Catalonia El Retiro

The room was actually quite nice. However the area isn't the best but good enough. But the service could be better. Got locked out of the hotel by night and it took almost 20 minutes for someone to assist us. A hotel like this should have a 24 hour reception. Also the pool area and pool was nice but small. And I liked the breakfast but it was definitely not worth the price.

Excellent hotel close to the metro and bus stops, providing superb service, comfortable rooms and a great selection at breakfast. Everywhere was immaculate, and the staff couldn't do enough for you. It ranks as one of the best hotels I've stayed at !! I'd return in a heartbeat... Many thanks to all the staff.

Its close to Atocha, rooms are a good spec but checking in took an age, passport, email, phone number, fill in form with name and address and sign even though this was booked online. The girl at reception was less than welcoming and i had been travelling since 8am and just needed to get to my room and when all was done she started the learnt garbage nobody listens to and could see i was desperate to get in the lift, i asked her 3 times what the room number was as i had the keys and eventually she divulged it was on the card but i needed my glasses to see all the time she was pretending to be helpful and cordial but really being annoying and fake. Apart from that everything is copasetic. The are is handy for public transport and close to retiro and museums but not great if you want to wine or dine locally. For €240 im slightly disappointed as this is very quiet season in Madrid!

My experience at Catalonia El Retiro in November 2025 was extremely poor and completely inconsistent with what I expected from a hotel advertised as four-star. I booked the hotel largely because of its strong rating on Booking.com. What I found when I arrived was very different. The furniture was in terrible condition, parts of the flooring were broken, and even the telephone in the room was not connected. The overall condition of the rooms was unacceptable, particularly given the premium price being charged. After seeing the condition of my first room, I was moved twice, meaning I stayed in three different rooms in total. All three were bad. This was clearly not a case of simply being unlucky with one room. Based on the three rooms I personally experienced, the standard of maintenance was extremely poor. I am adding photographs to this review so that prospective guests can judge the condition for themselves. This review reflects my experience in November 2025. It is possible that the hotel has renovated or improved since then, but at the time of my stay, I could not understand how the property could reasonably be described as a four-star hotel or have the strong online ratings that influenced my decision to book it.