The Place
At first sight this looks like a run-of-the-mill city centre hotel and indeed the bedrooms, though renovated and spotless, and well equipt with bright modern bathrooms, are impersonal. Scratch the surface, however, and you will find a family-run hotel that cares for its individual guests. The original owner’s grandson, now in charge, eschews organised tour groups.
The hotel has a great variety of bedroom and family rooms. Some rooms on the first and second floors have small balconies and five rooms at the top of the building have fair sized, sun catching roof terraces. The Carlos V is also one of the few hotels in its class in Madird to have plenty of double beds. The hotel’s greatest asset is its stylish sitting room with its crystal chandeliers, large mirros and moulded ceiling.
In a pedestrianized street next to the Puerta del Sol (‘the centre of Spain’), the Carlos V can be a maddening place to find in a car. The convenient location has its disadvantages. A good nights sleep in summer depends on getting the right balance between ventilation, street noise and the din of the air-conditioning.