HOTEL DON PIO

We have stayed twice at this hotel and will do again. It is very convenient- central location, a metro stop right there, very walkable area, a huge supermarket right across the street, tons of coffee places around. We did not eat a lot in the hotel as we preferred to explore, but it was convenient to have a bar and dining area right there. Rooms are large and comfy. In spite of being on a busy street, it is peaceful and quiet. The clientele skews older and business-like, which was fine with us. Staff was very helpful. To contrast, we also stayed in a Marriott-related hotel near Atocha station. It was central, but not the same kind of central- you had to walk more to get to places, there was more traffic in general, and less food options around. The vibe was younger and more dynamic, but also busier and hectic. So if you want to stay in a central and quiet hotel in Madrid, away from the tourist hordes, Don Pio is a good option. Not the cheapest, but very worth the price.

It's really not a big hotel, it's really not fascinating and breakfast is not impressive, but the workers over there are realy getting to your heart. We met there a family and especially a receptionist who did everything to let us feel at home. His name is Gema Vázquez Ortega, and he is a proffesional. Such a nice person, who took care for us with blankets he brought from an available room, since it was really cold at night (I did not put airconditioning by mistake). This nice hotel is located about 20 minutes walk from Real Mdrid home stadium. Breakfast is regular for europeans, I've seen better ones, but room was with good beds, very comfortable for 3 persons as we were (1 adult and 2 teenagers). The cost of our stay there was quite good, and in front of this hotel there was a mall with variety of shops for food and a supermarket that has everything for citizens and also for tourists.

We arrived late at night, desperate to shower & sleep, but the shower was not working - there seemed to be something wrong with the handle to transfer water to the shower head. Once the hotel’s front desk employee had finally sorted that out, just very hot water came out as cold water could not be added for some reason. I had to spend more than an hour asking the hotel man to come back again and again. There was no reduction to room price and the management is not responding to emails of complaint.