We could not have been happier with this place. Stayed 7 nites. Everything was modern, good A/C controls, dishwasher, good sized fridge, nice bathroom, plenty of closet and drawer space. Fantastic location...we basically walked everywhere although the Metro stop was virtually outside the door. They have thought of everything, including two umbrellas which we found in a drawer and used. King sized bed advertised but was actually queen-sized. Perhaps Americans and Spanish have different terminology for bed size.

We stayed at the Magdalena 38 apartment for one week (September 27 to October 4) and although it seemed a bit intimidating to be renting an apartment instead of staying in a hotel, it was a great decision for us. First, Nuria was great in helping us with not only the details of the apartment and how to get there, but the ins and out of the Madrid airport (which is huge!)

The apartment was smaller than it looked in the pictures, but it soon became clear that it was well organize and had everything we needed for a comfortable stay. Even after only five days in hotels before we arrived, it was a great relief to have access to coffee (without going out), a washer and dryer (a special treat for my daughter who is in the Peace Corps in Uganda and hadn't had access to a washer and dryer for 14 months!), and just a place where we could hang out that was larger than a hotel room. During our stay Spain had a one day general strike and having access to a kitchen and grocery stores turned out to be a real life-saver. Everything was shut down except for grocery stores, museums and the transportation system. We shopped at a grocery store, made ourselves a couple of bocadillos (sandwiches) and watched the strike unfold both on the streets of Madrid and on TV.

The apartment location is good, just off the Anton Martin stop of the subway station (which was easy to navigate for me, and I'm directionally impaired) and half way between the main square in town and the Prado. Another previous review discussed the "transitional feel" of the neighborhood, but I have to say that I appreciated being an area that was less tourist-focused and the opportunity to mix with "regular folks". Two restaurant recommendations: We dined at La Sanabresa twice and it was fabulous. Their lunch menus if around 10 euros and includes two courses, dessert, and a 1/2 bottle of wine. The food was really great and there were almost two many choices! Also, Taberna Maceiras was amazing. Show up right when they open, though. We got there ten minutes before they opened for dinner and there was already a line to get in. Seats were all filled within 15 minutes. This is one time when being an American and having an American eating schedule worked in our favor, as we were happy to be seated at the very unfashionable 8:00 dinner seating! Great food, and relatively inexpensive!

Back to Magdalena 38, we also enjoyed the unexpected treat of the use of a laptop and Internet access during our stay, it was especially helpful.

We really enjoyed our stay at the Magdalena 38 and would gladly stay there again should we return to Madrid.