Madrid: Pensión Chueca @ http://www.chuecapension.com/

I rated it as an "Ok" place. You can get much better for what you're paying. The rooms are as tiny as they come, at least the one I stayed at.. #6. Beni & Alex are very nice people. A nice plus is a computer with internet accesss. The building is undergoing renovations which means that the entry is full of concrete bags, and all kinds of constrution paraphernalia. And all that means the public areas such as the entry, stairs and such are VERY dirty. The rooms are clean and nice yet very small. A block away from the Chueca Metro station. No elevator... had my wallet stolen when it fell out of my pocket in the stairs. Stayed 4 nights. Rooms have a small TV but mine control remote didnt work. The bathroom is as tiny as it comes the shower was so small that I could barely move in it. They accept payments in VISA but strongly prefer it in cash. 35 euros.

Madrid: Hostal Nuria @ http://www.hostalnuria.com/

Stayed 4 nights, asked for a single but actually got a double room with the full bath and all. The furniture can seem a bit run down but not too much, its ok. The bathrooms are old, im talking toilet water tank up and pull a chain! The sink has two separate faucets (is that the right word hehe) so u either get very hot water or very cold water.. no lukewarm or in-betweens here! Oh and a bidet also was present.. and yeah the shower. The hostal occupies the entire building unlike Pension Chueca which only has half of the 2nd floor. Nuria does have a small restaurant which has cheap breakfast (spanish breakfast is just some bread and coffee so dont get your hopes up!) The elevator goes to the 4th floor so if you're on the 5th you got to take the stairs up one floor. The staff is nice, and for 33 euros a night I think it was well worth it. It's sort of halfway point between the tribunal and gran via stations.. and the street is in.. Fuencarral is full of small boutiques which cater to the hip crowd. Ah.. a public phone in the lobby is great when you need to make a call late at night and dont want to go out... They accept AMEX

Cordoba: Hotel Mezquita (no website)

A VERY nice find... they dont have a webpage but theyre right in front of the Mezquita and the rooms on the upper floor have views of the mezquita, rooms are nicely decorated, nice furnishings, very clean.. recently renovated a nice surprise nice showers and baths too.. single room for 35 or 37 euros. They have an elevator ( I had a large heavy bag so it was a big plus). They accept AMEX

Granada: Hotel Casa Capitel Nazari @ http://www.hotelcasacapitel.com

Another good find, no elevator though. Nice typical patio.. very relaxing, great decor, awesome rooms, nice big bathroom very nice staff.. and the Alhambra Ticket Reservation service is a big plus.. they do it all for you. They also have a breakfast service but its for 8 euros.. and im not that eager to pay that for breakfast wink The rooms are very ver nice.. but you pay for them.. 68 euros.. I stayed 2 nights. They dont accept AMEX. Oh and the location is very good too.. just off plaza nueva on the albaycin, the bad part is if you're coming in a taxi sometimes they dont know where to drop you off since the main entrance to the hotel is a on a very small "non-car" street... so tell them to drop you off at plaza nueva or at the entrance to the street if they know where the hotel is.

Barcelona - Hostal Opera: (no website)

Another good find, very clean, nice staff, excelent location, single room goes for 35 euros. Dont accept AMEX. They have an elevator. They have internet in their lobby for 1 euro for 20 minutes.. which is expensive when you can go any ramblas internet cafe and get much cheaper rates and better connections. They have a good luggage storage area. The location is awesome, in the Sant Pau street right off las ramblas.. a few steps out and you're on the Liceu Metro Station. The rooms are normal hostal size room the bathroom was normal sized, its a great find.

For links to the websites of these hotels etc please visit my Spain webpage.