Ole International Hostel

You get what you pay for, and while this place is cheap, it's not super great. Not a bad place for a day or two, but if you can afford to upgrade, then I wouldn't stay here. Looks good initially, with a decent common area and kitchen, but the rooms are pretty cramped and stuffy. Maybe the ratings a little harsh considering the price, but there are better places to stay in Madrid, if you can afford the extra euros.

I stayed here for one week when looking for a place to stay. Staff are unfriendly and immature. Only two showers and one toilet for men. They charge different prices for different people. The more beds the more expensive! Breakfast was good and kitchen facilities adequate. Only two computers for internet but it is free. Take a lock, sheets, and towel, or they will charge you to rent these. Try to get a bed up on the top floor as it is quiet there. Smoke from lounge rises up and all rooms can seem smoky until the early hours. Overall, the staff do not make visitors welcome.November is a quiet time but it must be pretty awful here during peak season.

I've slept in all kind of places around the world, but this is the worst. Unhelpful staff, filthy bed sheets, dirty pillows (never seen this before!), old beds (dangerous to sleep in), too many people in a crappy room, and untidy bathrooms. It couldn't be worse than this. Just don't stay there. There are other and better places than this.

Very good hostel. I was there just one night but I've found a great hostel. It's not the cleanest in the world, ok, but it's a hostel and you must know where are you going. The bathrooms are good (high-pressure showers, hot water) and the room is ok. The breakfast and the sheets are included in the price. There are two common areas with TV and DVD, in addition to the kitchen. The staff are very helpful and familiar. Very well located (Malasaña is one of the most animated neighborhoods in the city). The only bad thing is that the air-conditioning was insufficient. I will return to this hostel.

I found this to be one of the best hostels I stayed at in all my travels!! The staff were adorable and willing to help. It has a great DVD selection and an easy environment for socializing with other guests. There were people from all over the world while I stayed here!! And all the facilities were kept really clean at all times. If you like easy-going types, this is a great hostel.

This is an okay place to spend a night if nothing else is available, but do a little digging before you stay here. If you plan on being in Madrid for a while, definitely look for somewhere else. The dorm was extremely cramped. I had a hard time getting past the backpacks. There was air-conditioning, but it wasn't sufficient. The layout isn't great, and certainly isn't conducive to meeting other like-minded travelers. But the worst part had to be the washrooms and showers. They were truly filthy. I'm neither a large or small guy, but I couldn't fit into the toilet cabins. And of the two showers for men, one left its occupant clearly visible through an outside window, to guests in one of the other rooms! Ha! Ha! Well, I got a laugh out of it anyway! The place is well located though. It's very convenient, near the subway and not too far from Gran Via. I stayed here in July. It's probably better in the off-season when it's less cramped and a lot cleaner.

This hostel is average —I've been in better and I've also been in worse. We didn't encounter any rude receptionists, but the staff did seem a little on the disorganized side. We checked in around 12:30 p.m. Checkout is supposed to be 11 a.m.; however, our beds weren't ready as the people who had them the night before hadn't even woken up yet. The hostel wasn't as clean as it's shown in the pictures, but what hostel ever is? The bathrooms had a nasty tendency to run out of toilet paper, and not all of the showers were working. The staff were friendly and helpful for the most part. The kitchen and the free breakfast are definite perks.

I thought the staff were helpful. The woman at the desk not only gave me a tour of the place, but she also helped me carry my bag to my room. The place is decorated and colorful, and the environment is friendly. They have a pretty good selection of DVDs that you can borrow and watch in the kitchen or the reception room. The showers are dorm-style, and unless you are royalty, they are perfectly fine.

Small rooms and dirty bathrooms. The staff were probably the rudest staff in any hostel. They made me wait 15 minutes to check in while they were busy talking with friends. This is not so much a traveller hostel, as it seems to be mostly locals staying here.

I must say I expected a lot more from this hostel. The location is great, but I found the staff unfriendly and unhelpful. The day I was leaving to travel on to Zaragoza they sent me to the wrong bus station, and I had to travel to the other side of Madrid to get to the correct one! Don't be fooled by the "International" label, either. The hostel had mostly Spaniards who seemed to be a tad annoyed that there were people from other hostels there! The accommodation itself was below average, and I got shifted around a lot. I was on a top bunk by the end, which was very hard to get to as the ladder didn't seem to fit properly to the bars on the bed.

It was by far neither the greatest nor the worst. I didn't meet the female receptionist everyone else didn't like but I did get the unfriendly welcoming. I felt like I was inconveniencing the desk clerk's conversation with countless other Spaniards when I arrived late in the evening. I barely got any attention in finding my room. The room was so small, and no net on the window which made for more than my fair share of mozzie bites. I had to sleep with my pack on my bed because there was no room on the floor or under the bed to wedge it under there. And the bed was small to begin with. The internet was broken while I was there and when I asked to use the computer they said ok no problem, only for me to realize on my own that it didn't work. One good thing about this hostel, it had a really good kitchen that was clean and spacious.

I've stayed in many hostels and this was by far the worse -- too many people in one narrow room, and a very rude, unpleasant female receptionist. I do not recommend this hostel to anyone.

I thought this hostel was alright! But yeah, a very rude female receptionist, but the rest of the people there were awesome. It was relaxed, clean and comfortable, with really warm doonas/duvets!

It's OK, so long as you don't expect too much. Try to spend as little time here as you can and you'll be alright.

This hostel doesn't even deserve a star! EXTREMELY RUDE people, a lot of noise when you do want to sleep, too many people for a small number of bathrooms. Also, the Gran Via is 5 minutes away on the bus, not walking distance.