Hotel Chamartin The One

The location is convenient as it’s right by the entrance to the metro and the central railway station. The staff are friendly. The low rating is due to the fact that they charge €130 a night for a hotel whose rooms are in a dreadful state: poor-quality bed and pillows. The duvet cover was coming off. I had back pain throughout those three days and didn’t sleep well. The corridors smelled of tobacco and the walls were damp. Given the price they charge for a so-called 4-star hotel, they really ought to take a bit more care over the upkeep of the premises.

The rooms at The One are clean but dated. Location is good for a one night stopover but look elsewhere for longer stays. The WiFi is useless, so beware. It kicks you off repeatedly and is nearly impossible to sign back in. Proximity to Chamartin station is the only true positive.

Despite literally needing customers in order to survive as a hotel, the staff does their very best to convey resentment of your mere existence. 1. God forbid you speak english. The immediate resentment and exchanged glanced were palpable, and I'm not easily offended. Let me say: not understanding English and working at the front desk of a hotel in a major tourist destination is definitely a choice. I'm not saying this as an entitled American, but come on - someone on your staff has to know a couple words in English. The likely majority of the guests in the hotel are English. Put a Google translate iPad on the front desk. Anything. 2. Every time I came back into the hotel, the staff scowled at me like I was some vagrant off the street. Once, a woman intercepted me fairly aggressively asking me questions very quickly in Spanish. I did not understand, and of course she did not understand English either. Simply turning and walking away to the elevators appeared to do the trick. 3. The Americana Burger was amazing. Food was great. Service, again, was terrible. Lots of groaning and moaning over the language barrier. Like dude, you appear to have worked here 20 years - figure it out. So sorry you have to wait for me to get my translate app out. 4. The Wifi is terrible. I had three or four dropouts during a remote class. The login portal is completely broken. 5. This hotel is maybe 3 stars If you hire better front desk staff, that can reasonably accommodate an international clientele. I was told on my European adventure that the French would be snooty and resentful - literally not one person gave me attitude in Paris(naturally, I always said bonjour) but here in Madrid it appears completely unavoidable. People do not want you there. Please internalize that. And this hotel most of all. No te veré.

I have been staying at this hotel for years, primarily because of its location right at the Chamartín train station. The train station and it surrounding facilities have been undergoing significant renovations for years. As a result, it is often a mystery as to what you will find when you arrive. For me, every new arrival brings new buildings, and most significantly, new construction. The hotel's website advises that there is major construction going on in the vicinity, which is unrelated to the hotel. That doesn't mean that it will go unnoticed in the rooms. It is quite possible that you will hear jackhammers operating at 11 o'clock at night. It is also quite possible that you will hear banging sounds even at 8 o'clock in the morning. I think the hotel understands the situation and tries it's best to be accommodating. So, I was more than pleasantly surprised when the hotel upgraded me to their junior suite This is the first time I stayed in their junior suite, which is an entirely different experience from their other rooms. It was thoughtfully laid out, including contemporary art, and was completely clean and comfortable. I understand most of the junior suites also come with a large private balcony, which, depending on the time of year, would be delightful. One of the most thoughtful touches, in my opinion, was the vanity. I wasn't expecting to have white colored rocks, under lights, beneath the sinks. The pleasure of this upgrade really did help compensate for the construction sounds around the hotel that were quite unavoidable. I plan to return again and again.