San Francisco

You can get to just about everything easily from here. It's very central.

The staff are friendly, the Wi-Fi works well, and we had good views over the whole Plaza de Villafranca. The room had a radiator, blankets, and a comfortable temperature, plus new, comfortable mattresses. The bathroom in particular could use a proper clean, and there were lots of broken tiles. The rest of the room and hotel also need renovating. The old, basic building has thin walls. At 8:00 a.m., after a very good dinner at Don Nacho, we woke with a start, thinking water was coming into the room. It was only the upstairs shower, but the noise was deafening and kept us from resting before our day in Las Médulas. If you're a tourist, don't come here. It might suit you if you're walking the Camino de Santiago or planning an early start, since sleep after 7:30-8:00 a.m. isn't likely.

The rooms look out over the central city square, and the Church of San Francisco is right beside the hotel. It's one of the seven churches on the circuit worth seeing in this beautiful city. The room was bigger than an average double, everything was very clean, and the staff gave first-class service. The manager marked the city's attractions on the map he handed me. I'll definitely stay again on my next trip to El Bierzo.

The prices feel unreasonable, €50 for a double and €5 for breakfast. It's a simple, well-kept place with small, clean rooms, but there's no elevator or air conditioning, and just one outlet per room. The bathrooms are clean, though there's no soap or shampoo. WiFi and a café are available.