Me and my girlfriend decided to visit Madrid last summer. So being the students that we are we booked cheap flights on easyjet. That was the easy bit. The hard part came later when we had to decide on a hotel to stay in. We wanted somewhere close to the city centre as we were only there for a few days but we had to do it on a budget but wanted to go slightly better than a hostel, it was after all our first holiday abroad together.

We eventually settled on the Hotel Asturias because it fitted what we wanted. It is extremely close to the city centre which is what we wanted as we were only there for 3 nights. It is only minutes away from the Calle Gran Via, one of the main shopping streets in Madrid. It is also minutes away from two metro stations (in opposite directions, either Sol or Sevilla which will connect you up with anywhere in the city. There are a number of bars and restaurants nearby, just have a wander around which is what we did most nights and found some really good places. The second reason we chose it was because it was relatively cheap. We paid £145 for 2people for 3nights including breakfast. Which we thought was excellent value.

To be honest we didnt spend much time in the hotel as we were busy exploring. However, the rooms are fairly modern, comfortable and very pleasant. All rooms are en-suite. The rooms were clean and inviting, if a little basic. All rooms also come with satellite/ cable TV , a phone, a safe and central heating. The only slight problem with our room however was that it was at the front of the hotel and right over the road which could be a little noisy. But I guess that this is a price you have to pay for having a hotel in central Madrid.

The only meal that we ate there was breakfast although they do have an à la carte restaurant which serves lunch and dinner. Breakfast is eaten in this same restaurant and its very pleasant, and naturally lit by huge windows. You are sat at a table for breakfast and given a cup of coffee if you wish. Then a plate of pastries and bread and a second with hams and cheeses on it are delivered to your table. These are all very tasty and enjoyable. So much nicer than a buffet which we were expecting. We found that breakfast always filled us up nicely and rarely ate much for lunch despite us spending a lot of energy exploring the city.

We found Madrid to be very nice. We found lots of nice cafes, bars and restaurants. One thing I would recommend is a visit to the Templo De Debod. Its an Eygptian temple that has been brought over from Egypt to Madrid as a present for the Spanish helping with a new dam. It has been re-built in the Parque de la Montana and is well worth a visit, its free to enter and look around. Of course another place to visit is the Palacio Real. This is very interesting and well worth a visit. It is still used (although not owned) by the Spanish King. Visitors are allowed to look around 50 of the 2800 rooms. The entrance can be hard to spot, it is on the south side of the palace and indicated by a blue "Entrada" sign. Whilst the Palace is impressive in size we were really amazed by the broad range of styles used to decorate the rooms. No two rooms appear to have been done in the same manner. Entrance costs 7 euros, although concessions can get in for 5.50.