My husband uses a wheelchair for distance walking. Do you know of any hostal located in Madrid Center which is wheelchair accesible? Many thanks for any help or suggestion.

Mi esposo usa silla de ruedas para distancias. Saben alguien de algun hostal en Madrid Centro que tenga acceso minusvalidos? Muy agradecida por cualquier ayuda o sugerencia.

Dear Olivares,

As far as I know, I'm afraid there is no hostels in the city centre wheelchair accesible. Unfortunately, city council regulations don't allow hostels owner to adapt the entrance of the building for handicapped people.

You may want to check accessible hotels in Madrid here

just a quick question is a hostal and hotel the same? Finding a large modern hotel shouldn't be too much of a problem, you just may have to go abit out of the city.

No, they aren't the same. A hostal is a small hotel, usually located on one or two floors of an older apartment building. They tend to cost less and don't have the extra services you would find in a regular hotel. Even in buildings that have elevators, you might encounter a few steps or other mobility limitations in a hostal, since they are generally located in regular buildings.

A youth hostel (the English word "hostel" spelled with an "e") is an albergue juvenil, which is another type of lodging.

There are plenty of hotels in the center of the city that are wheelchair accessible.

Many hostels in Madrid do have those extra services you can find in a regular hotel. For instance, most hostels in Madrid offer wifi access to their customers for free whereas hotels usually charge extra (up to 14 euros / day).

I would say the main difference between a hotel and a hostel room is the size. Rooms and bathrooms are smaller than those you find in a regular hotel.

As for the hotels being wheelchair accessible, note that it's not only the elevator but also the size of the corridors, doors, bathrooms... They need to be bigger and, bathrooms, need to be specially designed .

What I meant by services is having a restaurant/cafe on site, room service, breakfast room, concierge, bellhop, laundry service, gym, big lobby, that sort of thing. You generally won't find these at hostales.