Suite 33 Hotel

I live in Madrid; I feel I live in an undeveloped country when I have to use a taxi in my city. No doubt taxi drivers are the most ignorant people but at the same time enough clever to try to thieve us. Most of them represent the most abominable guys you can find in Spain. Bad guys. They always try to steal to Spaniards and most frequently to foreigners, because taxi drivers think they are stupid. I always try to avoid using taxis. If there is no remedy to pick up one of them: control that taxi drives put the taximeter on before the taxi speed up, Try to see if he looks for the longest travel. And finally, at the end of the travel you must control carefully that he doesn?t put the taximeter to cero or stand by before he asks you the money. They used to do so, suddenly the digits have disappeared, and in this way they invent the amount of money. If you go to or from the airport formally you must pay 4, 5 euros plus the amount indicated in the taximeter only. You haven?t to pay any extra for any baggage or packet. In summer 2006 the cost to go to city centre is around 20 euros and 10 more if you go to the south of the city. They always try to get (rob to you) 2, 5 or 10 euros more. They think that they have the right to collect the gratification directly. Taxi drives as the rest of them all over the world don?t represent the good people that I?m sure you will find along you trip. Since a lot of years, city council in Madrid works hard to try to organize and control the misuses and trickery but is a lost battle. In general they are no honest people at all. Try to use Metro (underground) o buses. I can?t stand when they try (or sometimes achieve) to steal me, and I used to go to the airport with my baggage in my own car, put it in a cloakroom, return home to park my car and then go back to the airport by Underground (Metro). Good luck.