Albergue de peregrinos de San Juan de Ortega

Avoid this albergue as if it carried the plague -- and don't be surprised that it just might. I woke up incredibly depressed after my stay here, thinking how much of a stain this place is on the just about completely magical El Camino Frances. For one, the albergue smelled like piss and Lysol. It was cold in the dorm (in October), weird noises were coming through the pipes, the free Wi-Fi was completely useless unless you confined yourself to the bar downstairs, the beds were uncomfortable, and the blankets provided in a big random pile were nasty. The bathroom! The toilets overflow, the shower drains are inundated with pubes and other unmentionables. You're way better off taking a sponge bath in the bathroom of the alburgie next store, if you can sneak in or skip the shower until Burgos. The only blessing was that I arrived early, so I was fortunate to get the ONLY bunk with a plug to charge up my stuff. Also, best to get a top bunk because being on the bottom is scary as hell because it looks like the top bunks have very little to no bracing. As far as I can recall, there are NO kitchen facilities available or laundry. Don't just walk by this place — RUN to the next little hamlet or book in advance to stay at one of the clean allergies/hotels in town. The owners of this place should be ashamed. Spain's health department should shut this place down. Stay away! You have been warned.

Not up to standards. Standing water in toilet stalls, lacking toilet paper and soap randomly, and clearly has not been cleaned in a long time. Dirt and dust very prevalent. Mold on walls in sleeping quarters. Only redeeming quality was the shower had good pressure and was hot €15 per bed…. seems like taking advantage of the pilgrim without an option. Would try to book with one of the other lovely albergues in the town or skip the town and plan to move on to Agés. 28-9-2025

I’m very grateful for the bed but I woke up with lots of bug bites and the price was quite steep for what was offered. I’d recommend trying for another place but if all else fails they had a lot of beds available while everywhere else was booked out.

Disaster. The whole albergue has not been cleaned for years. There was dirt everywhere on arrival. Under the beds had probably never been cleaned. The bathroom has never been cleaned either, that's for sure. The sheets and duvets had never been washed, lucky they had to give us disposable sheets and pillowcases. Only cash was accepted. Compared to the other albergues, this was the worst possible place, but of course they charged the same as the other clean and tidy places. Just because it was something simple and old it could still be clean like the other places on our trip. 09.05.2024

I have to admit that this place is a much better for a pilgrim than many others with a superb score. Above all, it's really quiet, which means that one is able to have a rest. It definitely provides the pilgrim with the right environment to meditate. There's really warm water in the showers and they also offer a nice diner for 8 euros.