Cats Chill Out Hostel Madrid

The rooms are too small, and you can only ask reception to switch the AC on or off. At night they’re either freezing with the air conditioning or boiling hot without it. The location is nice and central, the staff are friendly, and happy hour has cheap drinks.

The main lobby is a handy place to meet other travelers, and the staff are really friendly. The hostel is very central and close to the main train station. They have good deals for day tours, drinks, and dinner at the hostel. Male and female toilets and showers are separate, and towel rental costs an extra 3 euros. Definitely recommend it.

A great hostel if you want somewhere quiet, with comfortable common areas. The room could be a bit bigger, but it was still very comfortable, and the bathroom was good for the price. It’s nice to have a beer or the free coffee there. Sadly, the weather meant I couldn’t see the outside bar.

If you’re hoping to meet other backpackers and make friends, I’d really recommend Way hostel instead. The people I spoke to there were happy with it, and I was able to eat dinner and join their pub crawl, where I finally made some friends. I’d booked my last two nights there after getting fed up at CATS, but I never actually moved. A classic free walking tour was where I met a few people from Way hostel, and they all seemed to be enjoying their stay. At CATS, I mostly heard disappointment. CATS was fine if all you need is a bed for the night. The beds were comfy, the key system worked well, and the staff were friendly and helpful. But there were around 50 schoolkids, probably about 14 years old, in two large groups, which really killed the backpacker atmosphere. The free dinner planned for Thursday was canceled without any explanation. I’d planned my Friday around the tapas tour, but it was canceled right when it was meant to start because I was the only person who wanted to go. The Saturday walking tour starting at 12 was canceled too. The Thursday bar crawl nearly got canceled as well, but they went ahead once three of us wanted to join. This was probably the worst hostel experience I’ve had.