Hostal Persal - Madrid, Spain     

Madrid was the last stop of a month trip to Europe in which we stayed in several 3 and 2 star hotels. This was by far the worst. As mentioned by other reviewers, the lobby has been renovated, but the problems start when you get to the room. The first one they gave us (in the first floor, backyard looking), had the most dirty and drain smelling bathroom I've ever encountered in a hotel. We asked to be changed immediately, and after a few hours we were shown two other rooms in the second floor which were only a little better but we decided to stay in one of them not to lose our first day in Madrid. All these room apparently shared the same characteristics: - Shabby looking and so small you could hardly pass between the bed and the wall, - Paper thin walls, doors and window resulting in loud noise coming from other rooms, hallway and backyard (shared with other buildings) - Drain smell and soiled tiles and bathtub in the bathroom which looked like it had not been cleaned thoroughly in a long time. Later we learnt from other guests that those who come with the Internet/Expedia rate are given the "backyard" rooms while those who pay the higher frontdesk rate get the renovated front rooms. When we ask if we could be moved to those rooms (even paying some upgrading fee), they told us that the hotel was full. Yes, the breakfast is eatable and the location is good but with such an efficient transport system as Madrid has I would have traded that for a better room, and I would recommend anyone to do so.

After reading a few of the reviews here and the ridiculously cheap rate we paid for our 5 day day i was worried to say the least at what may greet, us but all my worries were unfounded. We had a courtyard facing double room on the second floor which was more than adequet for our needs. The room wasnt the largest that we have stayed in but at no point did we feel cramped. Some of the fixtures were a bit tierd looking and could do with updating, but everything was spotless. The aircon also did a great job of keeping the room cool in the scorching Madrid summer heat. I was also concerned about some of the comments about noise levels being a very light sleeper but again need not have worried. At the time of our stay our floor was filled with lots of teenagers on a tour group but our room still remained quiet The location was perfect and probably the best thing about the hostal. 5 minutes walk to the nearest Metro but most of the main sites were easily in walking distance anyway. The hostal was surrounded by lots of great Tapas restaurants and we used to also enjoy an evening drink on one of the tables in the square just round the corner. All in all a great stay. If we return to Madrid we would definately return. For the price a total bargain.