Santander Central Hostel

Everything you might need is within walking distance, since the hostel is right in the city centre. It was clean, with a cozy common area where it was easy to meet other travelers. The staff were really nice too. I loved staying here and would definitely come back :)

The bus station is very close, the staff are friendly, and the common area is great. It felt safe, and having a small locker with a lock included was fantastic. There’s nobody at the desk from 11-1, though, so forget dropping your bags off then. The rooms stay bright at night, so curtains around the beds would help.

The person at reception was kind and helped with all my questions. The hostel is very close to the bus stop, and there was a fan at my bed that really helped when it got hot. The shared kitchen was really pretty too.

I don’t usually leave bad reviews, but other travelers should know what happened. My booking was cancelled on the morning I was due to arrive, with no explanation and no message beforehand. It left me scrambling for somewhere to sleep as a young woman traveling alone. Luckily, my surf camp in Somo let me come earlier at short notice. I later saw reports in reviews for this and other Santander hostels about people getting cancelled on by another hostel and finding a last-minute bed elsewhere, so I wonder if this has happened before. The explanation sometimes seems to be that foreign credit cards don’t work properly. I used a European Visa Card that has worked at every other hostel I’ve stayed in and elsewhere in Spain. If there was a payment or card problem, they could have contacted me a few days ahead. Cancelling the morning of my arrival, without reaching out at all, was really distressing.