Hotel Rural O Cruce do Burgo — Hotel in Friol

Someone else has written here that this is “the hostel that God sent” and I could not agree more wholeheartedly. I was meant to go to Ferreira yesterday but along the way I saw this beautiful spot with a swimming pool, a bustling restaurant and terrace, and a very elegant-looking hostel building. My feet were tired so I thought, to hell with it, I don’t care the cost, I’m staying here. I was shown to a room that would’ve passed for a 4* hotel in London and was told it would only cost €50. Egad, is this real?! Am I dreaming?! Where do I sign?! After several consecutive nights of poor sleep in shabby pension accommodation, the totally affordable luxury here was just what the doctor ordered. After a marvellous shower in a state-of-the-art en suite facility, I headed over to the bar/restaurant and immediately regretted the ham sandwich I’d ordered for lunch at the previous tavern along the way - the food looked incredible, the restaurant was packed out. Don’t worry, there’s always dinner, said Begoña, the warm and kindly owner (think this is a family operation, with husband and daughter also lovely). After a couple of hours watching a movie on Netflix (yes, the room has a giant flat screen smart TV), I return for dinner. The bar is alive with locals playing cards and creating ambience. I order a couple of drinks and am brought free-of-charge, delicious bar snacks of tortilla and then meatballs, before taking my seat for dinner. I order razor clams, entrecôte and lemon mousse all of which are to die for. Seriously, this is high-end grub, the service is impeccable, the price is ridiculously cheap (€31 for all that plus drinks and coffee) and I retire to my room immensely satisfied, thanking providence for showing me the way to this place. It feels as though a lot of love has gone into this operation, both in its creation and ongoing service. I am yet to try the breakfast (I’ve just woken up after an excellent night’s sleep and felt compelled to write this review) but going on my experience of everything so far I do not doubt it will be anything less than divine. Truly the hostel...

(La traducción al español está a continuación)

I booked a 1-day stay in summer at this location online for 50€. Upon arriving at the front desk, I was informed that, since there was a second person who would be staying in the room (which I booked because of the 2 double beds), the price would be 80€. Breakfast was not included in the price, we did not receive any additional towels or any additional services to make it worth a single extra euro. When I asked why the price changed, I was simply told “así es”. Everything else in the area was booked, since it was the same night, so I stayed here.

The first thing I noticed when we entered the room is that the windows had been left open. There were no screens, and it’s in a very rural area, so there were at least a dozen flies & mosquitos inside the room.

There is also no air conditioning, and no fan. I even went down to the front desk to ask if there were any fans available, but I was told no. Since the room was already filled with insects, we decided to leave the windows open to attempt to cool it down. Although one of the windows was inside the shower & faced the toilet, with windows aligning to the building next door, so we did end up needing to close that any time we used the toilet or shower. The mosquitos & flies circled even when the shower was on.

I also got bitten by something in the middle of the night. It was on the side of my body which was up against the bed, and hurt worse than a mosquito, so I would guess a spider. The bite on that spot is still red, days later.

This is on the route famous for pilgrims traveling on foot. So I will concede that to someone who was already out in the heat & bugs, these might be an acceptable accommodations. But I had my elderly mother with me (my mother wanted to travel the pilgrim’s route via car because she is no longer able to physically), and this was not a pleasant location for her, or me. It was not worth 50€, much less 80€ surprise at check-in.

Reservé una estadía de 1 día en verano en este lugar en línea por 50 €. Al llegar a la recepción, me informaron que, dado que había una segunda persona que se quedaría en la habitación (que reservé debido a las 2 camas dobles), el precio sería de 80 €. El desayuno no estaba incluido en el precio, no recibimos ninguna toalla adicional ni ningún servicio adicional para que valiera un solo euro adicional. Cuando pregunté por qué cambió el precio, simplemente me dijeron “así es”. Todo lo demás en el área estaba reservado, ya que era la misma noche, así que me quedé aquí.

Lo primero que noté cuando entramos en la habitación es que las ventanas se habían dejado abiertas. No había pantallas, y está en una zona muy rural, por lo que había al menos una docena de moscas y mosquitos dentro de la habitación.

Tampoco hay aire acondicionado ni ventilador. Incluso fui a la recepción para preguntar si había fanáticos disponibles, pero me dijeron que no. Como la habitación ya estaba llena de insectos, decidimos dejar las ventanas abiertas para intentar enfriarla. Aunque una de las ventanas estaba dentro de la ducha y daba al baño, con ventanas que se alineaban con el edificio de al lado, por lo que terminamos necesitando cerrar eso cada vez que usamos el baño o la ducha. Los mosquitos y las moscas dieron vueltas incluso cuando la ducha estaba puesta.

También fui mordido por algo en medio de la noche. Estaba en el costado de mi cuerpo que estaba contra la cama y dolía más que un mosquito, así que supongo que una araña. La mordida en ese lugar todavía está roja, días después.

Esto está en la ruta famosa por los peregrinos que viajan a pie. Así que le admitiré que a alguien que ya estaba en el heat & bugs, estos podrían ser un alojamiento aceptable. Pero tenía a mi anciana madre conmigo (mi madre quería recorrer la ruta del peregrino en automóvil porque ya no puede hacerlo físicamente), y este no era un lugar agradable para ella o para mí. No valía 50 €, mucho menos 80 € sorpresa en...

Perfect location for Peregrinos on the Camino Primitivo - no deviation at all needed from the route. Equally good, therefore, for coffee, lunch or any other refreshment.|Great food - we ate at the hotel on 3 out of 4 nights. The restaurant enjoys much local custom, especially at lunch for the menu del día - always a good sign!|Lovely swimming pool, covered and warm all year round, which makes it ideal after a long day's walking, even if just to dangle feet in.|Beds are really comfortable, rooms well appointed, excellent showers.|But the best thing about this hotel by a long way is the staff. Everyone is really friendly, accommodating, anticipatory of need or desire without being obsequious or fawning. Ana runs a wonderful, happy, hard working team that made our stay really special. We were sad to leave. Thank you to everyone there for a memorable, enjoyable and enriching stay. Next Camino, we shall without...