NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding

The fitness facilities were the highlight for me. I could use a proper fitness centre and spa during my stay. The rooms were clean and comfortable, and the breakfast buffet had so many choices I couldn’t try them all in one day.

It’s an easy five-minute walk to the Real Madrid stadium, which you can see from the hotel, so there’s no need to take the metro. Our room was very clean, and both check-in and check-out were quick and simple. The staff were friendly, and there’s a parking lot under the hotel with easy access if you need it. Get the breakfast, it’s worth it!

The bar staff at the Bikini bar on the ground floor were outstanding, and the food was good and served piping hot. Breakfast had plenty of options, though it was ordinary. There was Prosecco for anyone facing a long business meeting. The staff overall were a mix of friendly and brusque. The slow elevators were the worst part. Sometimes they took ten minutes, and one colleague was stuck alone in one for 20 minutes and was not happy. The location is good, especially for football fans since it’s a short walk from Real Madrid’s home ground. The rooms were spotless but felt like hospital wards, all gleaming white, with no colour or art. There was no view except the very annoying padel courts, where the balls kept making that plopping sound until late, and neighbouring apartments had a grandstand view into my room. Basic amenities were missing too: no bathrobe, wash cloths, or USB ports. It should be a great hotel, but it wasn’t.

The rooms and facilities were mostly fine, apart from the elevators. What made this stay awful was the check-in incident and how the hotel handled it. I got there around noon and showed my ID. Within seconds I was told my room wasn't ready, so I left my luggage and went to the bathroom. While I was inside, someone banged on the door and shouted “out, out” in Spanish. When I came out, five armed police officers stopped me near reception, took me to a corner, and asked for my ID, phone, and backpack. They emptied the bag and took my phone and ID without explaining why, repeatedly ordering me not to move while I was already surrounded and had nowhere to go. I think reception may have called them, since they arrived so quickly after I showed my ID. The officers questioned me in Spanish more than ten times about when I had first checked into the hotel and arrived in Madrid. No one spoke English. Two men who seemed to be hotel staff came over, but ignored me when I asked what was happening. I also asked reception to find someone who spoke English and got no help. For over 30 minutes the officers kept telling me not to move, and staff just said “tranquillo.” This happened in front of my colleagues and clients while I was in Madrid for a global conference. From what I could make out of the officers' conversation, they had video of someone who looked like me and had committed a crime in Spain. I wasn't allowed to call colleagues who were already checked in. They kept pressuring me to “admit” I had checked in a week earlier, even though I hadn't even received a room. I showed them my plane ticket, Uber receipt from the airport, and documents explaining why I was in Madrid. That seemed to persuade them I wasn't the person they wanted. They left once they realized the mistake, without apologizing. At reception, my questions about what had happened got only “no worries, standard procedure.” They upgraded my room, but I felt stressed throughout the stay and unsafe, since police or staff could apparently get into my room. The hotel offered no support during an incident where none of the officers spoke English. It was handled very poorly and unprofessionally. I'm completely disappointed and will never stay here again.