Madrid Airport Suites Affiliated by Meliá — Hotel in Madrid

I can’t deceide whether to title this review “ AVOID AVOID AVOID” or “THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT” or “ WELCOME TO HELL”. I wanted to stay at a local airport hotel for a 11:30 flight the next morning, I thought I was booking Melia Barajas Airport Hotel, however on arrival to that hotel via the airport transfer I discovered I had made a mistake ( Apparently a common mistake according to the receptionist). We then caught a €20 taxi from Melia Barajas to what I can only describe as a desolate gangland area with many deserted graffitied unfinished buildings with what looked like squatters everywhere, it was truly an eye opener, there was absolutely nothing around in this desolate industrial area. The check in area was under construction, the receptionist was not in the mood to give me any extra information, like is there a restaurant close by or where can I buy some toothpaste ( something I thought we could pick up easily). My credit card number including the expiry and CVV was hand written on a piece of paper which I questioned and was told “for security”. The reception area to the lifts was full of “ local people” loitering and watching our every move, it felt extremely unsafe, it appears people live here long term as a private hotel? Our junior suite was basic, the bar fridge freezer overflowing with frost, room smelt like cigarettes- evidence of this was left on the window seal from previous occupants. Walls are very thin and I could hear the neighbours whilst in their bathroom. We did not dare leave the room, we googled and there is literally nothing around, there were however a pack of wild dogs roaming the streets I saw from the window. At around 02:45am we were woken by what I thought was someone trying to break into the room, turns out the wall shelf in the lounge area fell to the ground, on inspection I could see the poor workmanship that was used to somewhat secure it. I pretty much didn’t sleep for the rest of the night, I told reception in the morning about the shelf, he wasn’t interested. We went to breakfast when it opened at 7am and then rushed to catch the airport transfer at 7:30am the next was at 11am. Absolutely the worst place I have ever stayed and to be honest It will make me think twice before booking...

Like many others, we landed up in this hotel because of Iberia and its pathetic service. When a flight delay at Iberia resulted in us missing the onward connection to Dallas, we were told to go to "Customer Service??" where, after some waiting. were given the "good" news -- a day in Madrid and stay at the Madrid Airport Suites. Just turns out that this suites hotel is nothing but a glorified dorm. How they have a 2 star rating beats me (the Spanish system must be very generous in handing stars to its hotels). We were told that the hotel would provide transportation but not told that for the transportation we would have to wait over an hour (if very lucky). We did wait for over an hour and when the van finally arrived a bunch of locals who had come after us jumped on board stating that they had booked the shuttle van for their group, and berating us for not knowing Spanish. It was Spanish hospitality at its best!! Lesson: If you want to avail of the transport learn curse words in Spanish and bulk up so that you push your way in. We ended up choosing an easier route -- taking a taxi. Unfortunately, the hotel (not particularly close to the airport) was in the middle of nowhere. The suites were reasonably large but had the look of a penitentiary with worn out facilities. Strangely no complementary coffee or tea (which even the lowest quality hotels in the U.S. will provide). Dinner was on the house and after the dinner, both of us (me and my wife) concluded that the tastiest part of the dinner was the iceberg lettuce leaves that they provided. They were fresh!! It appears that the hotel is the go-to hotel for Iberia. In a way, they are made for each other. A poor airline with bad service pairing up with a poor quality hotel with bad service. If you value your sanity, my recommendation would be to avoid this hotel at all costs. If you do not have a choice, take a taxi to the hotel and ask for a room at the quietest corner -- unless you enjoy putting up with the noise generated by energetic youngsters looking to upgrade their football skills and vocal chords. It appears this cheap hotel is a favorite of visiting local teams to house...

I am writing to note my concern over this hotel, voice my absolute dissatisfaction and warn others who may get booked here when stranded by Iberian Airlines. To start, the shuttle service is such a disaster it almost seemed like a joke. When we arrived to the shuttle waiting area, i was told the "bus" had just left and will be back shortly. I was 2nd in line of what grew to a group of about 15 people waiting. After 45 minutes of waiting, a passenger van arrived that could only fit 7 people. The driver made no attempt to follow a line but simply assisted passengers who spoke Spanish and yelled at me. I understand its my limitation only speaking English but passengers he assisted had showed up in line only several minutes prior. Since we were unable to use the shuttle, we took a taxi to the hotel to begin the next step of this tragedy.

When we arrived to the hotel, we pulled up to see the same shuttle driver smoking outside and talking with several other people, despite leaving at least 10 other people in the shuttle line. The check in process was slow but I don't blame the hotel for that. I would estimate 10-12 groups were in front of us, most rebooked by Iberian Air. Not a hotel issue, but it took about 30 minutes in line to get checked in. By the time we got to the front, the employee informed us the only time the shuttle was available for our 2PM flight would be 7AM due the large number of guest. The limited resources at this hotel will leave those unfortunate souls booked here fighting like they are in the Hunger Games.

When we received our room assignment, we navigated the maze of hallways that are unmarked to find out room. The room we were assigned clearly had someone recently smoke inside the room. It was nauseating and disgusting. Worse yet, there were either gnats or mosquitoes flying around the room when we entered. And to top this off, the room we were given looked nothing like the photos. The room was cramped, the beds felt like bricks, and the walls and bathroom were dirty.

There are zero reasons to stay at this hotel. The reception staff were polite but the shuttle service is a joke and deserves...