Hostal CC Malasaña

The room was basic, but nice and clean, and everything worked. It's close to the center with plenty of food options. Reception and service hours are pretty limited, though it wasn't too much of a problem. A small fridge and more storage space would be nice.

Malasana is an amazing part of Madrid to stay in, and our balcony looked out over Calle Espirtu Santo. The room had plenty of room for two, plus a dedicated spot for bags and a desk, which worked well since I work while traveling. The internet was strong, too. We had a great stay at CC Malasana. The rooms were exceptionally clean and a good size. Check-in went smoothly, the front desk staff were lovely, and they even let us in quite early. We'll literally be back. We've already booked another stay in Madrid for the end of our Europe vacation.

The elevator seemed to be out of service, possibly because of renovations. Twice when I tried it, it took me from the ground floor to the first floor, but when the doors opened there was just a wall. Absolutely terrifying. I stayed two nights, and it was a complete nightmare. The bathroom light was broken when I checked in, then at 10 PM the main room light stopped working too, leaving me helpless in total darkness. I asked the front desk for help several times. The staff were polite and arranged another room, but didn't check that it actually worked. When I got there, they hadn't given me a key card, so I had to go back and forth between floors late at night. It took more than 30 minutes to settle into the new room. Then I had to return to my pitch-dark old room and move my luggage alone. It was exhausting and extremely frustrating, and nobody helped.

We only had one night in Madrid, and this hostel/guest house was good value in a prime location. The Malasana neighborhood has plenty of restaurants and shops. There's a delicious churros and chocolate place about two shops down, and I'd also recommend the nice restaurant directly across the street. The metro is a 2-3 minute walk away, so getting around the city and to the airport is easy. The room photos on the website are accurate. We chose a room for two and found it spacious, with a comfortable bed and a cute balcony. The bathroom is small but clean. I liked the tray suctioned to the mirror because it gave us extra space, and there was a large floor-length mirror in the room. It also had a hair dryer, shampoo, and body wash. The towels were on the thin side, but that's no problem. Reception kindly stored our bags when we arrived early and put them in the room once check-in was available. This place would work well for solo travelers and couples. I'd recommend staying here.