Has anyone stayed at Hostal Bianco II on C/Echegaray in Madrid? I'm traveling with family: 2 teens and a 10 year old. Is it clean & safe? Quiet? It seems like it's a reasonable walk from Metro Sol. Thanks for any input.

I´ve not heard of it , Denise , but it´s unlikely to be a quiet hostal on Calle Echegaray .... . That´s a well known , but narrow street right in the Barrio de las Letras ...At night it´ll be full of people coming and going and in bars and restaurants .
Having said that , I stayed in the street nearby ( Espoz y Mina ) and you are so Central to everything ! Just walk out the door and you´re in the middle of the buzzing centre of Madrid .
Steve

I've never stayed at Hostal Bianco but maybe others have. Have you conducted a search here of previously posted comments?

Looks like you may have to get two rooms as they don't seem to have 4-person rooms, only those for 3-persons maximum. I'm sure the 2 teens would be VERY happy to have their own room - unless one is a boy and the other is a girl.

The location is really perfect, very central and close to everything. It's no more than 200 meters from Puerta del Sol.

While I haven't personally toured Hostal Bianco, the hostels (called "hostales" in Spain/Spanish) are well-known for their cleanliness. I've never heard that this place was UNsafe. Most all are perfectly fine. I couldn't say if this place is quiet. Most hostels downtown do have somewhat of a reputation of being somewhat noisy from street noise or even from adjacent guests. I stayed once at a 3-star hotel which had hardwood floors in the halls so I heard people's high-heels LOUDLY clopping down the hall all night long.

Do a search for HOSTAL BIANCO MADRID here in this category and see if it yields any previous reviews.

Saludos, MadridMan

Karenr,

I have stayed on that street many times at Hotel Inglés just down the road. There are a lot of neat bars and restaurants on that street but I did not find it exceedingly loud.

I will be staying at Hostal Bianco when I visit in May. The prices at Inglés were just too high for me this time. However, the price they quoted me by email (@ Inglés) was a lot less than on their website so that just proves it never hurts to ask if they have any kind of discounts or specials. It will be the first time I have stayed in Hostal Bianco so I will report back when I get home.

You will LOVE the location if you end up there.

Thanks for the input. I'll wait for your report, sparkalina, in May. I made reservations for June (we need 2 rooms so I have to make sure we're set on accommodations) but, if you find it's unacceptable, I can always make a last minute switch to another hostal. I thought Hostales Dulcinea and Cervantes were too far from the metro (we have 3 kids in tow) or I would have chosen one of those. ¡Mil gracias!

I stayed for about 2 weeks at Hostal Cervantes ... Cheap , clean and the owner is really nice . But , yes , it´s a 10-15minute walk to the Metro .. Maybe Sevilla or Sol being the nearest . You are , however , within a stones through of the Prado and the Thyssen museums .And , of course , you´re in the small street where Cervantes lived ! If you´re into scientology ( I´m not ) , their very swish headquarters are just around the corner . Steve

OK - here is the info.
Bad-
-room was small...but most are.
-towels were like drying your body with sandpaper.

Good-
-you can't ask for a better location. Right next door to La Venencia where I spent a majority of my time.
-staff is friendly
-A/C was cold
-quiet room (ours overlooked the courtyard, not the street)
-clean (and the maid was really nice)
-elevator, although 2 people AND suitcases won't fit at the same time! Requires a little juggling. It is only one flight up so we did not use it without our suitcases.
-affordable. Our double room with bath was 44 Eur/night

Bottom line, I have stayed in nicer places (like my favorite Hostal Adriano , but for the price and location I will stay here again for sure.

Thank you, Sparkalina, for the review of Hostal Bianco. I know there are always trade offs for hostals. As long as it's clean and well-located we can deal with sandpaper towels! The price is right and we're trying to stay within a budget. What is La Venencia? Muchas gracias!

Jejejejeje ... Actually , I prefer the sandpaper towels .. they dry you off much better than the fluffy ones an exfoliate you at the same time !!! I used to buy towels from an Army surplus store in the UK just for that reason .
I did stay for nearly 3 weeks in Hostal Alaska .. the room was large and the price was low , but it was in Calle Espoz y Mina , above 2 large Irish bars that rocked until 4 in the morning ... Certainly would suit the younger generation .. And you get use of a communal fridge . The owner is extremely friendly and has one of THE biggest and loveliest dogs in Madrid .

Well it is only the GREATEST place for sherry in the whole WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah...I kind of like it there. They only serve sherry (fino, manzanilla, oloroso, amontillado, and palo cortado) from unmarked bottles. And a few (7-10) kinds of tapas (cheese&meats mostly). It has an ambiance that you can only get by being there. There are lots of locals, lots of characters, a cat that lives on premise. Forgive my spelling.

If you see a bartender wearing a plastic sheriff's badge tell him that Jenny from Florida and Rocky from Chicago say HI. (My dad is a detective and gave it as a joke - he wore it around all night.) We were there twice a day.

I miss it already!

Karenr,

I am going to give you the low-down on what we liked in that area of town, but I an going to start a new thread in the Food and Drink section with the subject C/Echegaray. Too much info and it is kind of off the hotel subject. Some stuff you may find in travel books, but others not. I find that more often than not the restaurants in the books do not live up to what is written about them.

Jenny

I'd appreciate any suggestions for Calle Echegaray. It'll be my son's 18th birthday while we're in Madrid and I want to take the family to a real fun, typical Madrileño restaurant that night. I'm thinking of El Botín for a touristy dinner but maybe someone can give us a better suggestion. He's looking forward to the carnivore menus...and then the seafood in Andalucía.

there is a great tapas restaurant with a good atmosphere just the other side of Plaza Mayor (very touristy area) called "Maestro Villa". The best thing about the place is that inside they have hundreds of bottles on the walls from every single region of Spain - plenty of wine to choose from :-)

I don't know where Calle Echegaray is, but before living in Madrid I always went to that restuarant on visits. Great to sit outside on a nice evening.

Also, in Plaza Santa Ana is a micro-brewery call Naturbier - not particuarly Spanish food but downstairs all the tables have their own beer taps where you can overdue the consumption of their home brewed beer. Be warned though, you WILL have a hangover.

Both places are very touristy, but with a good atmosphere.

Karenr,

I just posted another one for you in the food section about a great place for cochinillo (Museo del Vino)
Jen

ok - maybe not JUST for you, but you get my drift

Don't forget to stop in La Venencia and see if you are as smitten with the place as I was. They probably miss me as I was one of their most frequent customers... HA HA

We'll definitely try la Venencia! I think I figured out why the towels feel like sandpaper. I dried my towels outdoors this week (warm & sunny days again) and noticed that they felt like sandpaper after I showered! They probably hang them on the line to save on the dryer costs. I'm really getting psyched about our trip!