My wife and I have been traveling for 5 months, we stayed at the Hostel Alaska (HA) just starting our second month, the second week in February, 2011. We often talk about what was our favorite or least favorite experience, food, etc. When we mention HA, it is in the category of least favorite lodging.
HA is located about one block from the Playa de Sol, which is full of activity night and day. The hostel is not hard to find, right in the center of restaurant and bar scene, the "Tampas Crawl" route. HA is located on the 5th floor, which with no elevators and often dark stairwells, made for an unpleasant trip at night. The building is old and not clean, which did help the walk up.
When we checked in, nobody spoke English and we speak very little Spanish. The basic message: we had to pay in advance, seven nights worth. At this point we should have looked at the room first. Our big mistake. Our room was the largest, so size was not an issue, it was dark and dusty. The furniture was old and stained, as were the blankets. The room faced an interior air shaft, which meant we couldn't hear the street noise, but we could hear everyone in the building facing the air-shaft, we heard singing, guitar playing, conversations, coughing, etc...The walls were very thin as well, so we could hear the above and just about everything else going on near to us.
Bottom line, we stayed six nights too long.
We will not return.

We stayed in a room with a double bed and an en suite bathroom. There were also 2 single beds in the room we were in so it could accommodate up to 4 people. The room was basic and the bed was stiff.

There is another hostal which shares the floor as Hostal Alaska, but it seems that they are run by the same people as the check in desk was actually in the other hostal. The doors to both remained opened during the day, but at night, there were closed and you had to use a key. There was an elevator to get to the hostal, which I recommend taking as the stairs were very dark and smelled.

Overall, the building looked old but it did look like they had renovated some stuff. The bathroom in our room looked like it needed to be renovated. The room was simply furnished with IKEA furniture. Some of the furniture looked like it had seen better days.

This hostal was located close to the Sol metro station and on the other side of Plaza Sol is Plaza Mayor. They take credit card and there is wireless internet but it was very dicey and we could barely get it to work, and when it did, it would cut out very often.

Overall, this place worked just fine for us as we were only there to sleep. The price was cheap but it definitely was not fancy or luxurious.

This is a bit late, was actually there for 3 nights with my auntie and uncle (both in their 60's) in Sept '09. Must say that it was a fabulous stay ... location was fantastic, very near the Metro and right smack in Puerta del Sol! What more could we ask for?

Security was good, as there was so many gates to be opened before we reached our room ... Only drawback would be the lift, it wasn't working all the time, and it was a bit scary to climb the stairs up at night by myself, after going downstairs to the various bars for a drink alone! Good thing the lift was fixed in the mornings, so my aunt and uncle had no need to use the stairs.

We also enjoyed free wifi in the room. The toilet was clean, though the shower area might be a bit small. But that's Europe for you I guess.

I forgot the name of the guy who was in charge during that time, but he was very kind and helpful, always there to assist and answer any queries. Kudos to you. :)

All in all, it was a fabulous stay and I would stay here again if I ever go back to Madrid!

My wife and I (both in our mid 60s) stayed at Hostal Alaska for 8 nights in mid February. We did so because we planned to make four day trips out from Madrid during our stay, and the location + price of this hostal cannot be beat. We stayed in Room 7, recommended by another Trip Advisor poster, and we were very satisfied -- this room is very quiet, spacious, and the bathroom was large enough for our needs. There was plenty of heat, no small consideration at that time of year. I had written about our expected 10 am arrival time after an overnight from the States, and staff were waiting to let us into the hostal and the room so that we could rest a bit before plunging into Madrid. Housecleaning was done thoroughly every day. Other than that, we asked for no services from staff, and actually went days without seeing anyone. We are very independent travelers, and this is not a place for people who want a lot of service or support. The hallways have a worn look with some graffiti, and we wondered about our neighbors in the building, but the hostal was fine. The elevator is creaky but gets you up and down. Again, the hostal cannot be beat for location -- access to Madrid's and Renfe's transportation network, and easy walking to all the major museums in the city. At 55 euro a night a great way to do Madrid. Tip: the sign is very small -- the hostal is wedged between two Irish pubs.