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	Plaza Mayor	Hotel Villa Real room	Quo Puerta del Sol
	Madrid street	Real Madrid's Bernabeu	On the bench!
	Parc de Retiro	Royal Palace	Ornate roof in Palace
	Catedral de Santa Maria	Sangria atNaturbier	Chocolateria San Gines

Hotel Villa Real, Madrid -

In December 2009 we stayed at Hotel Villa Real. We got an amazing deal on this 5* hotel, presumably because there were road works going on directly outside the hotel. Sometimes you stay in a 5* hotel and don't quite understand why it has been given 5 stars, but this hotel, part of the Derby Hotel Group, felt like it. We were given a really nice duplex room with a separate lounge area on a lower level from the bedroom. Very nice and very comfortable. Another nice touch was the complimentary bottle of red wine. The rate we got didn't include breakfast but there are many places in Madrid and the location is very good, about 5 minutes walking distance from Puerta del Sol. Visit the hotel's website for more information or to make a booking.

Hotel Quo Puerta del Sol In September 2009 we stayed at Hotel Quo Puerta del Sol on Calle de Sevilla 4. it's a really nice hotel in a great central location and midway between two metro stations, Sol and Sevilla. We really liked this hotel and would happily stay here again. The rooms were nice - our room was like a mini suite with a separate lounge area - and the location was ideal. Although we got a good deal on the room rate we were unable to find a deal including breakfast so can't comment on that. There is a cafe next door and lots of other places nearby if, like us, you don't get breakfast included in your deal. Visit their website for more information or to make a booking.

Hotel Petit Palace Posada del Peine

 

This is another nice hotel in the centre of Madrid, on Calle Postas 17, very close to Sol metro station. The hotel is equipped with flat screen televisions, wonderful walk-in hydro-showers and free internet access throughout. Breakfast wasn't included in our deal, but there are plenty of places around. We'd have stayed in this hotel on our next visit in 2009, but there were no good deals available on the dates we needed. Visit their website for more information and to make a booking.

Hotel HH Campomanes, Madrid (now Hotel Mario, Madrid)

We loved the HH Campomanes boutique hotel where we stayed in June 2004 but it has now changed name and is called the Hotel Mario, and is part of the Room Mates chain. We obviously can't comment on any changes that may have been made since it changed, but we would definitely stay there again based on our visit. We had a very nice modern, clean room with spotless bathroom and large, soft towels. It's in a great location too, just round the corner from Opera metro station, 5 minutes walk from the Royal Palace, close to the impressive Plaza Mayor and 10 minutes walk to Puerta del Sol. Nice breakfast buffet, with fruit, yoghurt, rolls, toast, croissants, cheese, ham, etc. Visit Hotel Mario's website.

 

Things to see and do in Madrid

As it's quite a large city and there is a lot to see, it is worth doing the open top bus tour, Madrid Vision. There are 3 routes, historic, modern and monumental Madrid although the routes overlap. Visit their website for more information. The tour takes in all the main sights and goes to all the museums and galleries. You can get a one day or two day ticket.

 

Visit the impressive Royal Palace which is still used for state occasions although the Royal Family do not live there. Only some of the rooms are open to the public but it is very ornate and decorated in a variety of styles. Click here for more information.

 

Parco de Retiro is a nice place to spend an hour or two. It is the most popular park in Madrid and has a rose garden, several cafes, a boating lake and the crystal palace which regularly holds art exhibitions.

 

Atocha Station (Estacion del Mediodia) is more like a botanical garden than a railway station and worth a visit. Make sure you don't miss the turtles!

 

If you're at all interested in football, you must visit Real Madrid's stadium and do a tour of the Bernabeu where you get to visit the dressing rooms, walk up the players tunnel, sit on the bench and in the directors area, and visit the trophies exhibition. If you're lucky you may even get to go to a game. Visit Real Madrid's official website. If Real Madrid isn't playing at home when you're there, Madrid's second team Atletico Madrid may be. Check out their website for details.

 

The shopping in Madrid is excellent! There are all the usual chains, a huge amount of shoe shops as is the norm in Spain, but Madrid also has lots of unique and original shops and boutiques.

 

Click here for details about bars and restaurants in Madrid

Click here to reserve discounted hotel rooms in Madrid, Spain

Some useful sites about Madrid:

About Madrid - Lots of useful information about Madrid here
Time Out Madrid - Lots of stuff about Madrid, including shopping, restaurants and bars and tourist information
Jeremy's Multi Madrid - Useful site with some good webcams, panoramic views, a forum and lots of other stuff
Trip Advisor - Reviews from other travellers and a useful forum
Hotels in Madrid - Book hotels in Madrid, read travellers reviews of those hotels and earn rewards worth 5% of your booking to use against other reservations.

 

*Note: Prices quoted above were accurate in 2007-2010