Has anyone stayed at Hotel Monaco? Is Chueca a safe area? My husband and I will be in Madrid June 2001 and want a unique place to stay.

Hi, we had planned to stay at the Hotel Monaco for 3 nights in March. On our first night there we opened the door and our heart sank! I do not understand why the guide books give it such high ratings. We did not feel safe in the neighborhood and the room was dirty and in poor condition. (the second one I asked for was only a bit better) We only stayed one night and moved to the Hotel Mercator near Atocha station and were very happy. Clean, comfortable, close to everything and a very helpful english speaking staff. Hope this helps.

Hi Orchininparadise. Thanks for the information. From what I read in the guide books, like you, I was looking forward to staying at the Monaco; it sounded like an interesting place, at a good price. Now we'll look for somewhere closer to the centre. Someone else on this site recommended the Anaco, which looked OK to me. Anyway, I appreciate your help.

What about the Hostal Andorra on the Gran Via? We have reservations for June. It looks decent, staff handling e-mail is responsive, location is good, price is right. Alastair Sawday recommends it in his book "Special Places to Stay, Spain and Portugal."

[This message has been edited by MadridMan (edited 03-27-2001).]

We stayed here once - and we really looking forward to an interesting place! After all, there are newspaper clippings about it posted all over the place.....it was poorly kept up, the staff was crabby and reluctant to bring missing towels, it was over-priced.... A severe disappopintment. There was a good restaurant across the street, however. Next time we stayed at Hostal Aguilar ...clean, no frills, no complaints -reasonable....This time we're at Hostal Madrid in Calle Esparteros. Anybody know about that one?

[This message has been edited by MadridMan (edited 03-27-2001).]

MadridMan and others have recommended Hotel Europa ( www.hoteleuropa.net ). Look up their site. It looks great to me. Also, go to search at the top of this page to read what others have said about it.

[This message has been edited by MadridMan (edited 03-28-2001).]

liatris: Were you referring to the Monaco when you said you stayed there once, etc.?

Yes....I was referring to the Monaco. It sounded like such an interesting place, with an...ahem...history....and it WAS dirty...the only place we stayed in Spain that wasn't spotless....it was a real disappointment.

hi, I notice that all the postings regarding hotel monaco are several years old. has anyone been here during 2004, and is the place better now than it apparently was back then?? I have a reservation there for later this month, but now I'm a bit concerned having read these messages...
thanks!

I would highly recommend Hostal Adriano. Very close to Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor, Plaza Santa Ana. I loved it. You will find lots of other favorable reviews for it on MadridMan!
Hostal Adriano