TOLEDO SPAIN: While we were in Madrid we took a guided 1/2 day trip to Toledo Spain through Julia…read moreTours. I would highly recommend the guided tour for the information provided. The other issue is the meandering city streets could get incredibly confusing & too easy to get lost (also my GPS was practically non existent). Toledo is located about 1hr from Madrid. The city has an incredible history dating back over 2,000 years. The time span & empires that existed in Toledo are many & varied. Visigoths, Romans, Moors, Emirate of Córdoba, Christians to name a few. The city was an important center for many generations. The different empires, religions & architectural styles helped to develop Toledo's over 2,000 years into a unique city. In 1986 Toledo was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its many works of art and architecture are the product of three major religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Walking through Toledo is like walking through a time warp as the city sits surrounded atop a hill w/the river wrapping around it providing a natural defense & fortification. While there are many churches in Toledo the highlight of Toledo for me was the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Santa Maria de Toledo. This Church is mix of Gothic, Renaissance & Baroque styles. The construction started in 1226 & was completed in 1493. This church was absolutely stunning

We booked a full day Segovia and Ávila tour with this company. It was very disappointing. 50 people…read morewith one guide, who was doing the tour in both Spanish and English, which we expected. However, the Spanish commentary was two or three times as long as the English commentary. I do speak some Spanish and I knew that we were not getting all of the same information in English. We spent more time waiting around for the group to assemble then we did actually getting to see things. At every stop, we had to wait for people who were late showing up for the meeting time. They really need to have two guides for a group this size (50 people). I would not use this company again.

After cross-referencing multi-Google searches, I made a reservation at The Hat Madrid…read more I was able to land in Madrid and go straight to The Hat by 9:30a. I was able to check-in right away, instead of waiting until 3p to do so. I still had to wait until 3p to actually go to my room. I was able to use the restrooms in the basement to freshen up (it was offered before I asked). I was able to store my luggage at the hostel in a locked room that only staff had access to until I was able to take it to my room. I stayed in the female dorm for 4. The room was clean. Someone does come each day to clean the room (mainly restrooms unless someone is leaving, then fresh sheets for new visitor). The room does have AC that can be used in the evening/night. For the most part, the hostel is quiet (there is some noise from the streets, but that's out of the hostels control. The hostel is within walking distance to Madrid's attractions or to the metro. There is also a roof top bar (that I didn't take advantage of) and the hostel does offer free sangria. I would definitely stay at The Hat hostel again if I return to Madrid. I went as a solo female travel, and felt 100% safe.

Though technically a hostel, the private room/bath felt like a hotel. Clean comfortable & fun,…read moregreat breakfast buffet at a good price. Unbeatable location. Very good value!

Loved this hotel. A fabulous buffet breakfast is included in a indoor patio setting. Very good…read morelocation....walked throughout Madrid, Prado, park, etc. Taxi stand for transportation to the airport is just outside. Madrid is a beautiful city.

Stayed here after doing tons of research (and I mean tons) regarding the best hotel to stay at…read morewhile in Madrid. Many reviews had stated that this hotel is in an excellent location as it's walking distance to many of the main sites in Madrid and is in a really nice neighborhood. It's located in the Salamanca area of Madrid, a ritzy neighborhood with great shopping and restaurants, but also within walking distance to all the major sites. In terms of location, I think we couldn't do any better than this! It's right across the street from Retiro park, within walking distance to plaza mayor (the city center square) as well as the el prado museum and reina Sofia. The restaurants in the area are also top notch and there's endless shopping right around the corner. In terms of service and staff, the hotel was amazing as well. The front desk was super helpful and booked dinner reservations and excursions for us such as the flamenco show. Everyone was nice and welcoming. The rooms themselves were also nice. The only slight criticism is that the toilet area and shower area are somewhat exposed. The doors are glass and see through so if you're looking for complete privacy in your room, it's a little inconvenient (although when I was perusing several reviews from other hotels, they had similar complaints so I wonder if it's just a European thing). Otherwise the rooms were very nice.

Experience a charming visit just a short walk from the main sights at AC Carlton. You'll have to…read morestroll a bit to jump in the Cibelas Fountain, but isn't that still worth it? The rooms are spacious or smaller, depending on your selection, but you'll have friendly service and a nice breakfast to kick off your Madrid excursions. My jumbo rainfall shower/tub contraption was special; not sure if I just got lucky. And Nespresso machines are always a nice touch. The huge Parque de el Retro is so close you can't miss it, and the train is even closer. So save a little €€ on your hotel room to spend on Spanish Ham, and I'll look for you on my return visit.

I'll start by saying that I hate when Americans travel and demand the convenience they're used to…read morein the States--objectively, that's not the case with my experience at this hotel. I travel a lot and I stay in Marriott properties every time I can because the quality is always consistent and the higher prices are typically worth a good night's sleep. That proved not to be the case with this hotel. The staff, although mostly friendly and kind, were wildly unhelpful when it came to an air conditioning issue we had in our room. Come to find out it was an issue in a lot of rooms. In the middle of the night after the "staff weren't able to fix the AC in our room," they ended up moving us to another room without AC--not sure why they thought that would fix the problem, but we tried to sleep for a few hours and then eventually just returned to our original room without AC because it was even hotter in the new room they gave us. Nevertheless, you should get working air conditioning after paying €300/night for a room (a very nice and spacious room for Madrid I might add). Considering the temperature outside was so high during our stay, opening the windows to the noisy city streets below the hotel did not prove to be beneficial. We toughed out the heat (see attached photo for the range of what our thermostat consistently read), but we were not able to sleep as we were just sweating profusely in bed all night long. Truly a miserable hotel experience. When I asked for some financial break for our stay, the hotel offered a very minimal discount on my nightly rate saying that the issue wasn't that big of a deal, and there was nothing else that they could do. Not having AC in a modern hotel during a heat wave is a pretty big problem in my opinion. I'll add that the hotel lobby was very pleasant and air conditioned--perhaps we should have just brought our pillows and blanket down to the lobby and slept on the floor? I'm open to editing this review if the hotel manager is willing to fairly compensate us for the issues we had during our stay. Other than the air conditioning issue, this is a pretty nice hotel. Not worth €300/night even if the air conditioning was working properly, but again usually Marriott properties are worth the price tag because they deliver on consistence, comfort and quality--this hotel did not.

5 stars for room, 4 stars for bathroom facilities, 2 stars for free wifi…read more It is not particularly difficult to find the hostel once you are familiar with your way around Madrid and let me say roads/streets in Madrid are super confusing. It took me nearly 10minutes to get oriented once I got out the metro station because there are so many small streets/roads extend to different directions. From the airport to get to the hostel, it took me about 50 min to an hour. Once you find Calle Jesus y Maria, it is not to hard to find the hostel. You have to buzz the door bell to wait to be let in. I stayed in a 2-person mixed bedroom. The bed is comfortable and it is spatious. There are two power outlets and two fans. I couldn't really figure out how to shut the curtain since it's extremely confusing. There are two sinks, two toilets, and three shower heads (not so stable hot/cold shower) in the women's bathroom. There are plenty of tables/chairs in the commons. They also have a big kitchen where you can store your own food in the fridge and make food. Breakfast includes basic cereal, milk, bread, and jelly. It is free. They also sell slices of pizzas for 4 euros. They also have a computer room downstairs in the basement with 7 or 8 computers with free Internet access. Couches are available in the commons and basement. The first night of my stay, the internet was stable in the commons but it was difficult for me to pick up wifi on the 3rd floor. The second evening after my day tour, I could barely pick up the wifi in the commons after I went back to my hostel. It was stable for an hour between 10 and 11pm but the wifi was completely not functioning after 11pm in the commons or in the basement. I asked the reception desk and they told me to wait for 5minutes. I waited for awhile but it was still not working. The second morning I was still not able to pick up wifi. The staff at reception told me that I still have to wait and there is problem but they didnt know what the problem was. That was frustrating. Normally I don't mind wifi access as much because Europe doesn't have (stable) free wifi everywhere like in the United States. However, I did mind this time because I am on my study abroad program where I have to turn in a group assignment. I finished my part before I left for Madrid. My partner needed more time to work on the assignment and would email the final draft to me by late Saturday evening so I can review and offer final edits Sunday morning since the homework is due on Sunday afternoon when I will be on the flight from Madrid back to Brussels. But there was nothing I could do about it since there was no Internet. I mainly chose this hostel because of its promising (free) wifi service. However, during my stay; wifi was extermely unstable for more than half of the time I needed it and the staff couldn't offer me a good explaination. I was very disappointed by the wifi service. The hostel is rather safe and secure. Other than getting buzzed in as they keep a close eye on who comes in and goes out of the hostel, the room is on a car keyed system. Each room has lockers. You can use your own locker or rent a locker. The second morning I got an early morning wake up call right around 5 or 6am from people downstairs on the street. Clearly a group of people were drunk talking really loudly as they walked pass by. Somehow they decided to just sit outside our hostel and kept talking and laughing for nearly two hours. That was not very pleasant. Since I was traveling from Brussels to Madrid, I wasn't sure if I would need my passport as my ID or just the drivers license would work as official government ID. At the airport check-in, I tried and only showed my drivers license and the staff asked if I have my passport with me. I said yes and do you need to see it. She said it's okay I trust you. So I never showed my passport flying but I needed passport for my hostel anyways. I was glad that i took it with me. It's nice to walk around in Madrid at 830am as there are no tourists around except those with luggages trying to catch the subway metro early in the morning. You can still see lots of drunk people going home from the coming out the night before. As I was walking near Sol metro station, three people walked pass by me and I unfortunately witness one guy revealing his butt to his friends. There were also drunk people who just got out of breakfast and tried to find their way home but ended up just singing/laughing/wandering on the street with friends. According to our tour guide, if you go to a club at 12:30am and there is no one around, don't go home, it's because people haven't come out yet. People come out around 2am when it's not so hot outside and party til 6 or 7am. Overall, I liked this hostel except it's wifi wasn't working for majority or the time during my stay. Also, some basic Spanish phrases will indeed help you get around since not everyone can understand English. I really enjoyed Madrid!

What a cool place to stay. While searching online, I ran across good reviews of Las Musas. I got a…read moreprivate room and thank god it had AC because a heat wave engulfed the Iberian Peninsula. If you want to meet lots of people on your trip, you definitely should stay here. The bathrooms are tiny and the walls are thin so you can hear people walking up and down the staircases or talking in the lobby. They provide free walking tours, however I found the tour guides to be really pushing when asking for tips. Take the Sandemans free tours instead. The guides at least work for their tips by making the tours entertaining.