a day ago
This trendy hostel is a great affordable base for exploring Madrid
This industrial-chic hostel is located on a quiet side road off the Gran Via, which is to Madrid what Oxford Street is to London. Location is key here: you're an easy walk to the city's best museums, galleries, bars and restaurants, and several metro stations are close by. The building used to be a parking garage but was converted to accommodation in 2018; once inside you're greeted by the friendly team at reception — there's a small shop here if you've forgotten flip-flops, towels and the like — from which you can take a lift to your room. There are 129, a mix of dorms and doubles, and downstairs there's a communal hang-out space, an Eighties-themed bar-restaurant, and a lounge/dining area that can be separated off for larger groups.
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Score 6/10There are a mix of four and eight-person dorms (some are female only), which are spartan but functional in design. These have their own separate showers and toilets, while each bed has a lockable trunk, a light and charging outlets, making for a relatively private space (you can buy locks and hire towels at reception). More effort has been used to create an industrial loft feel in the doubles and family rooms (a double plus a bunk): exposed concrete, laminate flooring, pea green accent wall and leather headboards. These rooms are en suite, with simply designed bathrooms. Overall, the dorms and rooms here are not ones you'd want to linger in, but at this price point you already know 7/10Breakfast is served on the ground-floor Level Bar, which channels an American diner vibe with a disco ball thrown in for good measure. There's a morning buffet that includes yoghurts, pastries, fruit, juices, cereals, scrambled eggs, cheeses, ham and the like. Later on, the menu morphs into all-day dishes that cover the globe (well, western Europe) from gazpacho to fish and chips and tagliatelle bolognese. Up on the roof is the rather funky Broken Shaker bar, a staple of the Generator brand, and while there's no pool, you will find a couple of hot tubs and plenty of chairs and loungers in what's a pretty inviting space.
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Score 8/10The big extra draw here is the rooftop bar and relaxation area — its two hot tubs are a decent alternative to a pool, and the space for chairs and loungers is pretty expansive given the location. It's for guests only until 5pm, then open to all. There's parking here should you need it, and you can rent bicycles at a very reasonable cost. A small shop at reception stocks many of the basics you might have forgotten to pack, from ear plugs to toothbrushes, and you can rent or buy towels.
Score 8/10The hotel is in the centre of town on Calle de San Bernado, which runs off the Gran Via and leads to Plaza Santo Domingo, where you'll find several cafés with outside seating for beers and snacks on warmer days. On foot, you are about ten minutes to the Palacio Real and 25 minutes to the Prado Museum. Several metro stations are within walking distance, the nearest being just a minute away.
Price room-only in eight-person dorm from £20Restaurant mains from £8Family-friendly YAccessible N
Will Hide was a guest of Generator Madrid (
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