Review: Hilton Madrid Airport

Review: Hilton Madrid Airport

10

In this instance my flight arrived from New York before 7AM, and my flight to Frankfurt was after 3PM (I intentionally planned such a long layover so I could take the once daily LAN flight between Madrid and Frankfurt).

I was on back-to-back redeyes, so I figured getting some rest was important for maintaining my sanity. I looked at Madrid Airport hotels, and noticed that the Hilton Madrid Airport offers day rates of 64EUR. These allow you to stay from 9AM until 6PM, though I find they’re usually pretty flexible about the hours you stay. That seemed like a good deal to me, and well worth it to get a few hours of “real” sleep.

Hilton-Madrid-Airport-Rate

I should also note that Hilton is one of the few hotels I know of which lets you book day rates directly through their website. Other chains make you call, but with Hilton you can simply select the same check-in and check-out date, and it will show you day rates if available.

After visiting the Iberia arrivals lounge I took the moving walkway up a level, back to the arrivals level, where I followed the signage towards hotel shuttles.

That took me outside past the taxi stand.

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Madrid Airport terminal exterior

From there I turned left.

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Madrid Airport hotel shuttle bus center

There seemed to be two main stations for buses. There was a larger bus station where several buses could actually park, and then there was a single station for hotel buses. I stood there for about 15 minutes, at which point the Hilton bus showed up.

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Madrid Airport Hilton shuttle area

It was more of a mini-bus with about a dozen seats. And it was a really cool bus at that, as it had that new car (bus?) smell, and also had some cool LED lighting. While the hotel is really close to the airport, the shuttle made two more stops which were rather far away, and I sort of felt like we were driving in circles. The entire drive took a bit over 15 minutes.

Upon arriving at the hotel I headed towards the reception desk at the left, where I was checked in by a very friendly associate within a couple of minutes. She explained that I had been upgraded to a Relaxation Room, and also explained that I had access to the club lounge, which had opened for breakfast at 7AM.

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Hilton Madrid Airport lobby

The lobby of the Hilton has a good amount of seating, which felt quite modern. While the “bones” of the hotel felt a bit old, the actual furniture seemed to be pretty recently updated.

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Hilton Madrid Airport lobby

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Hilton Madrid Airport lobby

The hotel also has a nice atrium, the centerpiece of which is La Plaza, the hotel’s main restaurant.

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Hilton Madrid Airport lobby

I took the elevator up to the fifth floor, where my room was located.

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Hilton Madrid Airport hallway

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Hilton Madrid Airport atrium

My room was at the far end of the hallway. The Hilton uses room keys with chip technology, much like you’d find with most modern credit cards.

Unfortunately I couldn’t actually get the door to open, as I just got a red light, rather than the green light I was expecting. So I went back downstairs and had them make me a new key. The friendly associate offered to go upstairs with me to make sure it worked, though I said “don’t worry, I’m sure it will be fine.”

I headed back upstairs, and go figure the key didn’t work again. I headed back downstairs, and at this point spotted both a look of horror and some laughter on the front office associate’s face at me being there again. She made me a new key and then walked up to my room with me.

As it turned out, I just wasn’t holding the key against the door long enough. I felt like such an idiot!

The Relaxation Room I had been upgraded to was surprisingly nice, if not a bit oddly shaped. The centerpiece of the room was a king size bed.

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Hilton Madrid Airport King Relaxation Room

As is the norm for Hilton, I didn’t find the bed to be especially comfortable. It was extremely firm, and only featured very small nearly-square pillows. Am I the only one who likes spooning a full-body pillow when sleeping?!

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Hilton Madrid Airport King Relaxation Room bed

Behind that was the entryway to the room and the bathroom, which featured two sliding perpendicular doors.

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Hilton Madrid Airport King Relaxation Room

Behind the bed was a desk, with a fairly comfortable rolling office chair.

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Hilton Madrid Airport King Relaxation Room desk

Then in the corner by the window was a chair with ottoman. I couldn’t figure out whether I considered it to be retro or modern.

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Hilton Madrid Airport King Relaxation Room chair with ottoman

Then along the right wall of the room was the TV, minibar, and a table with a chair.

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Hilton Madrid Airport King Relaxation Room TV & table

I thought the table with chair was pretty awesome, since you couldn’t even see the chair when it was properly placed under the table, since it was exactly the same shape. It was much easier to “spot” when you took it out.

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Hilton Madrid Airport King Relaxation Room table with chair

The room faced the nearby highways, though the glasses were tinted in such a way that I couldn’t easily look out of them without them reflecting.

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Hilton Madrid Airport King Relaxation Room view

The bathroom was large, with a sink, jacuzzi tub, walk-in shower, and partitioned off toilet and bidet.

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Hilton Madrid Airport King Relaxation Room bathroom

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Hilton Madrid Airport King Relaxation Room sink

There were double the standard number of Peter Thomas Roth amenities.

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Hilton Madrid Airport King Relaxation Room toiletries

The jacuzzi tub looked pretty awesome, though I didn’t have time to use it.

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Hilton Madrid Airport King Relaxation Room soaking tub

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Hilton Madrid Airport King Relaxation Room toilet

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Hilton Madrid Airport King Relaxation Room shower

I figured before taking a nap I’d head up to the club lounge, which was located on the top floor. It was a nice space, and completely empty when I visited. In addition to a decent number of tables, there was also an area with couches, as well as a business center.

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Hilton Madrid Airport Executive Lounge

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Hilton Madrid Airport Executive Lounge

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Hilton Madrid Airport Executive Lounge

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Hilton Madrid Airport Executive Lounge business center

The breakfast spread was definitely on the simple side, with toast, rolls, pastries, donuts, cold cuts, fresh fruit, and cereal.

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Hilton Madrid Airport Executive Lounge breakfast spread

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Hilton Madrid Airport Executive Lounge breakfast spread

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Hilton Madrid Airport Executive Lounge breakfast spread

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Hilton Madrid Airport Executive Lounge breakfast spread

There was also a self serve espresso machine, as well as a cooler with yogurt, soft drinks, and water.

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Hilton Madrid Airport Executive Lounge breakfast spread

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Hilton Madrid Airport Executive Lounge drinks

I worked for a bit and eventually managed to fall asleep at 9AM, and napped for three hours. Unfortunately it wasn’t even good sleep. It was super windy outside, to the point that I could hear it nonstop from inside. Still, three hours of decent sleep in a bed is better than nothing.

I quickly hopped in the shower, and then shortly before 1PM headed downstairs to check out. When I was going to pay I realized I didn’t have my wallet. I ran back to the room and realized I had left it there. Good thing I realized that before heading back to the airport!

At 1PM I took the shuttle back to the airport, where I was dropped off about five minutes later.

Hilton Madrid Airport bottom line

Overall the Hilton Madrid Airport was fantastic for my purposes. It was close to the airport, the day rate was reasonable, and the hotel’s decor was pleasantly surprising. As a brand standard, I wish that Hilton would improve their beds (especially the mattresses and pillows), though that’s more of an issue I have with the overall brand than this specific hotel.

I continue to think that getting a day room during a long connection is a great way to make travel less exhausting, and that was certainly the case here, even though I only got a few hours of (interrupted) sleep.

Conversations (10)
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  1. Tania Guest

    HI Lucky

    Do you think that some rooms are quieter than others? Thanks

  2. Massi New Member

    I really like the stylish retro design, it looks a bit like rooms of rich europeans in the 70ies: http://travelwithmassi.com/hilton-madrid-airport-2/

  3. thomask Guest

    how many points did you end up getting in total for this stay?

  4. JustSaying Guest

    This truly questions your ability to plan a trip..........the game has smothered you and you have died in its' grasp...........

  5. Farnorthtrader Guest

    Okay, Lucky, could you stop staying in Hiltons? You are staying in them, being treated very well, and then telling everyone about it.
    I liked it much better when you were fighting with DCS and telling people how horrible the Hilton program is. At this rate, you will have everyone discovering how great Hilton is and ruin it for DCS and I.

  6. Nightliner Member

    Re: Hotel cosmetics...Anybody else here doesnt understand Hiltons Peter Thomas Roth toiletries? Everything is somehow super-/ultra-/mega-/-rich/-smooth, and in the end, the bright mandarin scented shower gel looks and smells like Tang and feels like just any other shower gel. What exactly is deluxe about a dental kit?

  7. FE Member

    You were on the right track with the red lounge chair, it's a classic design from the 1960ies. Beautiful piece and still being manufactured, retails at around $5k or so but of course the one Hilton use might be a cheapo knock-off, you never know. Nicely done hotel, though!

  8. Mark R Guest

    I stayed there just a week ago Friday on our way back home from Spain! Unbeknownst to me, there were about 20 models and their posse staying there at the same time. Hard time convincing my fiance' that it was simply coincidence :) I used points + $ (like 36 Euro) and think we got a lot of value out of the lounge and breakfast. IMO the beds were pretty comfortable but I bet the wine helped me sleep.

  9. Paul Rowland Guest

    Nice looking hotel, modern but kind of retro. With you living in hotels, are there any toiletries that you actually take with you to the next hotel? Favourite brands? Thanks

  10. May Guest

    We stayed at this hotel about 5 months ago. We took the same LA flights from MAD to FRA, overnight at Hilton FRA (fantastic experience) then FRA to MAD, overnight at Hilton MAD (horrible stay). We were only at the hotel for less than 6 hours as we arrived very late and had to leave very early next morning. We had exactly same type of room you had - king bed very uncomfortable, huge bathroom...

    We stayed at this hotel about 5 months ago. We took the same LA flights from MAD to FRA, overnight at Hilton FRA (fantastic experience) then FRA to MAD, overnight at Hilton MAD (horrible stay). We were only at the hotel for less than 6 hours as we arrived very late and had to leave very early next morning. We had exactly same type of room you had - king bed very uncomfortable, huge bathroom with spa bath, separate shower and toilet etc. the room unfortunately smelled smoking - and we are non-smokers

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Tania Guest

HI Lucky Do you think that some rooms are quieter than others? Thanks

0
Massi New Member

I really like the stylish retro design, it looks a bit like rooms of rich europeans in the 70ies: http://travelwithmassi.com/hilton-madrid-airport-2/

0
thomask Guest

how many points did you end up getting in total for this stay?

0
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