Hotel Madrid Plaza de España, Affiliated by Meliá

The thing to know about hotel quality in Spain is that the number of stars a property is afforded is based on a government-imposed point system that is fairly easy to game. This means that if a property checks a certain number of boxes -- say, it has a kitchen, modest fitness room, laundry service, and room service -- it can receive a four-star rating even if no luggage trolleys or carts are available onsite and there is no doorman or bellhop to help with shuffling bags down the several stairs leading from street to hotel lobby level. Yes, such is the case that the Spanish hotel star-rating system sets aside more elemental characteristics like the upkeep of the property, condition of the room, training and professionalism of the staff, quality of sheets and linens, overall comfort, etc. in favor of more superficial ones. And so it was that my expectations for this hotel property and the reality were at a marked disconnect. I have Priceline.com to thank for abetting in this ruse and who were useless with my communications via their mobile app for SOS intervention going unaddressed. Priceline paired me with a mystery "central Madrid Four-Star Hotel" for around US$140 per night resulting in this disappointing and rather tawdry property where I spent the first four nights of my three-week Spanish holiday situated in Madrid's equivalent of a noisy Times Square tourist ground zero. First off, the room I was assigned had visibly-apparent peeling and stained paint and all around cheap disposable Ikea-like furnishings. I immediately asked for a room change and while the new room was in better visible condition it had other less immediately visible flaws, namely a lower floor, less light, a much louder HVAC, interior doors that would not close fully, and placement on a side of the building more exposed to street noise. After a night at this second room, dubbed a "premium room," apparently because its upgrade consisted of including an electric kettle with tea bags and cheap instant coffee, I complained again and was this time moved to a third substandard room where I spent three additional unhappy nights of being subjected to emergency vehicle sirens at all hours of the night and early-morning street construction noise. One or two of the front desk were simply not cut out to be working a job at a guest hotel and when I raised the issues described here grew irate to the point of confrontation and arguing with me. When I finally had an opportunity to speak to the property manager who is onsite only sporadically, she was sympathetic and made vague promises to make amends in the way of some future credit for a stay in a different Madrid property but nothing came of it, apart from a free breakfast despite my emailing her multiple times to follow up over my three weeks in Spain. Overall, if you can find a room here for under US$90 per night and you have luck with your room assignment or upgrade, you may do OK. The fitness room, while far from remarkable,