Thanks for your replies. Just returned from Madrid, and yes, you're right, there is still quite a bit of construction work going on just outside Hostal Percal, but otherwise it did look nice from the outside. We however, finally decided to stay in another Hostal called Hostal Lopez , which was also in a great location and priced right. It was a bit noisy and our room opened-out into a not-so-nice looking walled "back-area" (for want of a better word)which in turn looked into other rooms/bathrooms, so we couldn't keep the windows open like we wanted to. They also had problems with the hot water which meant that the water would alternately run completely cold or VERY hot while you were bathing!! This was definitely bothersome.... but other wise it was a safe, convenient place to stay and one of the family speaks english, which was important since we didn't speak a word of Spanish!!