H10 Villa de la Reina - Madrid, Spain     

This is a great hotel with a fantastic location. We stayed here for two nights in March and the place was clean, modern, and very comfortable. The free wireless internet was a big plus. We really enjoyed the large breakfast- big variety and a great way to start the day. Although the room was on the small side- we didn't really mind because we were out and about for most of the time. For restaurants nearby- we hightly recomend Extremadura, located at Calle Libertad 13. Great food at good value and very likable staff. We had the veal with mushroom sauce and it was great! They have and English menu and the servers are very nice. Definitely not a tourist place, but a genuine Spanish experience that is super close to the Gran Via. Here is a link with more info: http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/spain/madrid/restaurant-detail.html?vid=1154654631492

There's no doubting that if you have never been to Madrid before and you want a central hotel in order to access all the great tourist spots that this hotel has a great spot. Situated in the middle of the Gran Via, one of the main streets in central Madrid you have the perfect spot to start from. We stayed for 3 nights in January and had booked a transfer with AeroCity who were great and picked us up at the airport within 5 mins and the cost was 21 Euros. This was a good price as a taxi would have cost around 30. The metro does look simple enough but we just wanted to get to the hotel quickly to start exploring having arrived at 8pm. Arrived at the hotel in 20 mins and although the Gran Via is very busy it was great knowing we were at the heart of the city. Hotel looks fantastic upon arrival and the reception staff were lovely. This is where the good points end. The room was tiny, very dark and faced into the hotel. Decorated in tired peeling dark laminated wood made it feel even worse. It was only 15C outside but we had 3 awful nights sleep as the room was very hot. This did mean the mini bar was used for drinks in the middle of the night and 12 Euro bill at the end. Also, my watch went missing from the room which was left under a bag on top of the cupboard unit housing the mini bar and we reported this immediately before leaving for the day. It mysteriously reappeared on our return inside that cupboard unit (which was seen as soon as you opened the door and had been checked previously) down the side of the mini bar rolled and face up, perfectly placed....Funny, the reception staff were really ignorant after that and at one stage did not even acknowledge we were at the desk! Wouldn't stay again as am sure could get an equally well located hotel for the same price elsewhere without feeling as tho we were sleeping in a coffin or having valuables going missing and reappearing only to be told we didn't look hard enough. Its got the location but thats its lot !