Hola,

I am just back from my Spain trip. I was 5 days in Madrid and just loved the town.

I stayed in a single room with shared bath of HOSTAL ALISTE (web: http://www.hotelsearch.com/madrid/aliste/ ).

So here is my review:

[ADDRESS]

Hostal Aliste
Caballero de Gracia, 6, 3°
28013 Madrid
Fax 0034 91 521 5979
Tel 0034 91 532 2185

[BOOKING]

I contacted and reserved the Hostal by e-mail and I received a quick reply, so everything was perfect. They only wanted to have a credit card number which I sent them by fax. In fact they didn´t charge it.

[LOCATION]

The Hostal is located at Caballero de Gracia, which is a single one-way road just parralel to Gran Via. The Metro Stop Gran Via is just 20 m away. I thought it might be noisy because of the neighbourhood to Gran Via, but in fact it is very quiet in the Hostal. There is nearly no traffic at Caballero de Gracia. Therefore it is a perfect location.

Last but not least the Hostal is located very centrally, you are directly in the centre of the city; only a few metres to the middle of the Gran Via and maybe 5 minutes walk to Puerto del Sol. To reach Puerto del Sol you have to go through Montera, which is the street where all the Prostitutes wait during day and night. In fact it is not a problem, I never felt unsafe there, even not in the late night.

[HOSTAL]

The Hostal is on the 3rd floor of the building. There are wooden steps and a lift. All doors are locked. Also when leaving the Hostal you have to unlock the front door to the street from teh inside by key or by a pushbutton.

[ROOMS AND PRICES]

I think they have about 12 rooms. Some with private some with shared bath. I paid 24 EURO per night for a single room with shared bath. My room was equipped with a wash-bassin, a wardrobe, a cupboard, a small table, a chair and a TV. Moreover I had a piece of soap, two glasses and two towels.

[CLEANLINES]

In my opinion the Hostal was very clean. They change the towels every day, what is not really necessary. The bed was made daily, so was the rubbish turned out. Also the shared bath was cleaned daily. I am not sure how many rooms share the bath. Hostal Aliste only has one bath for the rooms who share it. The bath was equipped with a shower, a toilet, a washbassin and a bidet. In fact I never had to wait, therefore I think not many rooms share the bath.

[FRIENDLINESS]

The lady of the Hostal is very friendly but does not speak english. Her son (or whoever he is) speaks english. As my flight back home was late in the evening they allowed me to leave my luggage in the Hostal on my departing day.

[CONCLUSION]

I would highliy recommend the Hostal because of its affordable price and its centrally, but quiet location.

I hope this helps other travellers

HORSCHECK :-)

Hi HORSCHECK!! Thanks SO much for your detailed review of Hostal Aliste . I think this is the FIRST we have for this particular establishment. Thanks.

And welcome back! I see you registered here on the message board about 2 years ago and the above is your THIRD posting! We're happy to still have you around.

Hope you make it to Spain again soon. I think I hear her calling you!!

Saludos, MadridMan

I also stayed at Hostal Aliste in Sept 2001 (my first time in Madrid) and I would confirm Horscheck's review. I had a single room with its own shower and toilet - it was basic but perfectly adequate, although it was quite small and there was only a tiny window (hence little natural light or ventilation) from which there was no view worth describing. However, considering its very central location, I considered it good value.

I would have stayed there again last year, but they had no vacancies, so I ended up staying at Hostal Jaen which is situated in Calle Cervantes near Plaza Santa Ana (Anton Martin/Atocha). I must say that this turned out to be a much better deal. The price was about the same, but the room was much nicer - more modern, better shower, larger, more light and with a balcony overlooking the street from a top floor vantage point.

I also prefered the area, which is less busy and sleazy than around Gran Via, but it has a lot more (good) bars close by than Aliste does and the nightlife at the weekends was much better than round the main tourist traps. Its only a short walk to all the main museums, and is also easily walkable to the Plaza Mayor and Sol. All thing considered, I honestly doubt that there's a better bargain hostal in all of Madrid than Jaen.

Hi, I booked a twin room at hostal Aliste but stayed in Hostal Alicante by accident... Anyway the next day we went to check out the Aliste and to be honest my girlfriend and I were both glad we didnt stay there due to its location. it was down a tiny road and outside the LOCKED door of the Aliste was a group of 8 men, very shifty looking! but i think it was the numerous prostitutes that really turned me off, 7 of them I counted, within 50 metres of each other (they may not have been prostitutes but dressed or not so dressed as they were, each 5-10 meters apart, id say they were). Good for a single guy maybe...

This was August time 2003.

Im sure inside its lovely.