Hotel Auditorium, Madrid

This is a hotel that I frequently stayed in whilst flying, I sometimes felt that half of my life was spent here and this review documents my experiences.

About the hotel:
The Auditorium Madrid Hotel is the largest hotel in Europe (apparently) and is located a 10 minute car ride from the Airport There are 870 bedrooms across four floors, two bars, a restaurant, haute cuisine restaurant, a gym and beauty centre, swimming pool, ...
.../> Getting there:
The hotel provides a complimentary shuttle mini bus service from the airport. It is infrequent and many a night I have stood with my crew in the pouring rain/cold waiting for it!

First impressions:
The main foyer is very grand, marble floor, antique furniture, potted palms and a grand piano. As you enter the lobby bar is on the right. There is also an ATM.

The room:
We were put ... more

This is a hotel that I frequently stayed in whilst flying, I sometimes felt that half of my life was spent here and this review documents my experiences.

About the hotel:
The Auditorium Madrid Hotel is the largest hotel in Europe (apparently) and is located a 10 minute car ride from the Airport There are 870 bedrooms across four floors, two bars, a restaurant, haute cuisine restaurant, a gym and beauty centre, swimming pool, 45 meeting rooms, guest parking and a conference centre for up to 8,000 delegates. So as you can see, it really is huge! It was opened in 2002. It is also a 4 star hotel, not 3 stars that is how Ciao has it rated.

Location:
As previously stated it is located close to Madrid airport on the N-II motorway. This is a very busy road and the location does not look prestigious. There are a couple of other budget hotels along this road and a strip club (I think quite a few pilots probably ended up here) and a couple of chain-esque restaurants. All in all, not the most desirable location.

Getting there:
The hotel provides a complimentary shuttle mini bus service from the airport. It is infrequent and many a night I have stood with my crew in the pouring rain/cold waiting for it!

First impressions:
The main foyer is very grand, marble floor, antique furniture, potted palms and a grand piano. As you enter the lobby bar is on the right. There is also an ATM.

The room:
We were put up in the Executive Rooms, which are a bit grander than the Standard Rooms. The rooms are imposing if rather dark and a bit gloomy. Lots of walnut antique type furniture, king size beds (very cosy) a large sliding door wardrobe with a full-length mirror and some generic print paintings. The television has around 30 channels including BBC World News, Sky News and Fox. The one thing the rooms have missing is a kettle, I am rather fond of drinking tea and a kettle would be a very nice added touch. The mini bar in the room has a small selection of overpriced drinks and a large bag of very salty crisps which I once opened when I was absolutely ravenous and Room Service had stopped serving. The rooms have all the usual hotel equipment-telephone and notepaper and a pen, which came in handy on subsequent flights. Also to be found is a shoe shine which came in handy to keep in my flight bag!

There is heating/air conditioning which mostly works effectively and a safe.

The bathroom:
Nice bathroom, typical white marble effect. I always found mine to be clean and the power showers are really good! The usual selections of toiletries are provided in little plastic bottles-shampoo, shower gel, body milk and soap.

Food and drink:
The breakfasts here are superb. It's buffet style so you simply help yourself to whatever you want. There is a wide selection of food from pastries to cereals as well as drinks. I was often too lazy to go to breakfast and would order Room Service breakfast. This was always served on a nice tray and would consist of fresh fruit, pastries, orange juice and either tea or delicious coffee. To make the most of it I would suggest going down to the buffet though. I wasn't impressed by the other food even though as crew we got a 10% discount. The Room Service menu and Lobby Bar menu consists of mainly of a choice of 3 sandwiches or chips. The sandwiches are quite all right when you are hungry but at around 11 Euros I do not feel that they are worth it. The bar has the usual range of overpriced drinks and there is a restaurant but it is rather pricey so we never ate there.

The service:
I have never been too impressed with the service here. Whilst the employees are never actually rude they are quite abrupt, unfriendly and unhelpful. The one exception is one of the waiters in the bar who has always been downright rude. Our drinks were constantly slammed down, he pretended not to speak English and only mumbled at us. Even after numerous complaints he was still there. The service is also very slow and a simple sandwich can take nearly an hour to prepare even if the bar is empty which it mostly is. If the hotel improved it's customer service it might live up to it's four star rating.

Facilities:
There is good internet availability here, wireless internet and four computer terminals in the lobby provide free internet access. The swimming pool is quite good and the gym is quite well stocked. There is also an 'Executive Room' also called a 'VIP Room' that we were entitled to use. Apparently there are an assortment of pastries and drinks served here but it was always empty when I went in. It's just a large pink lounge with lots of chairs and little round tables. There is a hot drinks machine which looks impressive but doesn't actually work that well.

Room rates:
I have found rates varying between £50 and £100 per night.

Bottom line:
A perfectly adequate hotel, would be better if they trained the staff and provided a better selection of food. Fine for a night but if you are staying longer and want to see Madrid it may be better to book a more central hotel.

Avenida de Aragón, 400
28022 Madrid Phone: 34 91-400 44 00
Fax: 34 91-400 44 09 

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