Hostal Ballesta

Every time I visit Madrid I stay here, you can't find a better location, close to almost every tourist attraction. The only thing it lacks: a tourist hustle and bustle. Authentic bars and restaurants without “tourist tax”, small grocery stories, laundromats, everything is a few steps away. The staff is super friendly, the price is reasonable, and the Wi-Fi speed is the best I have ever experienced in any hotel around the world. If you want to feel real Madrid, to become a part of this magic city I would definitely recommend this place to stay.

Rooms were lovely and spacious, great shower and bathroom area. Comfortable beds. Friendly, helpful reception staff, smooth checking in on line before arrival. Comfortable, relaxing lounge area with coffee machine and drinks machine. Luggage storage. The hotel is located in a quiet side street near Gran Via and all that Madrid offers. (First impression was we'd hit the red light district! but we were not hassled and felt safe at all times). Just a turn left out of the hotel and a few streets down was an area of small shops and bars, a completely different feel to the bustling tourist areas. Definitely recommend and would stay again.

Nothing!

Excellent value for the price. Best location in town. Located a few meters away from la Gran Via, one of Madrid's main avenues, and a walking distance from some of the city's main attractions. Also, very close to three metro stations with access to some of the main subway lines.

This hotel is located in a street where sexual workers have offered their services for many years in Madrid. This means you will find prostitutes in the street outside of the hotel.

Great location for being able to walk to lots of tourist sites and museums within about 20 minutes or under and close to Metro stations . Lots of bars and places to eat around too. Hotel staff were pleasant and efficient and the hotel itself is very clean. Our double room was very clean and bed was comfortable. Small lift to rooms if needed and a pleasant shared lounge area near the reception with papers and a vending machine. Safe in the room.

The room would benefit from a new coat of paint just to brighten it up but, as we had booked in advance, we had a very good rate and were more than happy with it.

- you are just 3 minutes walking from Gran Via. The location and value is simply unbeatable. - Metro and buses close by, so you can get anywhere you need pretty quick. - great staff, clean facilities. - A/C worked perfectly (we even got cold inside when outside was 36C).

- walls are paper thin. Be ready to hear every word and noise from your neighboring rooms (it can get uncomfortable if you have for example a romancing couple in the room next to yours or super loud group coming back from partying late at night). - Room Door had a big gap underneath, so you also hear people walking and talking in the corridor. Would be nice to make those doors sound proof.

Great location within walking distance of many top tourist attractions in Madrid. This includes about a ten minute walk to Puerta Del Sol and the Palacio Real. We stayed in a comfortable room with a personal bathroom and shower which made for a great value relative to the price.

It got very stuffy at night (we went in November) and we could not set the AC to an optimal temperature due to local statutes. The window would not stay open either.

Friendly staff, especially given we spoke no Spanish! Happy to provide items like irons etc. The room itself was a comfortable base for a week's stay. Great central location within walking distance to everything.

No A/C (installed but not operational) when we stayed end of June 2022, despite room being advertised as with air con. There was a wall mounted fan and shutters which made the 36 degrees Celsius weather just about bearable. Would have rated 9/10 otherwise.

location is excellent! not in main Avenue, so don’t expect noise from outside

Needs refurbishment, cleaning can do better. checked in in a room where toilet was still dirty, changed to a room clearly made it up in an area where supposed to be for hotel offices. Checked-in in an strange room and asked to change to a room more comfortable and with light.

Excellent choice if you manage your expectations - it's not Ritz but you don't pay as for Ritz. Clean, comfortable, perfect location, all works. I'd say more than 2* place they have officially. Rather to be treated as sleeping base than stay-in base but great value.

Excellent location off the Gran Via. Able to walk everywhere. Plenty of restaurants and cafes in the area. Close to public transportation with easy access to the subway. The hotel is also secure. We never felt unsafe.

Everything was fine.