First time in Espana — am looking to explore Madrid (2 days: Jan 14-16) and wine region (Jan 16-18 >Ribera del Duero).

Spent first jet-lag night reading hundreds of reviews, after made a prelim reservation at Hotel Carlton from u.s... Now i WONDER...

These Hostals sound so individual and REAL... but i have no experience in Spain (and other countries vary from wonderful to dicey). I'm down to a few choices and wondered if anyone had experience-based advice.

1) hotel Carlton (us$230 for 2 nights): [+] good bet for comfortable bed, security and location, good comfort/luxury value. [-] EXPENSIVE.

2) Hostal: in general...
[+] value, charm, more authentic experience.
[-] (aka "fears") > bad bed/backache, lugging too much luggage up many stairs, too noisy, unsafe, yucky.

3) Specific Hostals considering
(in order of how good they seem):
- First: Hostal Adriano.
- Second: Hostal Lopez; Hostal Gonzalo; Hostal Aguilar.
- Third: Hostal Persal; Hostal Aresol; Hostal Santander; Hostal Castilla.

4) Have enjoyed wines from Ribera del Duero... will drive up there... any advice on places to stay ... and wineries to visit? My favorite is Pasquera, and their secondary product, "Haza" (beautiful wines)... other than that, i'm an oinnocent.

I'd welcome any advice from experienced madrid/Spanish wine traveller/explorers. Thanks much..