AC Hotel by Marriott Atocha, Madrid

Nice rooms, good service. Clean and good location. Short walk to nearby attractions and retiro park.

The only reason we picked this hotel was that of the close proximity to the Atocha Train Station. The hotel is located behind the train station; it’s about 10 minutes walk. Since the hotel is close by we were worried that the hotel will be too noisy; boy was I wrong. The room was furnished with minimal modern flair and the bed firmness was perfect for us.
We were astonished to realize most of the museums and major attractions are only 15 to 30 minutes walking distance from the hotel. And other attractions are only two or three metro stops away.

There are plenty of bars and restaurants in and around the hotel, but we were adventures enough to go way out of our way to find perfect restaurants in another part of town, and it was totally worth the effort. Give five stars for fast check-in and friendly staff, close proximity to the train station and very quiet location.

All of the reviews say how close it is to the train station, but nobody really tells you how to get there.

As the train arrives, look to your left, you will see the hotel. But you can’t get there from here. Don’t follow everybody else upstairs, stay on the platform and walk towards the train station. From the Metro, go up to street level.

Then follow the signs for platforms 13-14-15. Then you will see a sign to exit to onto Mendez Alvaro. Once you are outside go under the bridge, make a left, and follow the wall of the train station until you see the AC Hotel across the street on your right.

If you missed the side entrance, when you walk out of the main entrance keep left and make a U-turn and follow the train station wall.

If you find yourself upstairs at the taxi stand, walk to the left (against the flow of traffic) to the far end (where it looks like a brick wall), and you will see a stairway going downstairs to the street.

The hotel is very nice and modern. The bathroom is a bit of a joke. It’s not even a bathroom. It's an area of the room. It’s obvious that whoever designed this space never once stayed in this or any hotel.

There is zero privacy in the bathroom. Which is not a big deal if you are a married couple. The glass walls have shadows on them to hide most details, especially when the steam forms on the glass. The toilet room is a small closet with a shower door that has black glass. The door just swings and doesn't latch.

The things that bothered us the most include the following: There are no hooks for your travel bags or towel bars. The toilet paper is in a ridiculous spot in the toilet room. There is no room by the sink for your items. The sink drained, but there was always residual water in the sink because of a bad design flaw (what ever was in the residual water splashed on you ALL THE TIME). The only time there wasn't water in the sink was when the cleaning staff came in to freshen the room. The bathroom "area" was very dark. The floor in the shower hurts your feet. The body jets are too low and are more like leg jets. The other thing to keep in mind is that if you or your partner wake up in the middle of the night, s/he will wake you up. The light in the toilet room comes on with motion and is bright (especially if you are/were sleeping). Again, the bathroom/toilet area is right next to the bed.

There is also no convenient outlet to plug in an iron. You either drag the board into the bathroom (where it's dark) or put it in a corner by the desk. If you're lucky enough to have the room we were in, you'll find a shoe print on the ceiling.

All that being said, it still a Marriott hotel that's clean, safe, modern, and close to everything.

We Absolutely Loved It. It's a nice clean and quiet hotel. The rooms are not small with Adequate living space that don't make you feel cramped. The bathroom was an experience, and being on our anniversary trip. We enjoyed the experience indeed. We did buffet breakfast 1 day and although not grand had some variety and was quite tasty. The staff that we encountered on the visit were very professional and pleasant to deal with - most knew enough English to satisfy all our queries. There is a small garden area to the back, it was a sweet addition for sitting outdoors and chatting. There are food places 2 minutes walking distance and the Atocha train station is a brisk 5 to 7 minutes walk. We enjoyed our stay at the AC Atocha.

Buena ubicación a 5 minutos de Estación de Atocha, malos los colchones, no me gustó la habitación, sin vista a ningún lado.

Buen hotel en línea con la cadena, aunque los precios están muy altos en la línea marcada en Madrid.