Madrid for 2 days....Hotel help please

[Lois R]

Hello ccr's….need some help and I have tried the search feature.

I will be in Madrid next year for 2 days.  Most of the posts on here

pertain to Barcelona (been there). I will be taking a river cruise on

the Douro and post cruise I am going from Porto to Madrid....want to

see a bit of Madrid for a couple of days. Anyone have a hotel recommendation?

And any private tour guide references too.   I  travel solo and would pay extra

for a good private tour. I will search Trip Advisor but usually we cruisers can

give first hand information to those of us in need

 

Thanks!

[hkto]

Without recommending anything specific I'd stay in Puerto del Sol/Gran Via area. Central, got lots of hotels in all sorts of price points. And restaurants. Easy connection anywhere including airport. Madrid as most big cities has "free" tours (Sandeman is one of them). Just pay tips. I don't see value in a guide as most places of interest (Royal Palace, Prado, Reina Sofia) can be visited on your own and may be guided tour purchased on site like in Prado. Out of town trips (Toledo, Escorial,Segovia) are easy.

[Lois R]

Thanks for the reply. I will continue to do my research but I do see a value in a guide sometimes.....I travel on my

own and when I find the right guide, it is something I enjoy...seeing things from a "local" perspective.

[edinburgher]

We were in Madrid on a 6 night city break 3 years ago.

 

Based on our sightseeing plans and Tripadvisor reviews we stayed in Suites Viena (an aparthotel) and would happily stay again if we ever return. Just checked on Tripadvisor and reviews are still very good.  Location, comfort, convenience and good quality/price ratio. Worth your while reading.

 

The rooms have a mini kitchen, so we didn't pay for breakfast but it is an option for shorter stays.  Supermarkets in close proximity for snacks, drinks etc.

 

We travelled from the airport by metro but it was a bit of a faff so we took a taxi back.  At that time it was a fixed rate hotel/airport of E30.

Edited November 6, 2019 by edinburgher

[Lois R]

2 hours ago, edinburgher said:

We were in Madrid on a 6 night city break 3 years ago.

 

Based on our sightseeing plans and Tripadvisor reviews we stayed in Suites Viena (an aparthotel) and would happily stay again if we ever return. Just checked on Tripadvisor and reviews are still very good.  Location, comfort, convenience and good quality/price ratio. Worth your while reading.

 

The rooms have a mini kitchen, so we didn't pay for breakfast but it is an option for shorter stays.  Supermarkets in close proximity for snacks, drinks etc.

 

We travelled from the airport by metro but it was a bit of a faff so we took a taxi back.  At that time it was a fixed rate hotel/airport of E30.

Good morning, (or afternoon to you) thanks for the reply. Will take a look on Trip Advisor. 

[Lois R]

Anyone else have Madrid hotel recommendations. I didn't realize I started this thread in early November.

And here we are on December.

 

Thanks again.

[Host Jazzbeau]

We stayed at NH Paseo del Prado hotel, across the avenue from the Prado museum (and right next to the Westin Palace fancy digs but at a much lower price.).  It's on the opposite edge of the tourist area from the Royal Palace and Cathedral, but Madrid is actually quite walkable.  It's near several great museums:  Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza, and Reina Sofia.  The Prado is free from 6-8pm, so you can visit it a little each day and not get 'museum overload.'

 

[Lois R]

7 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

We stayed at NH Paseo del Prado hotel, across the avenue from the Prado museum (and right next to the Westin Palace fancy digs but at a much lower price.).  It's on the opposite edge of the tourist area from the Royal Palace and Cathedral, but Madrid is actually quite walkable.  It's near several great museums:  Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza, and Reina Sofia.  The Prado is free from 6-8pm, so you can visit it a little each day and not get 'museum overload.'

 

Hi Jazz, thanks for the reply. I will take a look at this one. Do you recall if they have a car service from the airport

to the hotel?

[marazul]

Lois,

 

This past July we stayed at the brand new Aloft Madrid Gran Via.  It is not directly on the Gran Via, but a few steps away from the Gran Via and Plaza del Callao on Calle de Jacometrezo.  It is in a very central location. It is a short walk (less than 10 minutes) to the Royal Palace or the Plaza Mayor.  We didn't use it, but there is a ho-ho bus stop a few steps away on Plaza del Callao. There is also a metro stop at Plaza del Callao.

 

Jazzbeau recommends the NH hotel.  We stayed at several hotels in the NH chain elsewhere in Spain and they were all excellent.  If you pick that one, book directly on their website for extra discounts.  Amusingly, they have been sending me "Black Friday" sales emails this past week.

 

Buen viaje!

 

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi Jazz, thanks for the reply. I will take a look at this one. Do you recall if they have a car service from the airport to the hotel?

 

We didn't look into that because Madrid has an excellent train connection from the airport to the Atocha terminal.  We took a cab from the train to the hotel.

[Lois R]

On ‎12‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 12:24 AM, Host Jazzbeau said:

We stayed at NH Paseo del Prado hotel, across the avenue from the Prado museum (and right next to the Westin Palace fancy digs but at a much lower price.).  It's on the opposite edge of the tourist area from the Royal Palace and Cathedral, but Madrid is actually quite walkable.  It's near several great museums:  Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza, and Reina Sofia.  The Prado is free from 6-8pm, so you can visit it a little each day and not get 'museum overload.'

 

Hi Jazz, I just booked a room here......so that part is taken care of and now I need to book a flight from Porto to Madrid

[hkto]

Ryanair, TAP, Iberia and Air Europa all go from Porto to Madrid. Very cheap if bought in advance. 

[Lois R]

12 minutes ago, hkto said:

Ryanair, TAP, Iberia and Air Europa all go from Porto to Madrid. Very cheap if bought in advance. 

Thanks so much.  I have a flight with TAP booked from Barcelona to Lisbon so will probably use them for this

flight to Madrid as well. You are right, prices are very reasonable!

[ollienbertsmum]

I don’t know about hotels - I always go to a booking site and then put in my preferred area and get the best according to the reviews.   Casa Lucio for egg and chips is well recommended. You have to book in advance.  

[Host Jazzbeau]

On 12/3/2019 at 12:24 AM, Host Jazzbeau said:

We stayed at NH Paseo del Prado hotel, across the avenue from the Prado museum (and right next to the Westin Palace fancy digs but at a much lower price.).  It's on the opposite edge of the tourist area from the Royal Palace and Cathedral, but Madrid is actually quite walkable.  It's near several great museums:  Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza, and Reina Sofia.  The Prado is free from 6-8pm, so you can visit it a little each day and not get 'museum overload.'

 

 

On 12/22/2019 at 3:10 PM, Lois R said:

Hi Jazz, I just booked a room here......so that part is taken care of and now I need to book a flight from Porto to Madrid

 

So funnily enough [actually not funny...] two weeks after I posted this advice Windstar cancelled our cruise from Lisbon to Barcelona.  I am in the process of replacing it with a land tour that ends in Madrid – so I have just followed my own advice and booked NH Paseo del Prado myself!

[ollienbertsmum]

11 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

 

So funnily enough [actually not funny...] two weeks after I posted this advice Windstar cancelled our cruise from Lisbon to Barcelona.  I am in the process of replacing it with a land tour that ends in Madrid – so I have just followed my own advice and booked NH Paseo del Prado myself!

and I am sure that you will come back after the dates of the cruise and say that it was so easy to organise your own trip.  

 

If you do have any questions, keep asking. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

39 minutes ago, ollienbertsmum said:

and I am sure that you will come back after the dates of the cruise and say that it was so easy to organise your own trip.  

 

If you do have any questions, keep asking. 

 

No it hasn't been easy – although it was straightforward (thanks to internet bookings).  The easy part was booking the land tour, since my TA is handling that.  The hard part was finding a tour that covered all the ports and sites we are losing from the cruise, and then changing all the dates of the DIY to mesh with this tour.  My head is spinning!  But I think I have got it all changed.

[Lois R]

Hi Jazz and others......well, my cruise is coming up....sort of LOL...I have all my flights booked and hotel in Madrid

is booked too.  I will have 2 nights there but only one "Full Day"....suggestions for tours on that ONE day?

Just about 2 months to go