Hostel Center Madrid

Me and my three friends had a traumatizing experience. If you are a woman DO NOT STAY HERE. The showers are see through and visible from the hallway, towels are not free as implied, nor is there AC like they advertised. The rooms are disgusting: we had ripped and stained sheets and hair all over the floor of our private room. The male attendant at the front desk entered our room without knocking or anything at 4 in the morning, and looked into our beds while we were asleep. I woke up to him peering into my friends bunk. When I asked him why he was in our room he ignored me until the second time when he came back and accused us of having a man in our room. We insisted we did not (because we didn't) and he then ignored us and left with no apology. We felt completely violated, and when we tried to talk to the hostel, they defended him! NOT A SAFE PLACE FOR YOUNG WOMEN.

Look, this hostel was the cheapest in Madrid at the time I booked it, and my experience reflected this budget-friendly price point. I stayed in an 8 bed mixed dorm and it was fine, I liked that it had privacy curtains, however there wasn't any aircon so it got hot (I can imagine it would be very hot in summer) and the lockers were physical standing metal ones which I found awkward to access sometimes as they were jammed between the beds. I also found the top bunk difficult to get up to and I think this is due to the positioning of the ladder. There is a small "kitchen" (microwave and fridge) which was fine for my stay. The problem I had with the common area is that seating wasn't very comfortable and there was very little of it. It would be nice to have somewhere to hang out and relax without having to spend all afternoon in the dorm and this is something they could perhaps work on. The bathroom was small but fine. Be warned though that the showers are glass and there is very little privacy here. The location, however, is excellent- very close to Gran Via, there were at least 3 supermarkets within walking distance, a fantastic selection of restaurants, and great public transport nearby. If you are happy to overlook some of the hostel "luxuries", then this hostel is a fine, budget friendly option. It is not a very social hostel so if that is something you are looking for, you may like to look elsewhere. I will say that the ladies at the reception were lovely and more than happy to help out.