Hotel El Capellán

The building looks beautiful from the outside, and the location overlooking the water and the town below is fantastic. There's lovely greenery around it, and the gentleman at reception was kind and helpful. It's a shame the stay soured because of so many problems that seem easy to fix. I like the idea of a simple hotel with basic services and good value, but this felt extreme and incredibly lazy. The hotel seems as unimaginative as its Wi-Fi password. The furniture looks 20 or 30 years old, and not in a charming way. Basic or rustic decor can still feel considered, but this didn't. The lime green walls felt almost hysterical and honestly made me sad to be in the room. If you just need a relatively cheap bed and plan to be out all day, despite the mosquitoes, it might do, but that's about it. The neglected details were everywhere: dusty plastic flowers in the hallways, missing grout and cracked bathroom tiles, and bathroom fixtures whose style and color made me assume they'd been there since the 80s. Old things don't all need to be replaced, but there should be some coherence and care. The grout was falling out between broken tiles. The showerhead had been replaced with a new one that was already leaking and broken, while the old broken fixture was still on the wall and the old shower hose hadn't been changed. This just felt lazy. It can't be about the cost, since even a cheap plastic replacement set might be around €10 and would look better than this mismatched, broken mess. The mosquitoes were another problem. The bright green walls had blood stains from mosquitoes previous guests had smashed, and I spent half the night awake with a folded towel in my hand, trying to swat them as they buzzed around my ears. How much could it cost to put simple mosquito screens over the windows? I also think they should have a fan available. Heat may not usually last long in northern Spain yet, and they don't need to install fans permanently, but having a portable one or a ceiling fan would add comfort for many guests without much operating cost. I bet it would also head off most complaints about no air-conditioning. And there's no hairdryer, or even a simple glass for drinking water. Come on. Being a cheap hotel doesn't mean it shouldn't have a soul or make a good impression, and basic doesn't have to mean crumbling and neglected. With better management, this place could be so much more. As it is, I don't think it deserves its high rating or your money until they deal with at least these basic issues. 🤷🏻‍♂️