U know what's amazing abt travelling & internet? Both bring pple all over the world together
Me n hubby will be travelling to Spain for honeymoon trip come March 04.
Boy, am i getting all confused from all the information overload!
Hence...We would love to hear abt - value for money hostel/hotel to crash in Mad & Bcn...
Inclusive of bathroom , of course....even better if there's breakfast thrown in...
A place which will be centrally located...but still safe and well-lit in the wee hours...
THANK YOU!

With luv,
Cheryl Au from SINGAPORE!

Cheryl,

I think I can start to answer your questions, but perhaps some more information on your part would be helpful. From what I have seen, by staying in Hostals, a bathroom is always included but not a breakfast. This would hardly be necessary in Madrid or Barcelona, because there are so many places to get breakfast very close to just about any Hostal.
I prefer an apartment near the center of Madrid because sometimes we like to buy stuff at the local market and eat in. But if you are staying less than a week, a Hostal is just fine. A Hostal generally cost between 40 - 50 Euros a night, and an apartment 90-110 Euros a night. There are many, many Hostals that are centrally located. The Hostals with websites, that I have tried, all have a link to a map that shows its location in Madrid.
I hope this at least starts to answer your questions.

Tks so much Gaz! So sweet of you!
Yes ITA there r many many ...hence my confusion & information overload....
I think hostals would be fine for us since we would be there for a few days max....arriving in Mad on 7 Mar n departing on 11 or 12 Mar after the Real Mad VS Bayern match....ha ha!
Could you name your personal pfavs where hostals are concerned? Value for money...great location....safe enough? Will take your advice & do away wif the breakfast thingy....
Next, just wondering...I have a friend who got a friend in BCN (in case you are wondering...we did seek his opinon on hostals but he's pretty 'non-commital'....not sure why?) who said he could help with the hostal bookings etc, but would there be any price difference if he does the booking there VS me doing the booking on line? If there's no price difference i wouldn't wan to trouble him.

Tks !

Hi again Cheryl,

I can't say I'm to commital on the question of Hostals myself. I can understand your friend of a friend in Barcelona. Things are changing quite a bit in Spain. What was a safe area only a few years ago, just isn't so now.
For example, I have only stayed in one Hostal, Hostal Dulcinea in 1999. This is in an area of Madrid I really enjoyed called the Huertas. In the fall of 2002, I stayed in an apartment between Puerto del Sol and Plaza Mayor. It also had a hostal I believe named Hospedaje Madrid . Nice people ran both hostals. However, I went to visit the Huertas to see a friend and was assaulted by criminals there almost in front of Hostal Dulcinea.
Just browsing through the posts on this topic, I've read many good things about Hostal Adriano , if you don't mind climbing stairs. This is very common in Spanish hostals. Hopefully, someone, such as Madridman, can give you more experienced advice. However, he usually recommends just reading these posts to find out what might be more suitable to your taste. Sage advice.
In short, there are so many options as far as lodging goes in Madrid and Barcelona both that what works for one person, may or may not work for another. I've told you I prefer an apartment, but others might prefer a hostal or hotel.
As far as your friend of a friend setting up a hostal for you, sure, it will save you time. Last time I was in Barcelona, I didn't have a reservation. However, as happened to me before, a man saw me walking around the train station and approached me with a room. Not the greatest of hostals, walked up four flights of stairs, but comfortable enough.
Since I was over there for a month, I got kind of tired of hostals and decided to stay for a couple of nights in a 3 star hotel in Valencia. Even these are a pretty good deal compared to a hotel of equal quality in the rest of the world. It cost about 80 euros a night.
Don't worry too much about it and have a good time. Be warned that Madrid is pretty chilly in March, so I imagine you'll spend a lot of time in balmy Barcelona.

Once again...Tks!!!
I really love the way you put together your response...I mean, at least you did express your opinons
Hey I have an update now on my itinerary - share wif u here first...will post in another thread later for all to comment & advice. Here goes:

Arrive in Mad on 7 Mar 04
Staying in Mad on 7, 8, 9 Mar 04
pop over to Toledo on 10 mar 04, hope to stay in a parador there
Return to Mad on 11 mar 04 to catch my soccer match
Travel to Sevilla on 12 mar 04,
Staying in sevilla on 12, 13 Mar 04
Travel to Granada on 14 mar, stay the night
travel to BCN on 15 Mar, stay the night of 15, 16, 17, on 18 make a day trip to Monstserrat
Travel to Girona on 19 Mar 04, stay the night on 19, and 20. Hope to go to Rose...anyone think i should go to Madremanya too?
return to BCN on 21 march 04, catch a plan to paris

I can actually give up 1-2 days from Paris to Spain if need be.....any advice/tots?

Of course, my above plan begs the qn - where to stay for all these places?

Btw...me have sent a booking query to Hostal adrano.. stairs...not a problem....

Tks!

Cheryl,

Sounds like a very nice trip. Kind of a like our 2002 trip only in reverse. We went from Rome to Barcelona, Valencia, Granada, Sevilla and then a week and a half in Madrid.
As far as staying at a parador in Toledo, from my experience, you have to make reservations quite early in advance. I would just make a day trip of Toledo and stay another night in Madrid. Then you wouldn't have to find another hostal in Toledo. Anyway, Madrid's where you can catch the AVE to Sevilla. I'm not sure if Toledo has an AVE station...maybe.
I had a month Vacation with almost as many cities as you've cited. It's quite the bag drag. You might consider spending another night in Granada.
As for sharing my opinions, I think members of this board would not be surprised at this.ha.ha.

The Hostal Descalzos, www.hostaldescalzos.com in Toledo has a gorgeous view and is another option if the Parador is not available. I have stayed there several times and love its location. It is on the south side of the old town with a spectacular view of the river and the San Martín Bridge. There is a foto of the view from room 42 on the website. I know that rooms 41 and 42 have tiny balconies with a wonderful view.

I think that the Parador is located outside of the city and requires a car or taxi to get to the old part of town.

Hey Cheryl!
I live in Singapore but am on a short-term contract here in Madrid! Been here one month. You'll have a great time. Prepare not to sleep. I am not kidding.

When I first arrived, I stayed at the Hotel Santander 58Euros. Nice people, clean, nice shower, decent beds, plenty big. Ultra ocnveniently located less than 5 minutes walking from Sol, the Prado, la Gran Via, and Calle Huertas. the only drawback is that Fri nights and weekends, the surrounding streets don;t get quiet until 4:30am or so. Tis the drawback of all centrally located hotels, except for those that cost the big $$$.

Enjoy your time. You'll be in between seasons, so bring that one extra jacket.

cheers, A

Hi Cheryl,

The Parador post got me intrigued. Hopefully, the announcement below applies to you or your groom:

Hay a quien le gustaría ser joven eternamente. No nos extraña.
Si estás entre los 20 y 30 años (a.i), en Paradores te ofrecemos la posibilidad de alojarte en cualquiera de ellos por sólo 39,20 euros +IVA por persona y noche, en habitación doble, incluyendo el desayuno buffet.

Además, su acompañante tendrá el mismo precio, aunque sea mayor o menor, si comparte la misma habitación.

¡¡¡ No olvides avisar al hacer tu reserva que deseas solicitar "Escapada Joven". Es imprescindible hacerlo antes de la llegada al parador elegido.!!!

Consulta fechas del calendario.

39Euros pp plus breakfast?!! What a deal!

... if she is under 30, booking in advance, if there is a room (which is pretty doubtful). Then, yes, it's the offer of the year, since Paradores hotels range from good to excellent.

darn..... jus hit 30....but hey, tks for all the suggestions n views!!! can't wait for mar to come!!!

Anyway, I expressed myself wrong. 30 is included too.