Tuesday, May 23, 2017

ROOM REVIEW

HOSTEL
Hostal Naranjos II
Doctor Cortezo, 15, 01.Centro Madrid 28012
phone  +34913693934


I saved a good bit of money in Madrid on going to a Hostal, and I would probably do that again. But I would try another one, and perhaps I would book part of the trip at that place and rebook after I saw how it was.
This one was fine. Very tiny. I had to rearrange the bed so as to get into the bathroom and that still made getting into the closet difficult.
Everything was simple, so I did my computer on a TV table with chair. Under the chair I needed a book to keep it from wobbling.  Luckily I brought along "The Art of Stillness,"  and that certainly did the trick.

The bathroom was great with a large sink I needed for a little laundry and a good shower. Everything in the tiled bathroom seemed very new. Everything worked. That is not often the case in American cheap hotels.
Space seemed well planned. There was a nice shelf along the edge and bottom of the sink and a cabinet below.
There were some drawers in the two end tables.
I was happy to have brought my own shampoo and soap.  There was some poorly packaged liquid wash and similar shampoo.  I used it.  It was fine.  But my own was better.  I especially like a bar of soap rather than these liquid soaps.  Also, I don't get housekeeping every day.  In the eleven days I had it just one day, on the day I went to Hervas and took all my valuables with me. 
This pattern gives me complete access to my room all day.  I can take a nap whenever I want and not be disturbed.

What would perhaps be a deal breaker in the future is that there is no 24 hour clerk. They are only there from 8pm until 11pm (and often not there during those hours either)  so if I had any problem, I would need to be on the phone. For a part of this trip my phone did not work, so I would have had a tough problem to solve.
And they were often not there during the listed hours. I was out early and back late. I rarely saw them even to ask a question.
There was no phone in the room, so had I gone without my phone and wanted to make plans with Frank via the hotel phone, I would not have that convenience.
They did not have a safe, even in the main office. So, I had to carry all valuables with me in a city where pick pockets are common.

There was a tiny television which I watched only for a few minutes. I am not much on television. There were two electric outlets. To use my sleep apnea machine I had to plug it into the outlet in the bathroom wall, so going to the bathroom in the night meant negotiating around it.
Location was excellent. I was just a few feet from the Tirso de Molina Square with a grocery, many restaurants/bars. Even closer and very convenient to my place was the Nuevo Apollo
restaurant. 
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187514-d6001468-Reviews-BAR_RESTAURANTE_NUEVO_APOLO-Madrid.html

It was right next door and took the place of a lobby bar in the hotel.
The window of the room faced the street and at times it was noisy. Garbage was picked up in the middle of the night and often would wake me up. In general nothing was quiet. The walls were thin and televisions or talk or movement was easily heard. Luckily, most of my neighbors were quiet or just not there except to sleep.
The final downside was the issue of security. There were three keys: one for the street door, one for the hall door, and one for my bedroom door.
There were signs to keep the hallway door closed, but it was open at times, especially during the cleaning. People let people in the main door rather than have them fumbling with keys. Down in that area was a small place for a guard to sit, but it was never occupied.
The terraza sliding window would not latch closed. On the second floor it is unusual that anyone would climb up to steal, but it was a breach of security nonetheless.
The electric lights could have been wired for more flexibility. There were two switches over the bed usually used to control lights for reading in bed. However, these were in the circuit that controlled all six overhead lights which were also controlled by the switch just inside the door.
The only two other lights were bathroom lights, so to have light in the area of the bed, I had to turn on the overhead and that seemed an overkill for me and too bright to endure.
At the same time, I wanted to have some light to see the computer keyboard. I ended up moving toward the bathroom while I was using the computer so that there was not a glare of overhead light but just enough from the light over the sink. The light in the shower was not needed for the computer.
Frank's had a bed at his cousin's
and I was there for 11 days, so saving about $50 a night meant the inconveniences paid me $550 or more. Hotels in the area cost that much.
I think next time I would look at Hostals where there was a safe, a room away from the street,  and a full time worker/greeter.  I visted a room in such a Hostal

and talked to the fellow in charge, but I lost the card with the information.

ANOTHER ROOM
I brought back a paper that lists all hostals in Madrid.
I stopped in and visited a room at Hostal Madrid.
Calle Esparteros 6, 28012 Madrid, Spain (Centro)
www.hostal-Madrid
write for reservations
hs@hostal-madrid.info C/Esparteros
I saw the rooms. The cheap ones are single beds which are small. but probably enough for me.
There is a safe in every room, and someone is in the foyer 24/7.
I did not ask about electricity.

There is free wifi and AC and a television.  I did not see the television in the room I visited.

Double rooms are more $50 and up.

Single are $35 and up.
The single rooms do not face the street, so it would be much quieter.
This is closer to Plaza Mayor and to Puerta del Sol than where I stayed.
Reservations can be made by email.

An alternative plan would be to stay in Segovia.  There I know the hotel I want
Hotel Infanta Isabele

However, I want a room facing the central plaza and that might be hard to negotiate without talking to them directly.  Booking on booking.com would not guarantee such a room.

Direct site:
http://www.hotelinfantaisabel.com/en/#wpcf7-f380-o1


INFANTA ISABEL HOTEL




Plaza Mayor 12, 40001 , Segovia , Spain

Tel: +34 921 461 300 Fax: +34 921 462 217
admin@hotelinfantaisabel.com

Rooms run around $100, with the ones facing the square a bit more than those tucked in the back.
However, I think they book up quite a bit in advance because checking for October, there is only one Superior Room left.
**************************
In Madrid I passed this hotel and it looked inviting.  The better rates are not refundable.  There are early bird specials. 
http://hotelfrancisco.com/?lang=en_us


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