The Central House Lavapiés — Hotel in Madrid

Opened in 2021 The Central Hostel Lavapies, in Madrid, has some of the trappings you’d expect in a mid-range to high-end hotel: free citrus-infused water dispenser, card-keys to operate lift and bedroom doors, rain-shower.

My mummy doesn’t mind sharing with males but it seems bizarre that although when booking one’s gender is inquired about, and over our three nights Mummy was the only female in the 8-bedded dorm with a change of roommates over the three nights. What is the point of asking about gender if you are going to put a lone female in a room with up to seven men at a time?

Located between the metro stations Tirso de Molina (line 1, light blue) and Latina (line 5, light green line), it is a handy accommodation to easily get to many parts of Lisbon.

As much as Mummy and I liked this hostel, what we liked most about it was not the hostel itself (which we recommend) but that it was near to where we got yummy yum yum rich cheesecake (we had the non-vegan option)! La Huerta de Almeria (somewhere between the hostel and La Latina metro). Go there and say that Bearsac, the teddy bear (who had cheesecake there in April 2022) sent you!

Good of The Central Hostel: away from traffic free citrus-infused water dispenser touch-to-pad card-keys to operate lift and bedroom doors reasonably firm mattress thick bed curtains that covered the length of the bed balcony (not sure if all rooms) light blocking curtain over balcony door large under-bed storage with fitting for padlock (own padlock required) small designated lockers inside room (own padlock required) small shelf, light, power socket and two USB sockets in bed compartment separate shower and lavatory in shared rooms stylish décor and furniture all the staff were friendly and helpful quiet (during my stay in April low-season) roof terrace with inside as well as outside space) washing machines (payment by credit card) small nightlight placed to give light to see at night but not be distracting rain shower and removeable showerhead underground parking (for rent) with 24hrs surveillance (see hostel website for pricing and non-green non-Spanish vehicle restrictions) 24-hour reception.

Not so good: charge for luggage storage (when often this is free in many hostels) not permitted to eat or drink in bedrooms or courtyard no kitchen to cook in no recycling bins for rubbish and clothes nowhere to hang hand-washing easy to bang head on board covering top of lower bunk curtain bar and restaurant was closed other than for breakfast during my April stay no tourist information other than promoted tours (a wall rack to keep information out of the way but handy would be useful) (restrictions or on-green non-Spanish vehicle – see...

I’m confused if I should highly recommend this place or advice people not to go there!!! Well it all depends on who you are and what you want from your stay! If you are a young bag packers who is eager to meet people and doesn’t care about comfort or sleeping silently at night, then this is maybe your place. Unfortunately, I didn’t find a private room and so I was thrown in an upper bunker bed in a 4 beds dormitory. First of all, this place gives much more importance on the super cool interior of the common area and reception areas than the super tiny rooms. The space was sooo tiny that even when we were two people, moving around, it started to become very inconvenient. There is absolutely no space for a big bag. Only one tiny bar with only one bar stool. There is a safe for each bed, but you need to have your own lock, and also for the two big drawers which are for each guest under the lower bed! That means it is very annoying if the person from the upper bed wants to open his drawer early in the morning or late at night, because he is literally almost on your bed! As for the upper bunker bed!! It’s HELL!! Say no or look for another option immediately. It’s almost impossible to sleep as the ceiling is very low and that area tends to become super dehydratigly HOT, even in the winter, and since the heaters are on. And the worst thing is that if you open the balcony door for ventilation, you will not be able to sleep at all due to the SUPER LOUD NOISE that is coming from the people who are drinking and partying outside in the common yard till 3 in the morning. Apparently, there are no rules to be quite after a certain hour! and to make things worse, the water tab is just next to the beds instead of having it inside the toilet. So every time someone is using the toilet at night, they have to disturb everyone when the use the tab outside, which makes it very unpractical! Reminding you there are no free facilities for you other than sleeping. No common space to cook, no fridge, no tea kettle, absolutely nothing that you can do in this tiny room. They have a very cool restaurant with -again- an amazing interior though. So you really need to go out and eat all the time, which is very expensive in Madrid for three meals a day. If you are staying for more than a couple of days, I would advice you to find an apartment with a small kitchenette, because you will save a lot of money. I stayed for two days, and it was ok. I had to use earplugs all the time, went down to sleep in the lower bed when someone checked out since it was impossible to sleep on the upper bed, and I ate out all the time. But I would never do that unless it’s a very short...

I initially stayed for a weekend and eventually ended up staying an extra week! The stay could not have been better. The staff is so welcoming and helpful; if you want to have a chat with them or get some nice tips for the city, go and reach out to them My stay was in Sept 2021: all the Corona measures were in place and it felt very safe (gel everywhere, 75% occupancy max, very clean) The Central House is a very modern place and everything is very well thought-through (in dormitories, you have opaque curtains for the window but also for your own bed, the beds are very comfortable, the shower is very functional with nice hot water, the walls and windows are of very good quality and soundproof - everyone deals differently with noise; I personally use earplugs and slept really well). The lobby and the inner courtyard were really nice features of the place; there is a bit of movement so you can easily meet other guests, but it is also quiet and respectful so you can get some work done (I worked 5 days from here and it was very comfortable) The restaurant that is attached to the Central House is also really nice. It serves nice breakfast and also tapas/menu del dia. At weekends, there is a very cool vibe going on (music, projection on the walls, nice drinks and nice crowd) The location is my personal favourite. Lavapies is a very vibrant and cool neighbourhood. You can find many small restaurants and bars where locals gather later in the afternoon or in the evening. It is also walking distance to everywhere (15min to Gran via, 10min to Sol, 5-10 min to La Latina/Barrio de las letras). You will fall in love with Lavapies :) The Central House is value for money! I have stayed in different places in Madrid and so far this is my absolute...