Smart Plaza de las Cortes

The location is excellent, the staff were helpful, and the room was adequate. For the Hotwire price, I expected something like a two-star hotel, but this was a better-than-average hostal. Still, loose knobs on the sink tap and a showerhead holder that didn’t work made it feel like poor value for what I paid.

The small rooms were quiet, though there was a horrible smell coming from outside. The hostel is near Puerta del Sol, but we had several problems with the facilities and service. The front door was hard to open, and we only got one towel each with no bathmat. We asked for one, but couldn’t get it. Our room was inside a common room that we found locked, so we couldn’t enter it. Luckily, the front desk was still open. They also wanted us to pay to leave our luggage on checkout day. Check-out was at 11. At 10:57 one of the guys knocked and rudely told us to leave at 11. I’d suggest looking for somewhere else.

It’s in an old building, but clean, with nice staff, good beds, and private bathrooms. Close to Underground line 2.

The biggest plus is the location, just steps from the main attractions and very close to Puerta del Sol and the Prado Museum. Our triple room was standard, with a slightly small bathroom. The hostel was quiet and clean, and felt like good value for the money.