Hotel Cardeña by gaiarooms

There is nothing wrong with the hotel as long as you’re aware of what you get. No reception; it’s all online. No meals are offered, not even coffee. There is a kettle and 2 tea bags in my room. Food is an easy walk away. If you are a Camino pilgrim know that the Way is a 4 minute walk away.

I booked through Airbnb trusting this host precisely because of the volume of listings and reviews. That trust was completely misplaced. Multiple messages sent before and after booking - zero replies. The listing had no check-in instructions, just "contact the host." For a midnight check-in, that's not acceptable. When I finally reached someone by phone, I was told that because it was an Airbnb reservation, they had "nothing to do with it" -and she hung up on me. I ended up having to chase Airbnb support, fill in a form outside the platform with my personal data, and sort everything myself at 8pm for a 1am arrival. If I hadn't been persistent and tech-savvy, I would have been locked out. 171 listings. 3,487 reviews. And this is the standard of communication and guest care you get. Avoid if you're arriving late or expect basic host responsiveness.

The hotel regularly double books their rooms including giving virtual key access to a room they’ve already rented, so don’t be surprised if you enter your room after a long day of driving to find a stranger in your bed. The man we walked in on explained that this was nothing new and he had already been walked in on several times in his month long stay. The hotel then refused to take responsibility for double booking as they had already double booked every other room and told us it to as Booking.coms fault but the check-in and virtual keys being assigned had all happened through the hotels platform.

Excellent service from receptionist, who was super friendly. Rooms are comfortable. Would recommend providing more toiletries (soap, shampoo, conditioner) as well as little conveniences like shower caps and slippers. Personally, would not recommend breakfast - it all tasted quite average, so not worth it for the 5 euros. But then I’m quite picky about food quality; if you’re just going for quantity, it might be worth it. This hotel is NOT in the city historical center - still takes a 10 min. walk. Not far, but just a heads up you’re in a more quiet residential area, not in the thick of the action.

The hotel is hard to access if you arrive at night, as there’s no one at the reception. However, the rooms are clean, comfortable, and have everything you need — just keep in mind there’s no staff available on-site.