The hotel itself is pleasant, clean and in a quiet area of Madrid. It is not too far from the sites, nor is it too near. However, our stay was quite unpleasant since our room opened into street level. It was hot, up to 24 degrees, and with no airconditioning (yes, no airconditioning!), we really wanted to open the windows. Madrid is notorious for its high crime rate so I didn't dare open the windows. When I requested for another room, the front desk attendant gave me a room which stank of smoke, supposedly a no-smoking room. I never even used the room, and instead asked for another one. The response, "no, because you will just ask for another room." Very rude, and totally uncalled for. My suggestion, make sure not to deal with the rude front desk attendant since the others were quite nice.

Maybe not for first time visitors to Madrid. But for those who know the city and have had the thrill of staying in the Gran Via or in the Salamanca district, then this is to be considered. This is a good value hotel for a European capital city. The connections to the city centre and all the key sites are great. The metro stop (El Carmen) is very close and there is also a bus that runs straight to Callao via Calle de Alcala (passing shopping at Goya and the Retiro too). One can use the 10-journey tickets on buses and the Metro. The bus stop is very near the Metro entrance at Raquel Meller street.

The size of the rooms at Rafael Ventas is larger than average (in Madrid) and they are clean and fairly comfortable, if a little worn. I have stayed at this hotel many times now and my only complaints are the carpets (which need changing, preferably to wood floors like many Madrid hotels) and the small TV mounted high up on the wall. But these minor irritations are far outweighed by the top class breakfast buffet -- possibly the best I have seen anywhere -- with the most amazing pastries and even churros, along with the standard eggs, bacon, cereals, cold meats, cheese etc etc. And the service (reception, restaurant, bar and housekeeping), which I have always found to be most friendly and accommodating.

Rooms facing onto Calle de Alcala will be noisy most of the day and night, so be sure to ask for a room elsewhere, if you are a light sleeper.

The bathrooms are very nice, with excellent, high pressure showers and large bathsheets.

A drink at the bar (or to take up to your room) is a nice way to end a Madrid evening.

This is a good value hotel in a lovely residential area with excellent connections by public transportation to the city centre, major shopping areas (Goya and Salamanca) and the airport. Rafael is a (mid-range) chain of hotels with several other locations in Madrid. I have only stayed at the Ventas location.

Stayed here on a Hotwire booking and was fairly unimpressed. There's nothing particularly terrible about the hotel, but the rooms look very worn, the TVs are tiny CRTs mounted far away from the bed, and, at least for me, EVERYTHING was a la carte- no coffee in the room, no breakfast, no free wifi, and half the channels on the TV had annoying messages trying to get me to purchase whatever movie that was showing on that channel.

That said, it was clean and safe, and I liked the location a lot- it's not too close to central, tourist Madrid, but it's in a nice residential neighborhood and a short walk from the Ventas bullfighting ring. While I wouldn't recommend booking the hotel at normal rates, if you can find a bargain, or get it through Hotwire or Priceline, you could do worse.

This is a good quality hotel, not too far from the centre. Ideal for us near family and in location we used to live. There is a nice park nearby and the metro is very near and a very good bus service. The rooms are good and breakfast excellent. I would recommend this hotel to anyone for a short or longer stay in Madrid. The transport above takes you into the centre quite quickly too.