Hotels near Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD)

Barajas is split across terminals that aren't all connected landside, so the first decision is which side you'll actually be flying from. If you're on a T4 departure or arrival, Aerotel Madrid Airport and Hostal T4 solve the problem outright — they sit right at the terminal, which matters here because T4 is physically separate from T1-T2-T3 and a transfer between them takes real time. If you're using the older terminals, you'll want to check that your chosen hotel serves the right side rather than assuming "airport hotel" covers both.

Anything in that inner 3 km ring should still work fine for an early first-wave departure or a late arrival, without banking on a long taxi transfer.

The other honest option is not staying by the airport at all. Madrid's centre is well connected to Barajas by metro and the airport express bus, so if your flight times give you any slack, basing yourself in the city gets you restaurants, sights and normal Madrid prices in the evening, at the cost of a proper transfer back out on travel day. It's a trade worth weighing rather than defaulting to airport convenience.