El Vasallo 2

We rented the apartment from June 20th to 22nd. It's a nice, well-maintained place with stucco and wood, and the bathroom was perfect. But the ground floor is a bar and restaurant, all owned by the same person. To get in, you go through a side door with a coded key box, then walk along the hallway between the bar lounge and its restrooms. The smell of cooking hangs there, and another locked door separates the stairs to the upstairs apartments. Around midday, while unloading, we noticed a very obvious humming noise with a metallic vibration coming from the chimney. We called the owner. They said they didn't know about it and thought it might be the boiler, so we went out for a walk. The noise came back while we were making dinner, then turned into loud banging as we ate. I went down to the bar, where two people met me on the stairs carrying a fire extinguisher. They shouted that the kitchen was on fire and everyone had to evacuate, then asked me where the boiler was. We got out with only the clothes we were wearing. Neighbors rushed over and were incredibly helpful. They climbed onto the roof as thick black smoke poured from the chimney, used extinguishers down the flue, and another neighbor ran a hose from a street tap to pump water in. Once it seemed things weren't getting worse, I went back inside and collected our belongings. People in the crowded street were saying the bar had opened that Tuesday, that a boiler technician had visited that week, and that the pipe, or one of the pipes, in the flue was plastic. The firefighters took almost an hour and a half to arrive. Anyone who knows the road from Cuenca to Tragacete will understand the delay. I hope the fire department's report explains what happened. Something wasn't right. We spent the night at a nearby hotel. I'm writing this because I feel it's my duty, not to cause harm, but to call for action. As Valencians, and with the tragedy from this winter close to us, we believe fire safety rules need to be extremely strict and enforced just as strictly. JL Cuenca

The host was great, helpful and attentive without getting in our way. The apartment was perfectly located, comfortable, and very, very clean. It had everything we needed in the kitchen and bathroom, including a toaster, salt, and olive oil, which I appreciated. It looked even better than the photos.

We only ended up at Vasallo after another place turned our group of 11 away, but what a find. The service was spectacular, the food even better, and the price unbeatable. We were in Tragacete by chance looking for lunch. Such a shame we live so far away. Highly recommend it.

The rest of the house was clean and nice, but the bed was such a problem that I can only give one star. The double mattress was basically foam on a simple slatted base, so we sank into the middle. We switched to the single beds to get some sleep, though they weren't much better, since we had an early hike the next day. We'd also asked the host to turn the heating on before we arrived, but that hadn't been done. We were cold until it finally warmed up in the early hours. For the nightly price, a decent mattress is the least I'd expect. If the bed doesn't work, the other conditions don't count for much to me.