My wife and I visited the Hotel Praga in November 2005. We stayed four days during which time we visited the sights in Madrid and around.
We can only give praise and positive feedback about our visit to this hotel.
The hotel was easy to find with a map downloaded from the internet. The hotel staff were very efficient and speedy when we checked in. We asked for a quiet room on a high floor and we were given exactly what we wanted. You would have thought we were in the hotel on our own ! - it was a great room allocation. Rooms at the front of the hotel were probably more noisy but our room was extremly quiet.
The room was of adequate size, well appointed, with a comfortable bed, chairs and table, plenty of storage space and a super bathroom. The size of room wasn't important to us as after a long day walking round Madrid, a nice shower and a comfortable bed were the most important factors !
We didn't eat in the hotel. We bought rolls, ham and other things and had a lovely DIY breakfast in our room before leaving for the day's expedition. We took a kettle and coffee as there wasn't coffee facilities in the room. We can recommend "Museo del Jamon" for super rolls and ham and pastries.
There are bars and restaurants in the area around the hotel, but we ate in the city before returning to the hotel. We found some really nice places to eat tapas and meals around the Plaza Major area.
For us, the best thing about the Hotel Praga is the location. It isn't in the city centre; it's about 8kms from the city. We like to stay out of the centre and travel in each day. Couldn't be easier from this hotel ! Bus stop outside the hotel ... 20 mins later .. you are virtually in the Plaza Major - only a few minutes walk ! Very reliable, very frequent and cheap !

To summarise, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Praga. We have no negative comments to make. On the basis of our experience, we would recommend the hotel to anyone visiting Madrid. We would certianly stay there again if we visited Madrid.

I can't believe the negative press this place has got! We stayed at Hotel Praga very recently and really enjoyed our stay, the guys on reception we great - telling us the best sights to see and looked after our cases on our last day while we went off.

Agreed, the bar staff don't generally speak English, but we're not in England - how many English or American bar staff in the UK or USA speak Spanish? I don't agree that it is our devine right to expect that they should.

The best place to go out of the hotel is Cafeteria Oviedo - the guys in there are really friendly and most speak english if you don't feel the calling to try and speak Spanish. It's on the same side of the road as Praga about 100m away.

The hotel itself is spotless and the prices in the bar are reasonable.

We fould that being a little out of the centre was a bonus - on the Metro it's just 10 minutes - and Antonio Lopez has some lovely restaurants and bars to wind down of an evening, so you can avoid the hussle and bussle in the evenings and stay around the hotel area.

Would I recommend it? Yes, and on top of that we will stay there next time we are in Madrid without a doubt!

Found this hotel on holiday rooms direct for a very good price which is why we chose it. Other reviews seem to indicate the opposite but we found the front desk to be both helpful and pleasant - especially Carlos! Good English spoken on reception as well. Hotel well placed with bus to centre directly outside,and metro about 300 metres walk. You can get from the airport to the hotel by metro for under 2 euros per person, even though on the opposite side of the city. The metro is cheap and efficient and takes you to all the main tourist sights - 10 journey combined metro/bus ticket is 5.8 euros, and this can be shared between travellers. Many tapas bars in the area of the hotel serve breakfast but if you want chat and advice go to La Parada and see Salvatore - 50m from the hotel on the right on the way to the metro - advertises many languages spoken, and it's true.....

quality not a 4 star like itis suposed.
not heating in bedroom, till November, waiters in good need of new uniforms,
wallpaper falling of the walls,staff not friendly ....