I have read the many comments regarding Huespedes Jaén on this site. Because of the positive reviews I've booked the large 3-bedroom apartment. I've spent some time on QDQ.com (which is a terrific site--thank you MadridMan!) and after looking around at the street and neighborhood where Jaen is located, I'm having serious second thoughts.

The area looks rather grim. Is it safe? Will we be safe walking to and from the museums and closest metro?

And how does one enter into H. Jaén? The photo (both on the H. Jaen website and on QDQ.com ) doesn't show a real entrance.

Also for those familiar with H. Jaen is there a reception there? What services, if any, are offered? The website isn't that informative. Where is a good, close place to get breakfast or grab some grocery items?

I would love any additional feedback on this area and on H. Jaen. Should I keep my reservation? Thank you!

By the way, MadridMan, this is a wonderful website that has already helped me plan my trip to Spain tremendously!

Finding the entrance to Huespedes Jaén ... it was midnight, our packs were heavy, it had been a loooong day .... otherwise I wouldn't have had to ask the pizza guy 20 feet away, who took me by the hand and then pointed to the door buzzer.

So, get off at Anton Martin metro stop. Spot the main street: this is Atocha, and runs NW/SE from Plaza Mayor to Atocha train station. Very useful street, and pedestrian only for part of the way. Calle del Leon runs north from Anton Martin metro stop. Walk north 3 blocks, passing a nice lion done in tiles. Turn right--the only choice--onto Calle del Cervantes. The buildings are all joined together, just like in the picture on the web page. The street numbers are inconspicuous--I think it is above the archway, and there is no big sign for the place. Look on the north side. Find a buzzer in a doorway labeled Huespedes Jaén. You can handle it from there?

The three bedroom apartment is on the top floor. There is a small slow elevator: we took the elevator up a lot, but rarely down. It was beautifully quiet, and the skylights caught the evening breeze. It would be hot in the street and pleasant in the apartment, because the stones held heat, and the apartment aired out.

The location is great! Yes, you may find narrow streets with limited lighting a little disconcerting, but it is safe. You can walk--much the best choice--to the big museums or the main squares.

There is a small market just across the street from Huespedes Jaén, good for produce, milk and a bottle of simple wine and so on. The good cheese shop is down Calle de Leon: I liked a bakery about 4 minutes away, near Plaza Santa Ana. There's a market area just south of Metro Anton Martin.

We didn't have breakfast out: I woke up the earliest and would go out strolling in the cool, then come back with the breakfast pastry and daily bread. But we could have eaten our churros (east on Cervantes) or pastries at the bakeries too.

There is a reception area: it is small, and like in some American motels, you'll have to ring the buzzer and then one of the people come out from their apartment into the reception area. It works just fine. Services? Well, when my clothes pins failed, dropping my niece's jeans to the clothes line below, he rescued them: pretty good service. Other than that, we didn't need anything.

I really liked the location. Beautifully quiet, but close to Stuff. My partner is much more cautious than me, and he felt completely safe--which he did not in the flea market or some other places.