Juan T.
Yelp
Located in Chueca, the gayborhood of Madrid, this is an excellent value for the money. The clientele seems to be anywhere from 50 to 80% gay depending on the night and what is going on in Chueca ( during Madrid Pride, 110% gay, as the hotel teems with guests ). You are walking distance to everything in Chueca plus Gran Via. All the front desk staff are professional, all speak English ( some French, German and Italian as well ), and the housekeeping staff was thorough and respected the " Do Not Disturb " signs.
The rooms are modern and well decorated, with large bathrooms, great lighting, plush towels, high quality linens, and the mattresses firm but not hard-as-a-piece-of-plywood as is often the case in Spain.
The only downside: the walls are indeed thin, so if you are a light sleeper I recommend ear plugs or a white-noise maker. You can run the A/C Fan in the room and it will drown out most noises - and by the same token, mask yours ;-) Come on guys, be courteous to your neighbors at 4am after a night out at Liquid or Hot or Enfrente or wherever you spend the evening!
That being said, this is Chueca - I do not recommend this hotel for families with small children or business travelers, neither of whom are likely to be staying in this neighborhood anyways, but just in case you fall into either category. Be aware that on weekends especially, most of the guests are busy partying well into wee-morning hours in the bars/clubs of Chueca.
The Wi-fi was OK - it worked best in the lobby, but the signal in the rooms was a little weak. I had to go downstairs twice to use Skype, but sending e-mail and browsing the web in the rooms was OK, if a little slower than what I'm used to.
It is well worth the extra 5 or 7 Euros per day for the breakfast - breakfast choices in Chueca are over-priced relative to value, you will easily pay closer to 10 Euros in the nearby cafes for less variety than the Oscar's buffet. They have an egg/omelette station, plenty of pastries and juices. My only complaint was, besides the oddly nightclub-like room the breakfast area is located in, was the fact that I didn't want to hear trance/house music at 9 am while eating my scrambled eggs. Had enough of that the night before!
The Oscar is one of the best hotel values in Madrid for those wanting to stay in Chueca and avoid the crush of tourists in the Prado area and the other tourist corridors.