Hostal Daniel

Wonderful.

The location was great, but room #10 was a real low point on our trip. It was dirty and smelled terrible, with clothes and sheets drying on the floor and a mix of damp and food smells. The bathroom was filthy, and there was hair in the shower gel. Even the mini-fridge had a smell like nobody had cleaned it. We stayed just one night, but it was a very unpleasant experience. For what it cost, we expected more.

The location is the only good thing about this place. The building is old and hard to find, with no proper sign beyond one attached to the mailbox. There’s no reception or elevator, just a man waiting on a sofa on the second floor. He had us fill in a form, didn’t ask for ID, and didn’t speak Spanish. We were given three keys. The hallway felt like something from a 1960s apartment block, and the room supposedly for four was so cramped that even the two of us struggled to move around. The double bed felt too big for someone as wide as me, though the bunks were fine. There was hair on the blankets, and I didn’t want to think about what might be underneath. The TV had no antenna, only free apps like Samsung TV Plus and Pluto. The bathroom was small and had a step at the entrance, but the toilet, bidet, and shower were decent. The place was quite dirty, and the walls were so thin we could hear everything, including people snoring. The door only had a chain, no proper lock, so there was no real sense of security. If you truly have nowhere else to stay for the night, maybe you’d consider it, though I’d rather stay in Chamartín or Atocha than sleep in a seat or on the floor. This was one of the worst experiences of my life.

We left right away and had to find a hotel at the last minute so we wouldn’t be stranded. The room had no ventilation, and the main door barely left any space to close it, which felt bad for privacy and security. I’m still waiting to hear back about my refund, and if they don’t respond, I’ll take matters into my own hands. When we arrived, an elderly man was sitting on a bed by the entrance with a lot of medication on a table. A young woman wrote down my information in pencil, and I didn’t sign the contract she showed us. She took us to the room, which was awful. The place looked like a 1970s apartment where a family lived, with a number of rooms. I’m giving it one star because I can’t give zero. It doesn’t seem to meet the requirements to operate legally: there was no sign showing a license, and no indication of emergency exits, first-aid kits, or fire extinguishers. It’s unacceptable to run a hostel without services, security, or hygiene. From what I can see, it’s been getting negative reviews for 10 years. Please stop deceiving people.