This hotel was in a great location being within walking distance of Peurto del Sol and Plaza Mayor. Our room was also very quiet as our room was facing another building and not the street. The room was a little small but we didn't need much room anyway as we only used it for sleeping. We also enjoyed that we could connect our laptop to the internet through an ethernet cable for free.

My wife and I stayed at this hotel for 4 nights, in early October 2011 after reading many reviews on Tripadvisor. First thing we noticed was the smell of sewage as soon as we entered the hotel and by the end of the end of our stay, we couldn't wait to leave. The major problem was with the clicking noise from the heater/air conditioner that would wake us up around 4 or 5 am. We complained about the noise and we were upgraded to another room. We encountered the same clicking noise in our new upgraded room and we reported the problem again to the front desk but this time the person in charge was very rude and started arguing with us in a very unprofessional manner telling us they have moved us already to a room with no complaints from the other guests - this basically told us that others have had similar problems in this hotel. We asked for the manager on duty and again they upgraded us to another room, this time a junior suite, with no clicking noise. This hotel is in a central location about two blocks from Puerta del Sol which is an easy walk to Plaza Mayor and Gran Via but other than that not a great hotel to stay at. Free wifi in the lobby, breakfast not included in the room price and very expensive compared to other hotels (at 18 euros per person). I do not recommend staying at this hotel, you can find better hotels to stay at.

After managing 5 star hotels and boutique Inns for the last 16 years its not often I write a review but this experience has to be noted for the welfare of fellow guests. Upon first arrival it was difficult to see the hotel entrance as the building to the left is dwarfed in scaffolding which, judging by the graffiti/posters and pigeon excrement covering the side walk, is an old demolition site gone bust. Not the hotels fault, however the path should be kept clean for health reasons let alone guest perception. Upon entering the building, everything was very dark, the wood paneling, the lighting and floors. As we stood puzzled trying to ascertain where the reception was, we where overcome by the stench of raw sewage. The female front desk clerk gave no welcome other than "an unfriendly" do you need a room. We both speak Spanish, but continued the conversation in English, "actually we have a booking". NB> upon last minute research with Trip Advisor, I had sent 3 forms of communication. An email to booking.com, whom clarified the information, another to the hotel reception and also telephoned the hotel to make sure we had a quiet room away from the elevator and a view as my partner suffers badly from claustrophobia. With no mention of the sewage smell I had to ask and she abruptly snipped it wasn't the hotels fault it was the area and it was being dealt with. We entered the room and sure enough, a small, stale smelling room, window looking out onto a brick wall and 3m away from elevator, opposite the cleaning closet. Hastily back at reception, I pointed out we had been given everything I had specifically NOT asked for. She said, its all we have and insisted the room was not close to the elevator. I said its 3m away I measured it, she argued it wasn't! She continued to reprimand me, that they do not read the guest requests when I had asked why we were not informed my requests couldn't be met. I was so disturbed by her insolence and Yes, from the moment we stepped into this property we wanted to leave. We were now given a smoking room, both being non smokers, on the first floor directly above the entrance and views to the scaffolding. The smoke stained off white curtain had an old dark coffee stain that had been there some time and throughout the room and hotel the dark cheap wood paneling was chipped and scratched with no signs of repair and black scuff marks on the white wall areas. I had read in previous reviews that the hotel was on a quiet street and that there were no TV channels in English. They do have 6 channels in English, however only one works - CNN Africa and again I was told by the same unfriendly receptionist it was being fixed. Judging by the jammed news report on each channel, this issue was obsolete. The sewage smell and the English TV channels typically remained unaltered after our 3 day visit. Regarding the street, which has daily tour buses driving down every hour was not my interpretation of quiet. The first morning I was abruptly awoken at 8am by the overnight desk clerk and a maintenance worker gossiping VERY loudly directly below our window. I asked them to please speak quieter and away from the hotel entrance. He glanced at his watch as if I was inconveniencing him, muttered something at me as the desk clerk moved him off to the side to finish smoking. Downstairs in the over priced breakfast area, every day were 10 newspapers. All Spanish, not one for any of the foreign guests. Early Sunday morning we left the hotel for breakfast, noticing someone had vomited against the main entrance wall and across the path. Upon returning late afternoon the vomit was still there and we immediately mentioned this to the same unfriendly female clerk. How many hotel staff had walked over this disgusting site to come into work that day? This hotel clearly is not 4 stars, with its thread-bare carpets; the permanent mat in the foyer entrance is so worn, its edges are dog-eared and its only a matter of time before an accident occurs. Every night as we entered the hotel, we passed through a cloud of smoke from the same front desk clerk smoking outside, below our window, the entrance littered with cigarette butts and not so much as a welcoming nod from him. The elevator is tiny for a hotel of this size and requires a great degree of patience in waiting for it to arrive, with mechanical failure to close the doors once we had max of 4 people inside. Now I'm quite sure Mr. Marcelo [--], the Hotel Manager will write to rationalize and maybe camouflage most of this review as chronicled with many other complaints, but I can only encourage he pay careful attention to my honest and objective review, in the hopes of making it more hospitable to foreigners who have traveled far and at great cost to stay. I will also forward on this review to the CEO of the hotel chain. On the up side: Marco the Front desk manager is very kind and helpful.

I had a very difficult time with this hotel during my recent 2 week stay in Madrid. Over the duration of 2 weeks my room was moved three times as a result of multiple issues at this property.

My first several days at this hotel, ended with me in the accident and emergency department getting stitches. Due to a broken tile and missing threshold, my foot was lacerated bad enough to require stitches. On my way to the hospital I stopped by the front desk and advised them what had happened. Four hours later when I returned to the hotel after being treated in the ED, I found the room exactly as I left it. The blood, the missing wood, nothing had been touched. I went back to the desk to complain and was told that the maintenance supervisor was on vacation, and the manager would call me the next day!!!! The next day, after not receiving a call from the manager, and now without air conditioning I had to return to the front desk to complain again. I was moved to another room that night. Never did anyone apologize for my injury or try to take responsibility.

Once in the room, on my very first night, I had discovered bugs in the room. I called the front desk and they said they would sent the housekeeper to the room to spray pestisides. I advised that I was NOT going to breath pestisides and they ask me to tell them when I was leaving and they would spray the room. I was horrified at their response, and went to the desk in person. The very rude staff advised me that Madrid was a very old city, and sometimes the outside bugs come in. After being disrespected with very bad broke English, I returned to my room.

The following day the manager, I believe his name was Michael called me in my room. He asked me "What do I need", as if I was somehow responsible for all of the issues within the hotel. Following our conversation, he again moved me to another. There was no apology, no offer of a free drink, or any attempt to make my horrific stay better.

The third and final room I was moved to was AGAIN, without functioning AC. It was the worst work trip I can imagine.

I agree with the earlier post, the staff was certainly not very nice if you dont speak Spanish. I have seen many positive post about this hotel, so I was excited to stay here. It is clear to me now that many of those post are clear fabrications!

I see that the management frequently replies to visitors after they post comments on here, but take it from me firsthand they were not at all helpful in real time.