Sorry if this has been asked before but it's very difficult to find useful information without the search function.

I will spend a weekend in Madrid in early May. So far I haven't found much useful information about gay nightlife on the web. Is there some kind of "gay" area with many bars and clubs nearby? Any nightlife recommendations? (I'm NOT into bears/daddys/leather/S&M stuff, but otherwise pretty open to different crowds/scenes.) Places to eat? website recommendations?

I've researched some hotels but I'm unsure about the location. I prefer subway rides during the day over longish taxi rides at night, so like a location that's good for nightlife.
The Clarion Preciados (C/Preciados 37) and the Sofitel Plaza de España (C/Tutor 1) look pretty good to me. Good rates and good ratings on tripadvisor. My brother recommended the Gran Melia Fénix (C/Hermosilla 2) which looks awesome, but costs about 50% more than the other two. Any comments about these properties? Other recommendations?

Thanks for any input

andy