Hostal Sardinero

The noise from other guests was awful, with people fighting in the middle of the night through paper-thin walls. I barely slept an hour. I left after the first night because I felt unsafe and was worried about the mold. The room had no windows and was pitch black, and it was dirty when I arrived. There was pubic hair in the bathroom, black mold in the shower, and dust and dirt on the floors. The bedroom smelled strongly of mildew. The mattress coils were painful to sleep on, and there was only a sheet, no blanket. No fridge or coffee, and the receptionist was absent most of the time. A scary, horrible experience.

I chose this room for its location, about a 5-10 minute walk from Sol. It was clean but small and had no windows. On the plus side, there was no outside noise, and I slept well :)

The room I was moved to smelled of sewage, so I had to open the window, and it didn’t have a balcony. I was afraid to complain because the owner was furious and rude when we returned, and gave us five minutes to move our things. What a nightmare. I’d booked and paid through Booking.com for a private room with a bathroom, balcony, air conditioning, and internet. On arrival, the receptionist, who was hardly ever there, didn’t speak English. He said I had to pay an extra EU$10 to turn on the air conditioning, and didn’t give me the internet password. The balcony was tiny, just enough for the air conditioner, the room wasn’t clean in the corners, the building was very old, and the shower had weak water pressure. I had two more days in Madrid and no time to find another place, so I renewed my stay in the same room, even though I paid a bit more. The next day I went on a trip to Toledo, and the owner messaged me to return to switch rooms. I said I couldn’t get there before 5 pm because I was far away on the trip. He threatened to call the police, even though I’d paid for that night the day before. I got so nervous I cried and had a stomachache. My friend had to call him and ask him to wait until we got back to Madrid so I could move my things.

Good value for the money, on the third floor with a lift. It’s basic, but clean and comfortable, and the location is excellent. The English-speaking manager was very helpful and accommodating. You need to call to be let in the first time, then you get your own keys to the property.