Great location, nice and big rooms, very clean, friendly staff, cheap prices,...

The hostel was clean and the staff were friendly. The location is pretty convienient to the the Metro, however don't try hailing a cab in front of the building the morning of your flight. There weren't any available cabs that drove by. We had to walk up the hill a few blocks with suitcases. I would say the worst part of staying there was the lack of A/C. The area is obviously a hot spot for the night life, and if you happen to be in an outside room, forget about sleeping with the windows open. There were always drunk people outside the building screaming and loud trucks driving by. It was mid-June, and it was hot. I had to open the window and would wind up sleep deprivied, with a stinky room. Do yourself a favor and stay at a real hotel with A/C and a doorman to hail you a cab.

well i stayed here 5 nights and it wasn't as good as i read here. 1st of all: LITTLE room!extremely!we could hardly find space to open our luggage! but u can get over it trying to move simoultaneously with your partner. lol. 2nd problem: full hostal, 2 bathrooms, prepare yourself to run to conquere the toilet b4 other guests do it themselves! 3rd and worst missing: cleanings!our little waste bin stayed full two days long, we had to use our own shopper bag as waste bin! and about bathrooms, they cleaned them just once a day, the sink was terrific in the evening :O. afterall, it is cheap, better not to stay for more than 3-4 days ;)

I just returned from a trip to Madrid with my partner where we stayed at Hostal Numancia for three nights after reading mostly positive reviews on this site. Even for a student used to the "hostel atmosphere," I found it to be pretty gross and overall a complete ripoff. The building itself was falling apart and it stunk, and the sitting room and our room itself smelled of stale cigarettes. The room was so small you could hardly move around in it. The bed was extremely uncomfortable. You cannot open the windows in the rooms; they're sealed-shut. The hallway was dark and depressing. The water from the tap of the in-room sink tasted like sulfur. Too many guests had to share the WC, and if you want to wait a half hour in the morning to shower or go to the bathroom this is the place to stay. The live-in worker was not the friendliest of individuals. The lift was on its last life, and there was a sign that said more than three people would be dangerous. On the positive side, other than the stale smell everything was more than spotlessly clean,the location was excellent and a double room was only 39 euros. However, if you're going to go to Madrid and you want to enjoy yourself, do yourself a favour and spend just a little more for a place like Hostal Alaska.