We just returned from our 2.5 week trip to Spain last thursday. We had an amazing time and Spain is wonderful. I have to give a thousand thanks out to everyone on this message board for all of your great advice on hostals. We loved every place we stayed and could'nt believe how nice the people were at the hostals. Here is a quick rundown of where we stayed.

Madrid we stayed at Hostal Tijcal . Perfect location right off of the Plaza Mayor. Very cute and clean. People were extremely nice and helpful and spoke english. I would highly recommend it and would stay there again in a heart beat.

In Toledo we stayed at Hotel Santa Isabel . Location was perfect. It is tucked away in the old part of town only a few blocks from the big cathedral. The people were very nice and the hotel was beautiful. It is rated as a two star hotel but it has just been redone on the inside and should be at least a three star. We had a double room and it ended up only costing us 45 euros per night. Toledo is beautiful and should be seen. Highly recommended.

In Bilboa we stayed at Hostal Begoña . Also a very nice place. Very nicely decorated, looks brand new. People are very friendly and eager help you. It also nicely located near the train station and city center. Highly recommended.

In San Sabastian we stayed at Hotel Niza . This was a little bit pricier than the others (about 70 euros for a double) but the price includes breakfast and the beach is right out the back door of the hotel. It walks out to an unbelievably beautiful beach. The rooms were very nice and clean with big clean bathrooms. Also highly recommended. San Sabastian was one of our favorite places.

In Barcelona we stayed at Hostal Levante which also has a great location right off of La Rambla. The people there were also pretty friendly and spoke english. We opted to pay the cheaper price and have rooms without bathrooms which was no problem at all because there was a bathroom right outside our door which was cleaned probably two or three times a day. The rooms were pretty bare bones but clean. We only stayed there one night but I would recommend it if you are looking for a pretty cheap, clean place with good location.

I would say that every place we stayed was a positive experience. I really can't think of a bad thing to say about these places except that the rooms were usually pretty small. To us, that made no difference at all. We enjoyed the quant little rooms. They had character and left us with positive memories.