Pension Rioja

The service was brilliant.

The bathroom cistern chain had to be held in place with a light bulb to stop the tank from leaking, and the pipe leaked too, leaving a streak down the wall. The room's things looked so filthy and fragile that you were afraid to touch them in case they fell apart. Maybe this place was halfway decent 30 years ago, but today it feels abandoned and covered in grime. Calling this place a house of horrors barely does it justice.

I paid 30 euros for a single room, which was the one good thing about the stay. I had no other choice, though it's definitely not the best place. The bed was awful depending on how I slept, the TV remote had a dead battery, and the hot water took almost ten minutes to come through. They say there's Wi-Fi, but it's only available at the restaurant 500 meters away.

I only booked one night while traveling, and at €30 I wasn't expecting anything grand. Still, some basics were disappointing. There was no reception, so I had to collect the keys from a restaurant 600 meters away. The place felt run-down, with a hall downstairs that had chairs and tables off to one side, and a closed cafeteria. My room wasn't very clean and smelled of tobacco, probably left by a previous guest. Luckily it was summer, so I didn't have to get into bed.