Synthesis

Considering a 2-3 night stay in Madrid next week and was wondering what the best Accor Hotel was there. Thinking between the Pullman or a Novotel or Mercure that is more centrally located. I am with the car.

The only reason I would not go for Pullman is location. Not too inclined to choose a Novotel as I'm a little bored of the boring/standardized rooms - unless the particular Novotel can make up with a really cool restaurant/bar area which some Novotels do have, and/or the Novotel looks better than the Mercure's. I've stayed in some very unique and cosy Mercure's but also stayed in some that lacked any type of character at all. Definitely not interested in Ibis.

Am a Platinum by the way.

R.O.

There's no decent Accor property if you ask me. I'd go with another chain or even a non-chain option.

If pressed, I'd vote for the Mercure Placa d'Espana. But again, I don't think Accor has good options in Madrid. (The Pullman at the airport is okay-ish. Not the greatest option at the airport, either. But a more serious contender among the airport hotels than Accor's city-center properties are among the city-center hotels. But I don't think it's sensible to take an airport hotel for 2-3 nights).

JTCz

I can recommend the Ibis close to the Bilbao metro station (Madrid Centro IIRC), good location and decent for an Ibis, even if tricky to get into with suitcases. A good way to burn points given that "premium" options are not that stellar.

Otherwise, I agree - even the "upper" brands have so-so hotels in so-so locations - Mercure Lope de Vega (now called Madrid Centro or something) has perhaps the best location if you are there for sightseeing / museums. Novotel is quite far away from the main sights.

nrouxel

Novotel Madrid centre is really not in the center of Madrid, but rooms are nice and you have a bus stop just in front of the hotel ( 15 minutes to Madrid center).
If you are driving with your car, Novotel Las Ventas maybe easyer to drive to. You have a bus and an underground stop near ( 20 to 30 minutes to madrid center)
I don t really like Pullman Feria : not Pullman standard and to far away from the center.

R.O.

I really don't see the point in going for a mediocre Novotel or Mercure when there are much-superior options closer to the city center which see fewer bus tour groups and are more modern?

What can Accor do for you as a Plat in a Mercure or Novotel located in Southern Europe? Give you marginal upgrade from Superior to Deluxe or Executive? Same room but with a bathrobe and a Nespresso machine? 2pm late check-out?

I don't think that's worth being loyal for. I understand on an abstract level that a Plat status may sometimes sway you in the direction of Accor. But I think the property should be competitive to begin with. This is not the case with Accor's Madrid properties IMO.

You might want to look at IHG (e.g., Indigo) or NH. Hilton and Melia also have properties which look interesting, albeit I haven't stayed at them personally.

hotel_user

Think some of the Spanish Chain hotels will do a status match as well

There is a website statusmatch . com I think

testman

You could try Novotel Madrid City Las Ventas and write a review for us
I think it was renovated earlier this year. I stayed there a few years ago when it was called Novotel Madrid Puente de la Paz. It was OK. Nothing particularly good or bad about it before the refurbishment. It's just outside the M-30, so not exactly in the city centre, but it's quite easy to get to the airport.

I dislike the location of Pullman and Novotel Campo de las Naciones - close to the airport, but no life in the area.
I'd rather stay at ibis Barajas before my flight. It's a standard red ibis (no frills), but the location is better. Next to the hotel, there's a quite big supermarket with a decent selection of Spanish foods. There are plenty of cafes and restaurants too.

IMH

I'd second R.O.'s semi-enthusiastic vote for the Mercure Plaza de Espana. A few of us have reviewed it here, with most recent reviews being broadly positive.

But it's not special (and on our most recent trip to Madrid a few weeks' ago we chose a Meliá property).

marcoos

I stayed both at Mercure Plaza de España (for a week) and the Pullman (one night). Both are nice, the Mercure is just better located if you want to do some standard sight-seeing. The Pullman's location is only good for visiting the trade fair or if you want to spend some time in the nearby Juan Carlos Park (nice large park with some weird post-modernist sculptures scattered around).

Also, Pullman feels very "businessy" while Mercure has a much chiller vibe. It's one of the nicer higher-end Mercures.

Goldorak

It’s good to know that the Mercure is now a decent place, because it used to be a dump one.