Q.I am going to Madrid to be near the Prado for study. My usual people at Doorways Ltd. have apartments in Italy and France but don't do Spain. I'm looking for a rental company I can trust so there will be no surprises and so I will have someone to call if there is a problem. Failing that, can you recommend some hotels near the Prado?
Mark Oxman,
Amherst, Mass.
A.Finding a rental company you can trust is hard, and best found by word of mouth. I reached out to Andrew Ferren, a frequent contributor to the Travel section who has written "Save or Splurge: Madrid" (April 26, 2009), a column about living on $250 and $1,000 a day in the city, and "Madrid Finds Its Own Marais" (July 19, 2009), about the fashionable Conde Duque area of town, both found on the Madrid travel guide.
Mr. Ferren spoke to several people he knew who had used apartment services and none recommended the places they'd used - though there are many such companies, including www.homesfortravellers.com and www.vrbo.com, both of which have many options and decent sites. You should also know that Doorways (www.villavacations.com) does have listings in Spain, including well-equipped studios with kitchenettes in the boutique hotel Espahotel Amador de los Rios in central Madrid, a 15- or 20-minute walk from the Prado.
A friend of Mr. Ferren's, who is a curator and frequently travels as an art courier to Madrid, recommended the following hotels, each about a five-minute walk from the Prado; the list has also been vetted by other friends of Mr. Ferren's.
Hotel Lope de Vega (Lope de Vega, 49; 34-91-360-0011; www.hotellopedevega.com), advertising special rates from 65 euros per night, or about $97 at $1.52 to the euro; Hotel Husa Paseo del Arte (Atocha, 123; 34-91-298-4800; www.hotelhusapaseodelarte.com), with rates for early November from about 90 euros; Hotel Ritz (Plaza de la Lealtad, 5; 34-91-701-6767; www.ritzmadrid.com), currently advertising rates from 280 euros per night. Another option close to the museum, recommended by a Times reader and included in the recent "100 Hotels for Under $150" feature (Oct. 11, 2009), is Room Mate Alicia (Calle Prado, 2; 34-91-389-6095; www.room-matehotels.com), above, with rates starting at 96 euros.
