Holiday Inn Madrid

Advantages: Nice staff, clean, kettle in the room
Disadvantages: The local area, rather expensive

...This is yet another hotel stayed in when travelling with work. It's a four star hotel (Ciao has it listed as a three star) and is located in the business district in Madrid. The Estadio Santiago Bernabeau, the home of Real Madrid football club is also very close by if you are interested in football. Public transport is very good-metro station and bus stop near by, the bus is one Euro into central Madrid and unlike London they have plenty of bus lanes and regular services-every 5 minutes. And no over-crowding or rubbish strewn everywhere! The hotel itself is a typical sprawling 1980's concrete block. The surrounding area is a bit dodgy at night and opposite the hotel is a boarded up cinema. In fact the whole area is pretty much a concrete jungle and I would be careful with going out after dark as it's pretty deserted once...

Katieshaz 16.10.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Holiday Inn Madrid, Madrid

Exploring the Province of Madrid

Advantages: Splendid architecture and surrounding nature
Disadvantages: destinations are scattered and hard to reach by public transport

...Leon, 70 and 100 miles west of Madrid respectively. 2. To the city of Toledo in the province of Castilia - La Mancha, 50 miles south of Madrid. BUT: while all these places are beautiful and worth a visit, they are also flocked by tourists from March to October. Thus I have chosen a slightly different itinerary, maybe not completely off the beaten track, but exclusive enough to let you get away from the busloads of all-inclusive-tourists (went there, did that, bought the T-shirt) and Japanese visitor groups (view the world through the lens of a video camera). AUTHOR'S NOTE: INDIVIDUALISED RATING SYSTEM Starting with this article, I am applying this system to my longer travel reviews which cover more than just one sight in a city, region or country. This shall...

From_The_Continent 26.04.2001 (28.04.2001) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Madrid (Spain)

Madrid.

Advantages: no expensive,alive city,delightfull city,people
Disadvantages: maybe annarchical,traffic.

...peppers..well a long list. The weather:well,in this dry city rains less that in England jaja but it has two extremes.Very hot in summer and cold in winter. we had not a beach(sniff..)so the temperature can,t be very soft. One of the characterisc of the city is the great number of bar-rooms in all the city.One of the most famous(but not the best of course)is the "Museo del jamon" cheap and tipycal spanish with a lot of hams exposed and hanged.There are also much interesting places of what to eat,to have a drink.One of the most visited for tourists it,s "viva Madrid"in front of "teatro español". There´s too a lot of churchs. The water that we drink here it,s one of the best of Europe,it´s true.. but also we have a rough city.(Pros & cons haha) Of course there is a long catalogue of ,theathers("Teatro español","Teatro Real...

kalimero 10.03.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Madrid (Spain)

Madrid

Advantages: Couldn't see any
Disadvantages: dirty, busy, grey, dull, congested

...I have just returned from a short break in Madrid. I had been told in advance that Madrid was a brilliant city and that I would love it. I suppose everyone is different, but I could not find one thing I liked about it. I found it to be grey, dirty, run down, extremely busy, traffic constant almost everywhere...I really did not take to the place at all. The only good thing about it was the people, as always I found the Spanish people lovely and obliging, and more than willing to help out with language difficulties. I was only there a short time, two days and did not have time to vist any places of interest, such as Museums or art gelleries, but I would normally be happy enough just wandering around new surroundings , taking in the atmosphere and ambience...however I found I felt terminally depressed in Madrid. All the streets looked...

strawberrylady62 27.11.2007 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Madrid in general

Excellent base for exploring Madrid city centre

Advantages: Esxcellent location, spacious clean rooms
Disadvantages: Small reception area and lift.

...This hotel appears to be a recently converted apartment building and the exterior is bright and clean, though the signage isn't very visible until you are at the entrance. The reception area is quite long and narrow, but well designed and laid out, and is staffed 24 hours. There was a modern lift, though it was quite small and cramped, but very handy for taking luggage up to your room. The rooms are bright and spacious, complete with equally large en-suite bathroom, air conditioning, TV, etc. There is also a small kitchen area with a sink, hob and a fridge, which was great for chilling bottles of refreshing soda drinks. When we visited the hotel had not long opened and so the cupboards were yet to be stocked with crockery, cutlery or utensils. This was really the only inconvenience as we couldn't make tea or coffee when we wanted...

anfi66 29.12.2007 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Suites 33, Madrid

City Centre Madrid Hotel On a Shoestring

Advantages: Very close to city centre and transport, Cheap.
Disadvantages: Can be noisy

...Me and my girlfriend decided to visit Madrid last summer. So being the students that we are we booked cheap flights on easyjet. That was the easy bit. The hard part came later when we had to decide on a hotel to stay in. We wanted somewhere close to the city centre as we were only there for a few days but we had to do it on a budget but wanted to go slightly better than a hostel, it was after all our first holiday abroad together. ::: Why The Asturias?? ::: We eventually settled on the Hotel Asturias because it fitted what we wanted. It is extremely close to the city centre which is what we wanted as we were only there for 3 nights. It is only minutes away from the Calle Gran Via, one of the main shopping streets in Madrid. It is also minutes away from two metro stations (in opposite directions, either Sol or Sevilla which will...

pigeon1986 15.07.2006 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Asturias Hotel, Madrid

madrid - ciudad bella

Advantages: Many things to see, Great underground subway, Nightlife
Disadvantages: Many "risky" places,

...Madrid... I have lived in Madrid for 17 years almost and I never regret having done so. Madrid is an excellent city that offers a variety of tourism for any culture. It has a great selection of good restaurants and bars that come from national selections to international/oriental gourmet but its all superb. The nightlife in Madrid is wonderful, having loads of bars and discotheques (many of them are huge). The best thing for me is the "football life" as madrid has home to one of the most prestigious clubs in the world "Real Madrid". Madrid is a city with many things to see and do and it offers a diverse range of activities and attractions, from museums to amusement parks. If you were to visit Madrid I would recommend 5 things "must see". -Plaza Mayor (many small typical spanish restaurants + shopping) -Santiago Bernabeu...

eminem1234 12.02.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Madrid in general

A Flying Visit Is Do-Able, Honest

Advantages: Plenty to see, (and eat!)
Disadvantages: Some knowledge of Spanish a distinct advantage.

...It?s my wife?s ?Jubilee Year?. Some people just have a 50th birthday, but this one looks like going on for some time, although there is a precedent for it. My daughter finally got round to holding her 21st when she was 22½! Two weeks ago, we went to (Old)York for the day, this weekend we went to Madrid, next week is THE party and then, the following week being half term, we?re off to Scotland.... oh yes, I nearly forgot. At New Year we're going to New York! Anyhow, the purpose of this opinion is not so much to give you a Rough Guide To Madrid, rather more a ?What Is Achievable in 24 Hours?. GETTING THERE Stage 1 ? This is easy for us, since we live 5 miles from Heathrow - get a cab. Stage 2 ? Our ?Airmiles-funded? flight, for us, and two friends lasted just over two hours, landing at Madrid-Barajas airport well before...

BNibbles 07.10.2002 (09.10.2002) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Madrid (Spain)

Hola de Madrid

Advantages: Lots to do, everything's cheaper
Disadvantages: None that I can think of

...When most people think of going away to Spain, they think about the Costas, or the Balearics. However I found that Madrid has plenty to do as well I visited La Reina Sofia Museum of Modern Art. This was my preferred museum There are some really cool exhibitions, even if you are not too keen on art. Also there is Del Prado is one of the most famous art museums in the world. There are mainly “old fashioned” renaissance style paintings in here, but it is interesting to walk around and see them. If it’s a nice day, before you enter the museum I suggest you sit on the grass and look at the gardens, which are very pretty. Parque Del Retiro is also a nice place to sit an eat lunch on a good day. It’s just a walk down the Paseo Del Prado from the Del Prado museum. There are many things to look at and see in the park...

girlstar 01.07.2002 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Madrid in general

Madrid... where you can find anything

Advantages: It's a wonderful city
Disadvantages: None!

...This is my first opinion. I hope it works out fine... :) I've been living in Madrid my whole life. In fact, I'm Spanish, and I'm just studying abroad for a year (currently living in St. Andrews), so I think I can speak from my own experience about this wonderful city. Madrid is the capital of Spain, so many people from other parts of Spain usually go to live there. That makes of Madrid a city with a great mixture of cultures and a huge diversity of styles. When one visits Madrid for the first time, one gets the impression that it's a chaotic city. People running to their jobs, traffic jams all over the place, so many shops that you get lost.... Lots of colours, lots of sounds and the usually high pitched voices of Spanish people (no, we're not fighting when we talk to each other, we just like to express ourselves moving a lot our...

lalechesoyyo 07.02.2004 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Madrid (Spain)