Finding the cool spots in Madrid......in July
Very early in the morning, I boarded the AVE (Spain's high speed train) from Sevilla to Madrid. It was a fast and comfortable journey across the mountainous and sparse interior. I arrived at Madrid's Atocha Station and proceeded to the Museo Reina Sophia, Spain's national museum of 20th century art. It exhibits large collections of Picasso and Dali. This museum is fantastic. I highly reccomend it for all you art lovers.
After an enlightening time at the Reina Sophia, I headed to my hotel to check in. What a scary place. I will spare you the details, see the review. After checking in, I went out to see the city. I first walked to the Puerta del Sol. This is the center of Madrid and also, of Spain. It's quite a city center.
From the Plaza, I walked to the Palacio Real. What an amazing architectual feat and how grand. Well, it is a palace.....it should be. I took the guided tour......well worth the admission price as it provided a wealth of detail and history, to be reviewed separately.
After leaving the Palacio Real, I walked to the Plaza Espana. This place feels a bit socialist, due to the syle of architecure and scale. It has a monument with statue dedicated to Epsana's playwright,novelist, and poet Miguel de Cervantes. After a brief stop for some ice cream at Hagen-Daz, I headed to the room for a bit of A/C, as it is around 100 degrees.......and I am hot and tired. Back to the hotel and a quick refreshing shower, I was ready to head our for dinner. I happened upon an interesting mediteranean fusion restaurant with an intriguing menu. After the delicious meal, I walked back to the Plaza Mayor to enjoy the crowd and watch the sun set.
Day 2 was spent in Toledo. See my Toledo site. You will enjoy the visit.
Day 3, I spent half the day on a tour of Madrid by bicycle. I had a Dutch guide, who had only moved to Madrid 6 months ago. She was able to give me interesting bits of history and show me parts of the city that would have been more difficult to see on foot. We went to the Temple of Debod, an piece of Egytian history. From there it was a thrilling ride down the Gran Via (Madrid's Champs E'lysee). We weaved in and out of traffic then through interesting little neighborhoods. It was fantastic. Then on to the Plaza Alcala and the Plaza Ciebeles which are some of the most grand roundabouts in Europe.
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The hostal is close to much that you will want to do with the metro close-by, also.
Beyond the location, stay somewhere else.
Even though the hotel is central and convenient, it's on a street that evidently is where drug deals are made and hookers hang out as I was repeated solicited for both purchases.
The reception spoke barely passable English. They were friendly but not helpful when assistance was needed with room issues.
The room itself is small but good for a single. there is a window into a courtyard. The bath is very small, fine, but there is mildew growing in tile grout and many things are in disrepair.
Ok, I had a bigger issure with this room, it smalled of cat urine...bad. I asked for a different room, was told none available. I also asked about the ocntrol for the A/C. Was then told 5 euro a day for that. It's July, of course I paid.
That night, the A/C started leaking .....alot. So, I went to recpetion and they said to turn it off. As ir was hot, I placed a bucket under the dripping A/Cunit to catch water. I reminded reception of the A/c issue the next morning. When I came back in the evening, not worked on. Bucket, again. The next morning, I requested service again. That afternoon, A/C still a water feature. Reception said they would call again. I returned in the evening to find a housekeeper and a worker taking my A/C apart. After about an hour he said he was finished, turned the A/c on and left. It worked for about 30 minutes before it started leaking, again. I went to the front desk and again asked for a different. Again, I was told that there wasn't one and repairmen could come tomorrow. No one ever showed up.
This could be an isolated incident. But, I think that houw this was handled was poor.
You could have a perfectly nice stay here but, my story is a warning of what might be experienced.
Also, The price I paid was 56 euro and then 5 euro extra for A/C. Other accomodations could be found for this price....surely.
