Madrid hotels

[Robert Ward]

Hi Jane,
There are a number of cheap, decent hotels in Madrid's Calle Fuencarral, which runs north from the Gran Via, just up from the Puerta del Sol, the centre of Madrid (and of Spain). The area is a little seedy - don't have your valuables hanging out where someone can grab them - but you can't beat it for convenience. In 2000, the price range was around 4000 pesetas, or $30-35 Canadian, for many of the hotels, but you can go lower by going higher: if they're on the 6th floor and there's no elevator, the price goes down. Good training for the Camino, too. If you want, I can try to fish up a name or two, but you might be better off just tromping around to three or four places and picking the one you like best. In many cases, there are several pensions on different floors of the same building.
 Bob from Toronto

PS. There is a star system for hotels in Spain, but there is also a less expensive category than hotel called "Hostal Residencia". These places are marked outside "HR".