For being right in the middle of the city, Hotel El Nogal is surprisingly quiet. Some rooms face a small street that does not have a ton of traffic, and others look out on to a small plaza behind the hotel. The hotel is only a few blocks from Plaza Mayor and is walking distance to virtually anywhere in the city.

The staff is helpful and friendly, the rooms clean, and my only complaint is that staff apparently has difficulty with the concept of Do Not Disturb. Even when I left the little sign on the door, they entered my room to clean and they would call me to ask if they could come in. It made me feel a little uncomfortable that they were so eager to get into my room even when I didn't want them to.

Skip the breakfast served in the hotel's bar area. The front desk person also serves the breakfast, running back and forth between throwing your croissant in the toaster (my husband's got totally burned) and manning the front desk--which is busy in the AM because... more