Basic, cozy, reasonably spacious room with a charming balcony (a/c, tv, telephone, well-sized bathroom w hairdrier, but don't expect minibar, fridge, or fancy bathroom amenities). Spotlessly clean, sheets and towels changed daily. Great location / close to museums, tabernas and train station, if you want to explore beyond M. The square in front of the htl is quite busy but it isn't not noisy when balcony door is shut. Basic breakfast (croissants, coffee, juice) in a cozy restaurant. Staff was kind, no problems if you speak some Spanish. The only thing that I really missed in Mediodia was an internet corner.

While the hotel is conveniently located to the train station and several sights, it was not a grand end to our trip in Spain (to say the least!). While the A/C functioned very well and our room was a good size (with a balcony), the room walls were paper-thin, thus we could hear our neighbors next door as well as the many, MANY teenagers yelling and running down the halls. If you're looking for a quiet hotel, this is not the place for you. Not only can you hear the commotion within the hotel, but because of its central location, you can hear sirens and horns at all hours of the night. Additionally, we had to leave our key with the front desk each time we left our room, which was rather unnerving. One evening, we came home with three local friends as one had left some items she needed to pick up in our room before departing. One of the front desk men began yelling in Spanish, stating they could not come up with us...following us all the way to the stairs! The front desk was definitely not friendly. All in all, for a good location, the room is clean and serves the purpose for a decent price in Madrid.

The rooms are just fine and larger than I'd expect for the price in Madrid (not saying they are large). The location is good, near the Atocha train station and the great museums and easy walking distance to the lively central squares. The rooms are air conditioned or if the a/c is not yet turned on, you can ask for yours to be activated.

In a month of travel in northern Spain, this was the only place where I encountered abrupt and even rude responses from hotel staff and not just once. (This applied to two older men, not to some younger men or to the woman who also staffed the front desk.) If my Spanish were better, I'm sure the communication would have flowed more easily, but at all the other (many) places I stayed during the month, people met my terrible Spanish halfway with whatever English they could muster. Here they didn't even want to try even when they did know English words. And the rudeness started by being totally ignored before a word was spoken. "Ola!" (anybody home?)

I'd stay there again but just not expect any cheer or friendliness. A shame and a great contrast to all my other experiences.

(By the way, if you call directly and they say they are full, you may still be able to book through an online agent. At least that was my experience.)

We had missed the last train out for the evening from Atocha to where we wanted to go, so walked across the street from the train station, (as another poster noted, you should see the tropical garden inside the station, and you can watch live cameras of the area around it on trafficomadrid.com) Also, although it was only under construction when we were there, the glass memorial to the 11 March train bombing victims is located there. Anyway, we got a room for 79 Euros without a reservation, which was good. the lobby was full of relatively wild teenaged tourists, of which the hotel seemed to have an abundance. The room was small. It was clean, but the furnishings, from the sheets to the tv, climate control, to the bath fixtures were dated, but worked. One might say that the building has character though. On the plus there was a stone balcany off of the room that overlooked an interesting plaza on the back of the hotel. That plaza was occupied by groups of young folks until late in the night. I would think for young folks traveling on a budget, this would be an OK hotel to stay at. More seasoned travelers, and those used to more comforts may be annoyed with the furnishings, the noise, and the rickety elevator. It works if you find yourself missing the last train out for the evening though, and it is reasonable for Madrid in price. There are plenty of sidewalk cafes litterally right out in front, and I had a nice flavorful sandwich with jamon serrano at one of them, sitting eating olives and watching the pedestrians and traffic go by. Rich Hagen