Much-Needed Rest At Hilton Madrid Airport

I’m live-blogging my SAS EuroBonus SkyTeam Milion Mile challenge this week. Click here for background and route information.

After a long two days of flying, it was great to check in to the Hilton Madrid Airport and enjoy much-needed rest.

Hilton Madrid Airport Review

The nightly rate was $161 but I got 20% off via Orbtiz (since I booked flights on this site) and figured it made a lot more sense than trying to go into town (I had an expiring night certificate with Marriott and would have loved a night or two at the Westin Palace).

Airport shuttles often are not worth the hassle, but we were fortunate we did not have to wait more than five minutes for one to whisk us away from MAD Terminal 2 to the hotel, located about 10 minutes from the airport.

I  no longer have Hilton status, a preview of what is to come with Hyatt next year. It was different to have to pay for bottled water and be told that my check-out time was at noon…

The room and especially the bathrooms, as I recall, have not changed since my first visit to this property in early 2010. The rooms were quite clean and I happened to like the green marble in the bathroom, but for our purposes, we just wanted a room with two comfortable beds to sleep…and sleep we did.

But first, a little complaint. Why would a hotel pool and wellness area only be open from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm? Is this a Spanish thing? A European thing? (the Sheraton and Hilton at Frankfurt Airport pull this as well and it is maddening…).

The hotel has a nice sauna and steam room and an even nicer indoor pool… with a padlock and chain on the door.

I do consider it bait and switch: I booked this hotel so that Augustine could swim and I could sit in the sauna…it was what we wanted and I could have stayed at a cheap Ibis if I just wanted a place to lay my head.

The fitness center was open 24/7 and in the same location as the pool and the wellness, so why not leave the steam room and sauna on 24/7 as well?

But nothing at night and nothing in the morning, which I find particularly egregious (especially because you can go into the locker room and the sauna and steam room are there, just off. I mean, is that to save power? How silly is that?

We slept very well…the beds and bedding were great. In fact, we were so tired that I slept through a (thankfully resolved) emergency at home. My wife Heidi has a special ring tone and it rings even if the phone is on silent mode. Well, she called seven times in the middle of the night and I slept through all seven of them…

Agustine slept for 10 hours…but it was sleep we needed.

In the morning, I checked out the breakfast spread (27 EUR for folks like me without status) in La Plaza Restaurant (6:30 am – 10:30 am) and it was very respectable, with Spanish, Continental, and US staples as well as made-to-order eggs.

The hotel’s other restaurant, Reserva Grill, was located on the lobby level and open for lunch and dinner. The hotel bar, Ferrum Bar, was adjacent. The lobby had a nice atmosphere with a fireplace and comfortable seating.

On the other side of the check-in desk were several ballrooms and conference facilities.

We took the shuttle back to the airport, which left on time and took just four minutes to get back (versus 10 minutes going).

CONCLUSION

We enjoyed a nice night at the Hilton Madrid Airport Hotel. I appreciated the clean and comfortable room as well as the generous breakfast spread. What I did not appreciate was the very limited pool and wellness hours, which I believe are non-sensical, particularly at an airport hotel with people staying from time zones around the world.

Would I return? Certainly…it was really easy, even the shuttle. But I’d love it if the hotel would be a little more flexible on its amenities…