Hostal Gran Vía 44 — Hotel in Madrid

I booked three rooms for four nights at this hostel. |I was drawn by the pictures of the rooms. |I was expecting a much better lodging. Extremely dissatisfied and disappointed. |The first thing you must bear in mind, that I didn't realize when I booked the rooms, is that the hostel is in an eight floor and there are other hostels in the other floors which share a small crummy elevator, full of graffiti, and that just has space for two persons with luggage. And it works just once in a while. If it's not working they send you on a stinky service elevator to the seventh floor and then you have to take the stairs to the eighth floor. |The check in is at a seventh floor, and the hostel is at the eight. |The rooms looked good and the bed was comfortable but the air conditioner was like the elevator, worked once in a while. |On the last two nights, when it was really warm, it didn't work at all. |The bathroom looked good too but had a problem with the shower's drainage. |It wasn't properly draining and it caused an overflow which brought water all over the room's floor. |I made a report at the front desk, and the clerk came to see what happened, and said somebody would come to fix the problem. |One of the travel mates had an issue with the door lock and they said somebody will be sent. |NOBODY EVER CAME. |SAME THING HAPPENED WITH THE A/C. |Though the room looks modern the towels were really old. |The only positive thing is that this place is close to the center of night life of Madrid. |However, it's a problem for people like me, who go to bed early. At night we woke up several times with doors being slammed by people returning from hanging out. Ones at 1:00 AM, others at 3:00 AM, and others at 5:00 AM. Very rude people. |Another issue is the parking. |I suggest that you call them in advance to take note of the address. |I didn't do it and ended parking at the closest parking lot which ended being the wrong one for which I paid around €32 per night. |The one that the hostel has is farther and they charge €25 per night. |There were other guests complaining of the same issue. |I tried to get out of this place but I booked through a website which didn't allow it. |In conclusion, I wouldn't stay here again. And if this people were more customer service oriented they should give us at least a partial refund for all the inconveniences we...

PROS:|• located in the city centre|• stunning views from your window if you request an outer room|• great free coffee at breakfast |• close to tourist attractions such as Puerta Del Sol, Royal Palace of Madrid and Plaza Mayor, as well as various stores (Desigual, Fnac, El Corte Ingles etc) & restaurants (Taco Bell, local Spanish cuisine, sushi bars, McDonalds, Starbucks etc)|• cheap prices for views one would usually have to pay in hundreds or thousands for!|• a coffee machine in the room|• clean bathroom upon the arrival, no complaints||CONS:|• the key card would often stop working and we had trouble getting into our room|• not a hostal issue specifically, but the elevator in the building smelled so bad - just an fyi |• if you're planning to go to the free breakfast offered by the hostal, I suggest NOT ordering tostada con jamón y queso (toast with ham and cheese) - I waited 20 minutes only for it to be served cold, clearly not even having touched a toaster, with no cheese and a slice of an awful ham that I couldn't bring myself to eat. on the other hand, there is a sandwich with salad, tomato and some other ingredients and according to a person accompanying me it was delicious, so you could give it a try instead||i'm giving it 4 stars despite the 3 issues I had because after all it's a lower class hostal, so I didn't have much expectations - it serves its purpose. It's great that the breakfast & coffee are free, though I wish the staff took less than 20 minutes with preparing a single 3-ingredient sandwich, the location is super convenient, the cleaning staff is respectful and polite, the views are...

The best thing about this place is the location. It's perfectly situated in a major shopping and cultural district. There are plenty of cheap places to eat right outside the door. Another positive was the view from the balcony. You could see right across the city, which was especially amazing at night. ||||There are cons to this hostel, though. The first is that there was no kitchen or cooking facility, which I had expected, being a "hostel". There was no fridge in our room either, which meant that all of our meals had to be purchased as we explored throughout the day. Expensive, when your a budget traveller on a year-long trip. The second concern was that this hostel was on the 8th floor & that the lift was broken on a few occasions. 8 floors may not seem like much, but I am young & fit & those stairs were a killer with a 20kg backpack, or after a whole day of walking around the city. The third problem was the fact that there was a shower in the room. This would have been fine, but my boyfriend & I were travelling with another friend, so it meant that whenever one of us wanted a shower, the other two had to wait out in the corridor on the floor ... Which leads me to number four ... There was no common room, which again, I had expected, being a "hostel". I would call Granvia Hostel 44 more of a "budget hotel".||||Overall, we had a semi-enjoyable stay. For the price we paid (€11 each p/night) it was a pretty neat bargain. Next time though, I think I'll stick to the hostels with more facilities and a...