High Tech Petit Palace Embassy, Madrid

Advantages: Very close to the Puerta Del Sol and Gran Via.
Disadvantages: None

...I booked our short break through Expedia, who are always good at finding the best deals. Neither myself nor my husband had been to Madrid before, so we had no knowledge of the city at all. I researched the layout mapwise, to find out where the centre was regarding shopping, bars etc. The Puerta del Sol seemed as central as we could get. The hotel was on the Via Arenal, just off the square. On arrival we were greeted in good English by a very friendly receptionist and the check-in was smooth. The hotel was bright and modern. Not huge, but for a city centre it was big enough. There was a lift to all floors luckily, as we were on the 5th. Our room was large and airy. Satellite TV, air conditioning (a blessing in July), large double bed, plenty of storage and a wall safe. The bathroom was clean and roomy with one of those... Read review

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Advantages: It's a wonderful city
Disadvantages: None!

...This is my first opinion. I hope it works out fine... :) I've been living in Madrid my whole life. In fact, I'm Spanish, and I'm just studying abroad for a year (currently living in St. Andrews), so I think I can speak from my own experience about this wonderful city. Madrid is the capital of Spain, so many people from other parts of Spain usually go to live there. That makes of Madrid a city with a great mixture of cultures and a huge diversity of styles. When one visits Madrid for the first time, one gets the impression that it's a chaotic city. People running to their jobs, traffic jams all over the place, so many shops that you get lost.... Lots of colours, lots of sounds and the usually high pitched voices of Spanish people (no, we're not fighting when we talk to each other, we just like to express ourselves moving a lot our... Read review

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Advantages: Very close to city centre and transport, Cheap.
Disadvantages: Can be noisy

...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. We also... Read review

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