Centro Europeo de peregrinación Juan Pablo II

Really nice personal. Nice food and really good attention. Installations are a bit old but overall good. Lots of mosquitos in the night but is to be expected.

I went there today and there are 2 signs saying it’s closed.

It hasn't been the same place for about 2 years now. And it's not just that the alberg is closed to pilgrims because it is filled to the brim with refugees from Ukraine. The spirit and attitude of this place have also completely changed. From friendly and hospitable (as can be concluded from old opinions on the Internet) to hostile and rude (this can be checked in newer opinions - from the last 3 years, I am attaching an example screenshot of the comments under the article on WordPress). I completely share these opinions, and since they do not describe specific situations, I will describe here, for example, what happened to my wife and me a week ago. We walked over 900 km on Camino (a combined variant of Norte-Primitivo-Norte) and we knew from my uncle that it was an alberg run by Poles. We've been trying to call them for a week, but they never answered the phone despite dozens of attempts, and their official website isn't working (apparently for a long time). We learned from other websites (Spanish and Polish news and blogs) that they even accept people on the floor (we read an entry about a record number of pilgrims one August, where people even slept in the chapel or dining room). After experiencing inhospitality from many Spaniards on the road, we expected Polish hospitality here, and those photos allowed us to reasonably hope for a welcome at least on the floor - so we didn't book anywhere else. The time was 9:58 p.m. My wife was in a serious condition, she could no longer even get up and sit down on her own. So after entering through the open gate of the complex, I sat her down and started looking for the entrance to the building that the sign had shown me. Apart from this sign (information, indicating the albergue), there were no other cards or information hanging here. I opened the door. A Polish volunteer told me that the alberg has been closed for a long time because it is filled with refugees. I was very surprised because I saw these photos of pilgrims sleeping on the floor in the dining room and the chapel and boasting about the record number of pilgrims received (probably over 360). The volunteer said that it was probably not at their place, but at the other two albergs on Monte de Gozo, because there are so many places there. Later it turned out that she was wrong - the photos were from here, but they were from a few seasons ago. She recommended that we look for places in the other two albergs. I asked for directions and asked if we were not accepted there, would there be a piece of floor for us somewhere here, because my wife was in a serious condition. The volunteer asked my question to the host, who was the decision maker, but I didn't see him. But I heard his voice (it was a Pole) who replied: "They can't come back here because they entered without knocking, and it's after 10 p.m. and that's not allowed." I didn't go in, I just opened the door, but when I looked at my watch it was 10:02 p.m. The volunteer knew I heard the answer correctly, so she just looked at me with a slightly sympathetic look, as if it wasn't the first time she had had to close the door on someone this way. It was 10°C outside. We went to the other albergs, but they were already full and they didn't take us anywhere, even though we waited 40 minutes in the queue. 966 seats were filled. We had no roof over our heads, and we couldn't return to the "European Center" because we didn't knock on the door. One would like to ask who knocks on the door when entering a large institution built by the government and handed over to the diocese, with the name "European pilgrimage center"? In even the smallest albergs, you simply walk through the door to get to the reception. And here, in the European center, knocking is expected. Further, one could ask whether St. Would John Paul II, after whom the institution is named, approve of such behavior? It's hard for me to imagine him throwing out a woman in a serious condition who, along with her husband, has no place to sleep on a cold night because they came after 10 p.m. and didn't knock but left the door ajar. Or maybe Jesus would do that? What is the gospel that guides the conduct of the owner of such a house? But I won't be their judge. Pilgrims, in any case, deserve loyal warning.

A shame all the public money wasted by the Pope's visit. All closed and without any use. No one even passes by to see the modern chapel of Sta. maria

TOP TOP, Very friendly and helpful reception staff. The hotel rooms are very clean. Possibility of some places as a donation, or for €10. Large green lawn spaces. Restaurant of the same level, with a €9 menu. I wonder what more could a pilgrim want?