We just stayed six nights at the
Hostal Gonzalo , April 1 - 6. All of the nice things that you see printed in the travel guides are true. It is a good value, 50 Euro for two double beds and shower, and extremely convenient. You are just two blocks from the Thyssen and Prado museums. The Reina Sofia is only a five to ten minute walk maximum. The Anton Martin Metro station is about 6 to 7 minutes away. Javier, the owner, speaks English fairly well and is extremely friendly and helpful. The facade of the building seems a bit dated, but inside the place is modern and extremely clean and well maintained. I evaluated a number of hostals prior to booking here. I had an acquaintance of mine who lives in Madrid make recommendations on preselected hostals based upon the fact that I wanted a quiet and safe neighborhood. He felt this would be a good location, and I would agree. You are only a 5 minute walk from the Plaza Santa Ana which is a very pleasant open square typical of many European towns. A number of bars can be found there. Also, there a bar located on the corner of the same street as Hostal Gonzalo, Ceverceria Cervantes. We ate there twice. By 8PM it will be full, but there is usually only a short wait if you arrive later. The food is also reasonably priced. There is another bar around the corner on the same street that had also been recommended by Javier, I think the name was Dolores, but with only a few small tables that were always filled we never ate there as we never felt like standing for dinner. In addition, for those with a sweet tooth, Javier recommended a traditional Madrid bakery that was fabulous. This is located on a very small street off Calle Pozo, just past the Plaza Santa Ana. Just ask Javier for directions. The owner of the bakery was very friendly and proud of his establishment and products, with good reason. As he told me, you don't stay in business for almost 200 years unless you have a good product!! I can’t remember the names of all the pastries we ate, but believe me, you will be pleased.
The only negatives that you may consider regarding Hostal Gonzalo are as follows:
-No phones in the room. While there is a pay phone in the lobby, it did not work well and one of the other workers there simply had to override this one morning when I was attempting to make a call as it would not accept my coins. However, for 50 Euro per room, I have no reason to complain, but I thought other potential patrons should be aware.
-Noise. There is no street noise if you are in one of the interior rooms. It appeared that there were only two or three rooms that faced the street. If you are in one of the others you are not going to notice any street noise. However, all of the halls and rooms are tiled and noise carries quite well, so that the coming and going of the other patrons may be disturbing at night if you are a light sleeper. Some noise can also be appreciated from adjacent rooms. In my experience with other European hotels this has been a common problem unless you are staying in a more high end facility. Hostal Gonzalo was better than most overall in this regard.
-Javier is not there all the time. There is a very nice lady who was there most nights keeping an eye on things, but she does not speak English. I speak some Spanish, but if you don’t have any Spanish language skills then make sure you speak with Javier. He was there most mornings and almost all day each day.
Overall, a good value in a great location. I would recommend to anyone with the caveats noted above.
Powerhouse
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