Fine but quite a way from the centre (Novotel Madrid Campo Naciones)

Member Name: liamb71

Product:	Novotel Madrid Campo Naciones
Date:	28/05/09 (8 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Clean, modern, good customer service

Disadvantages: Room size and location

The Novotel Campo de Las Naciones hotel is located in the main business of Madrid, a short underground ride from Barajas airport. During the week it is obviously principally used by businessmen, but at weekends the rates are much more reasonable and it was for this reason that I took a school group to stay there a few weekends ago - I hasten to add that unlike a number of city centre hotels in the Spanish capital, it is not a magnet for noisy teenagers from all over Europe, so don't be dissuaded from staying there if you want a nice quiet weekend away!

The hotel's obvious advantages are the aforementioned proximity to the airport - if you don't want to do the one stop on the underground, there is a free shuttle bus which runs for 18 hours a day - and the fact that the Novotel brand tends to afford you a reassuringly high standard of cleanliness and customer service. This hotel did not disappoint on either of these aspects, but it has to be said that the standard 'one double, two single sofa beds' rooms are pretty small if you are looking to fit a whole family plus luggage in them - I have stayed in Novotels where the room size is clearly bigger.

By far the biggest disadvantage with this hotel is that at weekends, you really do feel that you have walked into a ghost town, much in the same way as you would in various areas in and around Liverpool Street in London. It does not take more than 20 minutes to get to the centre of Madrid, but you need to do your sightseeing and eating there before heading back to the hotel to do no more than sleep, as there really is nothing to see, do or eat anywhere near the hotel, and you are thus left at the mercy of an expensive hotel bar and restaurant. This is fine if you are not planning to dance the night away, but had I been looking to do so and decided to go home at 3 or 4 in the morning, I would have been looking at a seriously expensive taxi ride or waiting til the underground started again!

So in short, deciding whether or not to book this hotel is very much about what you are looking to get out of your weekend. If you are an 'early to bed, early to rise' kind of person who doesn't mind hopping on a tube (not forgetting that a ten journey ticket in Madrid costs as little as £7) and does not need to have the sights on your doorstep, it's a good option. However if you like to be at the centre of things and walking home after your night out, this one is very definitely not for you.

Summary: A Novotel hotel in the heart of Madrid's main business district