Albergue Peña Castil

After hiking 30-35 km in the rain and cold, feeling exhausted, I wanted a bit of empathy and some friendly help. Instead, the woman here was unhelpful and seemed a bit odd. It was freezing, but she wouldn't turn on the heating, even though this is the mountains and it wasn't warm just because it was summer. She also wouldn't suggest somewhere to eat, saying there were plenty of options in town and it would be wrong to recommend one. Her family owns a very good restaurant nearby, which I highly recommend, so that response felt especially strange. In my opinion, the whole experience was bizarre. It seemed like these places were run to maximize profit rather than from any love of helping hikers.

The staff were so kind and friendly. We stayed a few nights to hike nearby, and had everything we needed: comfortable beds with charging ports, hot showers with strong pressure, and breakfast if we wanted it.

I would've loved to stay there, but without a car it just wasn't possible. There was no bus in May. Service runs from June 1 to October 16, and although Google Maps showed one, that information was wrong. I let the albergue know why I couldn't make it, but they still charged the full €40 for two nights. Booking.com leaves refunds to the host's discretion, and they chose not to return the money. I felt that was unfair since I had a genuine reason for missing the stay.

The place is decent for a short stay, but I couldn't check out between 11 am and 3:30 pm, even though the owners or staff were there. They close during those hours for cleaning, and I only needed to hand back the keys. I had to wait until 3:30.