Rusticae Casa Antiga do Monte

The peaceful, semi-rural setting has lovely gardens, a fish pond, and a pool. There’s no lift, so you’ll need to carry your bags up a few flights of stairs. Padrón is about a 20-minute walk away, or you can take a taxi if you’ve had enough walking for the day. There aren’t other hotels or restaurants nearby.

The garden and pool are lovely, and the hotel itself is nicely furnished, but the service was a real letdown. My agency booked it for my Camino, and confusing directions meant I couldn’t find Casa Antiga easily after a long walk. You have to turn about 250 metres before the Church of Santiago, and the hotel is more than 2 km outside Padrón, which isn’t convenient when you’re exhausted. The staff spoke only Spanish and weren’t helpful. I asked at reception about dinner and was told to sit down, then waited half an hour without the waitress coming over. When I asked what was happening, she didn’t understand what I meant. A nice building and all its facilities aren’t enough if the staff aren’t helpful.

The property is beautiful, with a goldfish pond, and our room was charming. But getting our luggage up 34 steps was a surprise. We were there late in October, so didn’t use the pool. The front desk woman was difficult to communicate with. I asked about the menu checkmarks and tried Spanish and a translation app, but she kept answering in Spanish without making an effort to clarify. At breakfast, our fourth person had been placed in a room in the adjacent building. We tried to explain this in English and Spanish, but she kept saying, “No, three of you sit here and one alone!” I understand that tables were assigned by reservation and my sister joined us later, but she could have moved her to our table and refused. Breakfast was disappointing too: five slices each of ham and cheese for three of us, a roll each, and three small muffins. The bananas on the tables were all green, and everyone left them. It was the worst coffee I had in two weeks on the Camino. I took one sip and left breakfast. The whole experience was upsetting, and I wish we’d headed out early and eaten something better on the road. You also need to walk an extra mile to reach the Camino. The final day is long, yet this was the only place we stayed that wouldn’t serve breakfast before 8 AM. We usually left at 7:30 on long days. The staff member was rude and showed no willingness to communicate. I tried to help the interaction along, but got nowhere. She should try a translation app instead of repeating herself when it’s clear someone doesn’t understand.

Dinner was delicious, and the service was very good. The staff paid close attention to what we needed. Our room was clean and really nice too. Great hotel.