Los Amigos Hostel

This place was great! The staff was friendly. The common areas were very clean. We stayed in a 4-​bed room and it was very comfortable. The location is prime to various parts of the city. I would definitely stay here again.

The building is like a movie set, vast ancient wooden doors lead to a cool marble foyer supported by iron pillars, then either take the lift or the broad stairs up to the 4^th floor. The friendly staff all speak english, there is an immaculate kitchen where you can cook your own food and freeze water in the big fridge freezers or keep your cherries nice and cold for the next day. The showers are big, there are three internet computers you can pay for or wifi for your laptop.
There are lockers in the rooms but you have to provide your own padlock or hire one from reception. There is also a deposit for your bedclothes, (EUR5) but towels are not provided.
There is a small communal area beyond reception where you eat food, if you don’t want to eat in the kitchen, and watch tv if you’re getting too hot outside. The main street outside, the Arenal, is a pedestrianised shopping street, one of the nicer ones in Madrid, and there are lots of nice shops on your way to one of the major attractions. The Hostel is very close to the Opera and the Palacio Real, and the Oriental Gardens in front of the palace is a nice place to spend the evening.
The things I didn’t like about the hostel was that it was very, very noisy (the street noise outside didn’t stop til 9am) very warm (no air conditioning) and mixed. Certain men may think wow but frankly it’s embarrassing trying to get changed and fall asleep in a roomful of strange women (two americans and two australians on my first night).
Nevertheless, for only EUR21 for a six bunk room, which includes an all you can eat breakfast, this is exceptionally good value, and you are right in the heart of things. Just don’t expect to sleep much!