My husband and I stayed at the Hostal Madrid (a.k.a. "Hospedaje Madrid") on Esparteros 6, right off the Puerta del Sol, for 11 days in March. We booked one of six apartments with kitchenettes, the only one, they said, that faced the street. It was on the sixth (our seventh) floor and cost 84 euros for two people (throughout Europe, many hotels charge per person).

The antique elevator only went up to the sixth floor. You had to climb the last flight.

Our apartment was very small by American standards but had two bedrooms, with space taken up by armoires rather than closets. The kitchenette had a stove and microwave, but no oven. It also had a clothes washer, but no dryer. Instead, a set of clothes lines hung outside a window next to the kitchen area, facing a small inside patio. We never used it and went to an Onda Blue laundromat-Internet place a few blocks away, instead.

The water that came out of the hot-water tap could cause first-degree burns. I would be concerned about bringing children.

The beds were very comfortable and we slept like babies.

The 13-inch TV worked well. The phone was fine and you could buy long-distance cards at the reception, though the hotel's per-call charges added up at checkout time. We had been warned of that, but relied on the convenience.

The heating, which we controlled - and needed on and off in March - was great. We had daily maid service and the place, including the linen, was immaculately clean.

The negatives:
The floor space taken up by the shower in the bathroom was must have been 30 inches x 30 inches. When you turned around, the cold, wet shower curtain stuck to your body.

No visitors are allowed. We managed to convince the people at the reception that we had come to Madrid specifically to visit our son, and so they eventually let him come and go - grudgingly, I felt. When we asked whether, if we ever came home late at night - perhaps once or twice during our stay - he could sleep over, they said we would have to pay extra. I know it's common policy to charge per person, but we WERE paying for a second bedroom we never used and were about to drop over $1,000 on this place.

I'm guessing the no-visitors policy may be related to efforts to keep prostitution - of the kind that has taken over the first block or so of C. Mortera off the Gran Via - away from the busy area, but when a couple with two young children came to pick us up, they wouldn't let them come up either.

The incident that really disturbed me took place one morning, when shortly after we left the room, I discovered I had left something important behind. As I passed the reception on the way back up, one of the owners or managers cut me off and asked what I was doing. After I explained, he followed me up. When I went to introduce the key into the lock, he stopped me with some alarm and rang the doorbell, saying I would "frighten" the maid, who was cleaning. When I went inside to look for what I had left behind, he followed me every step of the way. He did not leave me alone for one minute and escorted me out. What if I had been looking for money I had hidden somewhere, I wondered.

What was that about? It was MY hotel room. Was he in cahoots with the maid to go through our stuff and feared we would walk in on her? I have no idea, but it was certainly freaky.

Our verdict? My husband absolutely hated the shower, but would go back, given the cleanliness and location. I was put off by the management's strange behavior. I'm not sure what would put my mind at ease enough to go back, as much as I liked other aspects of the accomodations.