Will be traveling to Madrid, Seville and Barcelona in October. Have been searching the Internet for Hotels/Hostels and pretty much have my lists down to a couple possibilities in all places. My wife and I plan on doing a lot of walking to the sites in each location, like we did in Italy, and want to be sure we are staying in the heart of things in each place as well as safe places at night. We want to go where the locals do to eat and mingle. Any suggestions on places not to go??

Hi Ron M! Welcome to the Spain-Loving group!

Regarding "places not to go" for hotels/hostels, I don't think there are ANY hotels or hostels in Madrid which are in not-so-safe areas. I really can't say for Barcelona or Sevilla though, I'm sorry. I just don't know.

You know, you can take a little "virtual walk" around the area where you are considering staying in Madrid by inputing the address at http://fotos.qdq.com . My source at QDQ.com tells me they're releasing a BARCELONA photo/map tour in the coming months. Too cool, eh? Hopefully it'll be available by October when you go, but you'll have made your reservations long before then, I'm sure.

You might search the board in the "Food, Drink, & Entertainment" forum for places to go/avoid by using keywords like SEVILLA RESTAURANT or BARCELONA RESTAURANT to find recommended places in the different cities.

Good luck and have fun! Saludos, MadridMan

Hey, Ron M, why don't you post your hotel/hostel ideas here and see if you get feedback about the ones you're considering?

I would agree with MadridMan; there are no places that I would call unsafe--though of course there can be unsavory people just about anywhere in the world! Use common sense about walking around late at night (don't carry valuables or wear enormous jewelry, for example)--and you'll find that many places are quite busy until VERY late.

Also, if you look at the virtual Madrid tour site, as MadridMan suggests, you should note that many of the photos were apparently taken during quiet times of day (siesta, Sunday morning, etc.) . Some buildings that look "empty" or covered up on the bottom level are actually bustling stores, bars, cafes.... But you can get a good sense of what the streets and general area look like from a virtual tour.

Madrid Man and Taravb, Thanks for your inputs, will do as you recommend. So far the places I'm considering in Madrid are Hostel Tijcal, Aresol and an apartment at Hostel Dulcinea. Also a possibility in hotel Europa. In Barcelona it's Hosteria Grau (a double room or small apartment) and Hostal Centric. In Seville it's Hostal Roma, Paris of Dona Feli.

Ron M

Ron,

The two places I would recommend are Hostal Persal and Hostal Pereda . I have previously posted on these hostals before, if you search with their names you will find more threads on them.

Ben
pbchamp@intercom.net

I ,too, really liked Hostale Persal.It was quiet, very simple but very clean rooms w/safe,ac, and a great 1st floor for breakfast, lounging in lobby, nice desk people and location was perfect for Puerta del Sol, Plaza Santa Anna,great tapas, nice walk to the Prada. Also near Casa Patas for good flamenco

Hi Ron et all!


I´m planning to visit Barcelona in late September or early October. It´s my first time in Barca and I´m very exited. Like Ron I´ve searched the Internet to find a nice but not too expencive hotel/hostel. Started searching here in MMboard, of course and now I have a list of some alternatives (no special order). Any input would be really appreciated, especially if you have recently stayed in some of these places!


Hostal Marmo (no website as far as I know)
Hotel Antibes (doesn´t look that nice from the outside, but the area L´Eixample is calm and quiet I think)
Hotel Cuatro Naciones Ramblas, too noisy?
Hostal Levante
HR Rembrandt
Hostal Neutral
Hotel Glòries
Hostal Centric
Hotel del Mar How´s the location near the port?
Hostal Continental


The only area that I wouldn´t stay in is El Raval, between La Rambla in the west and Avinguda del Paral.lel, Ronda de Sant Pau and Ronda de Sant Antoni in the east. I´ve heard that this is the red-light district of Barca.


Hostal Centric looks nice to me (the Superior Doble-rooms) and the prices are reasonable but my only doubt is the location. Is it OK? Maybe someone who lives in Barcelona could answer. Asterault, do you have some comment on this?

[ 02-08-2002: Message edited by: Tia ]

Hostel Aresol has gotten raves from board memebrs who have stayed there - I believe the ever astute and discerning MM stayed there or checked it out at one time. Try doing a search for Dulcinea - I think there have been posts on that as well. Europa has been reviewed - so again, a search will give you some feedback.

Ron M, please take Puna's advice and use the SEARCH feature. I know much has been posted on those you mention as well Barcelona's Grau and Centric.

Tia, it seems to me things have been posted on Barcelona's Centric, Levante (a lot!), but not sure about the others. You might even use SEARCH keywords such as BARCELONA HOSTAL.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Ron M I have stayed at Hostal Tijcal and have recommended it to others. The owners are nice, multi-lingual and there are great amenities in the rooms (although with a city like Madrid I am sure you will not be spending much time in the rooms).

You have a private bath in each room...beautifully tiled I might add. The hostal is very clean and there is a mailbox inside so that you can mail out your last minute postcards before leaving!

The hostal is steps away from the Plaza Mayor and a few jumps from Puerta del Sol.

[ 02-08-2002: Message edited by: MadridMan ]