Pensión Vinarós

I had a terrible night here. The room smelled unbearable at 5:30 in the morning, and some kind of motor outside it made awful noise and vibrations you could feel through the wall. The shared bathroom had no towels or toilet paper either. I don’t usually review places like this, since they’re often modest businesses run by people trying to make a living, but this guesthouse was so shabby that I’d urge anyone looking for even a one-night stay to think very carefully. I’ve never stayed somewhere this run-down in Spain, especially these days.

We stayed over Carnival weekend and were shocked that a place like this calls itself a guesthouse. It was cold at night, with no heating in the rooms and no extra blankets in the closets. The bedspreads were dirty and had cigarette burns. The shared bathrooms were filthy too: towels smelled of smoke, there were cigarette butts, one shower had no showerhead, the bath mats were dirty, and another bathroom had no light and a toilet that wouldn’t flush. The whole place was generally unclean, and at €25 per person per night, it was a complete disaster. Never again.

Getting to the third floor with no elevator was bad enough. The ceiling fan shook like crazy without moving air, and sounded as if it might take off. The 14-inch TV looked about 25 years old, and its remote had no batteries. The paintwork needs attention everywhere. The previous guest had taken the room keys, so I didn’t want to leave anything inside, just in case. The owner said she wanted to sell the place, which I can understand. Who’d want to stay there?

The staff are friendly, but the cleanliness and service are really poor. The shared bathroom was filthy, the showers looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in years, and the room was worse. In the drawer by the counter I found a burnt spoon and a water bottle wrapped in aluminum foil. It’s far too expensive for a guesthouse.