superb. Everyone we met was kind and helpful. The rooms are clean. The beds were comfortable. The price was great.
I enjoyed the breakfast very much. There were hot sausages and bacon (soft bacon- not the crispy American kind) and scrambled eggs (which were runny and not very good- at least to my taste). There were many many MANY delicious breads- some sweet, some not. I loved all the breads I tried. Because I am only one person, I could not eat them all- and the butter, jam and honey was good too. There was also lovely fruit (watermelon, other melons, pineapple, kiwi- and whole apples, oranges and pears). There were many juices- the orange was really good so I drank that. There were many cereals (no room, I did not try them) and dried fruit. THEN, there was cheese and dried meat- prosciutto, turkey?, sliced salami, manchego cheese, quince paste to eat with the cheese, and other cheeses. You will not be hungry after your breakfast! Sadly, the coffee was about the worst I've had. Horrible horrible coffee. But no worries, we brought our own tea- plus there's great coffee all over Madrid. The Zenit has a machine- and I don't know if it's the machine, or the beans they use, but it was really bad. Undrinkable for me. However, I take off no points of that, because it's a small thing- and you can work around it.
So, while this place isn't perfect, it's a fantastic deal with great service and good amenities. read more