Hostal Bianco

When I arrived at my hotel in Madrid it was nearly midnight and the taxi drove up this dark narrow alley that looked a bit dodgy! I found my way up the stairs to the reception of the hostal (the name for small cheap hotels). After resorting to using Google translate, as the night staff spoke no English, I checked into my room.

It was pleasantly large and the bathroom was new and very clean. The shower turned out to be one of the best so far. I was a little disappointed that my window opened onto an internal courtyard but as I later found out, this was a really good thing. The alley that looked empty and dodgy on a Wednesday night became a hive of people, lights and small tapas bars on Thursdays to Sundays.

I chose the hotel because it was cheap with good reviews and close to the Puerto del Sol, the Times Square of Madrid. The location was perfect for me, walk five minutes one way to the square and all the tourist attractions, walk the other way and I was in the middle of alleys and little local squares filled with restaurants, bars, and flamenco theatres. All for only 60€ a night ($90 NZD) and given I was only in it for a max of 7 hours to sleep it was just right.Read more