Carlton - Madrid, Spain     

I stayed at the hotel for 2 nights. I had a single room on the 7th floor that had a little balcony with a table and chair. The room was nice but the bathroom was quite small. The bath had a glass enclosure, making it difficult to get into and out of the bath. All the windows have double glazing which cuts out all traffic noise. However, the walls are very thin and I could hear people in the room next door. I also got woken up by people arriving late at night who slammed their doors. On my first night, there was a loud sound of machinery nearby. This went on till about midnight. It sounded like it came from the hotel, as the double glazing is so good I couldn't hear anything from outside. When I complained the next morning, the hotel staff said they had no idea what the noise could have been, but quickly moved me to a better room (a suite with a double bed). This was on the first floor and was a huge improvement. The bathroom was large and had a spa bath. There was a lot more wardrobe space. There was also a second door that insulated the room from any noise from the corridor. I wasn't charged extra for the room, but would happily have paid more as I had a very peaceful night's sleep on the second night. It was room 802 in case anyone wants to book it. The hotel apparently don't have many suites. The breakfast buffet at the hotel cost ?13 and was well worth the money. You can get a cooked breakfast (bacon, eggs, mushrooms), toast, croissants, cold meat, yoghurt, cereal, juice and lots more. The hotel is located about 5 minutes walk from Atocha station. It's perfectly located if you are travelling to or from Atocha. I would stay at the Hotel Carlton again if I return to Madrid.

We stayed 4 nights at the Carlton. Got quiet room on a higher floor overlooking side street. Very clean and comfortable but beds are very hard and pillows are the total opposite so might not please everyone. No facility to make hot drink in room and you have to pay for room safe. There is no access to iron/ironing board available for guest use (you have to use hotel laundry service at silly money). Only real negative for us though was the staff at the reception desk. Couldn't help but get the impression that the customer wasn't really at the top of their priorities. Rest of the staff were fine. Didn't eat at the hotel - Madrid has a huge number of places to eat to suit all tastes and pockets. Didn't even take breakfasts as there are lots of places around the hotel and their price of 13 Euro each wasn't enticing. Madrid Metro is clean and efficient - Palos de la Frontera stop is marginally closest to hotel but Atocha Station stop is good too. Sol area (just a few stops up the line from Palos de la Frontera) is the area to go for restaurants, bars, nightlife. Madrid is a great town to be out in and you can't fail to find somewhere you like for whatever mood you are in at the time. Just don't expect to eat dinner early! A day trip on the train from Atocha station is well worth the short journey.