My brother and his wife stayed at this hotel in Feb. 2008 with their teenagers and then recommended the hotel for myself and my sister and my mother who is 82 yrs old.

the hotel is clean, neat and very comfortable and quiet. it is around the corner from the Prada museum and walking distance to many great places in central madrid. the hotel staff were wonderful, kind and helpful. they even kept an extra bed in the room so my mom did not have to climb stairs to go to the bathroom (it was a two story suite). and did not charge us for it. I would recommend this hotel to anybody. the staff went out of their way to make sure that your stay was wonderful. we did not eat at the hotel resturant. there are plenty of good resturants just around the corner from the hotel. the hotel price was on par with other hotels, yet it was far above what I expected. classy place. stay here and you will be happy.

L. Pritchard. 3/2008

We stayed at the Villa Real for New Year this year We stayed for 5 nights having stayed here a couple of years ago. I have a rule that says "you should be very wary of returning to a hotel that you loved on a previous trip" however I could not resist the Villa Real.

When we arrived we were shown to our room and it was exactly as we remembered it beautiful wooden floors and the sitting area down one step from the bedroom in fact I think it might have been the exact room we stayed in last time. We kicked off our shoes opened our complimentary bottle of wine and started to relax and then it happened................................the bang bang bang of the workmen in the room above. After some 30 minutes I telephoned the reception to complain and the man on the desk could not have been less interested. "We need to refurnish our rooms” he informed me. However after some instance and a complaint to the manger we were moved to a lovely two storey suit on the 4th Floor. After that and despite what many other reviewers have said we experienced no further noise disturbance.

The Hotel is located very near the Prado and opposite Parliament. We found it convenient walking around the old town. With plenty of restaurants and tapas bars near by. It was very close to SOL where we spent New Years Eve.

We received a bottle of wine and a bunch of grapes (a Spanish New Years tradition) on NYE and all in all we had a great stay. The bar at the hotel is really nice and they pour the largest Gin and tonic I have ever seen.

After the bad experience I had in the hotel I had initially booked to stay in Madrid (Senator Gran Via), Hotel Villa Real was an authentic escape to heaven!! The 2 days my husband and I have stayed there changed our opinion on the city. We booked the duplex suite: the first floor looks like a home office with a restroom, TV and a small balcony. In the upper floor there is a bedroom, a good restroom and a spacious terrace, with a wonderful view: the square in front of the hotel, Paseo del Prado (2 small blocks away) and the side of Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (entrance is 2 and a half blocks away).
The location is just perfect: very near city’s three most famous museums (Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza and Reina Sofia) and Santa Ana Square, a lovely place where you may find many restaurants and tapa bars. The hotel is also in a short walking distance of Puerta del Sol, but far enough to avoid all its movement.
I totally recommend this hotel!!!

Villa Real is in the perfect location! Literally a five minute walk to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, a ten minute walk to the Museo del Prado, and then from the Prado an additional ten minutes to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. The hotel is also situated a fifteen walk to Plaza Mayor. Thus, it is extremely centrally located with a nice view of the city. I will say that if your room faces the main street and you are a lite sleeper, the noise from traffic may bother you. Once the windows were shut though, all was fine. The room itself is very cute. Bed on one level and then a step down to a sitting room with the window or terrace over looking the city. Plasma tv- but you are in Madrid and probably won't be watching tv (I hope anyway!). Breakfast was included and I thought it was extremely well done. It consisted of basic Spanish meats, cheeses, fresh fruit, and pastries. The staff was very attentive.

I would suggest that if you intend to see all three museums on your visit to Madrid, then the best thing to do is to buy the three pack pass for 14 EUR. You do not have to wait in ticket lines to get into the museums and you just pass those waiting who need to buy their tickets and enter.

Also, another tip would be to use the Metro from the airport. The line is pink and number 8. Take it from the airport to the last stop called Nuevos Ministerios. The metro costs 2 EUR and from Nuevos Ministerios you can take a 7 EUR taxi ride to the hotel. This was very easy and much cheaper than taking an expensive taxi all the way to the hotel.

All and all, while the hotel says it is five star, I myself would consider it a 4 star. An extremely nice touch was in our room waiting for us after our first day in the city. It was flowers and a 500l bottle of Spanish wine with a welcome card from management. I thought that was an exceptionally nice touch.

If I returned to Madrid I most certainly would stay at Hotel Villa Real and would suggest it to any family or friends traveling to the city as well. Location perfect, room quite nice, priced competively.

Enjoy Madrid and the Villa Real!