Albergue Municipal de Najera

[DreamWeaver]

Does anyone have the latest information on municipal albergue of Najera? I heard there was a fire and it is closed for repairs. Is it still closed?
Thanks in advance.

 

[naplesdon]

I believe it was a plumbing issue and they were looking for hospis to serve there last week.

 

[JabbaPapa]

It wasn't a fire, and the plumbing was a part of it -- the Municipality or the Region or some other Authority closed it down because it had become generally insalubrious, with multiple issues, the bad state of the plumbing and the showers and tap water being indeed a large part of it, but not the only issue. The bedding was in a dilapidated condition, and so on, and it had become just generally quite dirty.

I did hear a rumour walking through the area late last year that they had actually started the renovation work after additional covid delays, and if they're now actively looking for hospitaleros that's good news.

 

[DreamWeaver]

I see. Thanks a lot, guys.

 

[philkayn]

I stayed here last week, can't say I noticed any issues.

 

[igorschultz]

Does anyone have the latest information on municipal albergue of Najera? I heard there was a fire and it is closed for repairs. Is it still closed?
Thanks in advance.

Hello, I stayed there Last monte. They have repórter plumbing issues. The albergue was closed. However we have been relocated to sleep in the city gym with matresses and it was really cool!!! Possibly the albergue is already open now.

 

[DreamWeaver]

Cool. Thanks everyone for your confirmation. Stayed there 5 years ago, would love to go back this coming autumn.

 

[Rachel from Seattle]

It wasn't a fire, and the plumbing was a part of it -- the Municipality or the Region or some other Authority closed it down because it had become generally insalubrious, with multiple issues, the bad state of the plumbing and the showers and tap water being indeed a large part of it, but not the only issue. The bedding was in a dilapidated condition, and so on, and it had become just generally quite dirty.

I did hear a rumour walking through the area late last year that they had actually started the renovation work after additional covid delays, and if they're now actively looking for hospitaleros that's good news.

I take issue with your statement that it was dirty. I was a hospitalero there last year and can confirm that the entire albergue was cleaned daily from top to bottom and freshly washed sheets and pillowcases were provided to every pilgrim every day.

 

[BROWNCOUNTYBOB]

During our first camino frances (2015), my wife and I stayed in the municipal albergue in Najera. It tied with the municipal albergue in San Juan de Ortega (also dank, smelly, dirty with bathrooms and beds in poor conditions) as being the worst albergue we stayed in during our camino. The albergue in Najera had 47 bunk beds (= 94 pilgrims) in a single room. It was completely full. The ventilation was terrible and sound carried throughout the night with non-stop coughing, snorting, farting, burping. The restrooms were cramped, with only one rest room for men and one for women. For the men, one of the three showers was broken. We vowed to never stay there again. During a subsequent camino, we ran into a couple that had planned to serve as hospitaleros at the Najera municipal, but learned shortly after they arrived that bedbugs were everywhere, so the municipal had to be shut down. From the above comments, it does not seem like conditions have improved. Bob

 

[Tincatinker]

From the above comments, it does not seem like conditions have improved. Bob

I stayed here last week, can't say I noticed any issues.

I'll take a report from 2023 over one from 2015 anytime

 

[JabbaPapa]

I take issue with your statement that it was dirty. I was a hospitalero there last year and can confirm that the entire albergue was cleaned daily from top to bottom and freshly washed sheets and pillowcases were provided to every pilgrim every day.

OK and thank you -- I am just reporting what I heard.

To be clear, nothing in the rumours in question was at all disparaging against the Hospitaleros nor even the structure -- just about wear and tear.

 

[Luisito76]

I believe it was a plumbing issue and they were looking for hospis to serve there last week.

Hello!
It is correct, it was a plumbing issue. I was staying there when the pipe explode.
We spent

I believe it was a plumbing issue and they were looking for hospis to serve there last week.

Same problem happened in the Albergue Municipal in Zubiri when I stayed there at the beginning of this May

 

[Kathar1na]

During our first camino frances (2015), [...] The albergue in Najera had 47 bunk beds (= 94 pilgrims) in a single room. [...] From the above comments, it does not seem like conditions have improved.

That's your guess while my guess is that you could possibly not be more wrong .

The municipal albergue of Najera re-opened in the autumn of 2021 after renovation works: they now have only 48 beds for pilgrims instead of 90 beds previously, separators between beds, a new fridge, partial replacement of floors, and other work at a cost of €5.000. It's been 8 years since your stay and it's already nearly 2 years since the renovation. Day to day management has also changed with the volunteers now being provided by FICS. I remember reports on the forum about this from some time ago.

 

[DreamWeaver]

Even before the renovation, my recollection of that albergue was not bad at all. The place was clean. That's why I plan to go back.
The only thing was that the dorm was pretty cramped as you can see from the picture, I worried i may accidentally roll over to the bed next to me , and "if there's a fire, it will be hard for us to escape" my eyes unconsciously looked for a fire exit before I dozed off.

I am sure it is much better and safer now.

 

[DreamWeaver]

I take issue with your statement that it was dirty. I was a hospitalero there last year and can confirm that the entire albergue was cleaned daily from top to bottom and freshly washed sheets and pillowcases were provided to every pilgrim every day.

Thank you for your service.

 

[DreamWeaver]

we have been relocated to sleep in the city gym with matresses and it was really cool!!!

Sleeping in the city gym It must be one of the memorable night on Camino. Thanks for the information.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Even before the renovation, my recollection of that albergue was not bad at all. The place was clean. That's why I plan to go back.
The only thing was that the dorm was pretty cramped as you can see from the picture

Thanks -- the one time I stayed there was in 2005 (it was completo in 2014, non-existent in 1993 & 1994, closed in 2021 and last winter), and I can certainly remember the cramped conditions. We did have much poorer quality mattresses, but otherwise that piccie is overall much like it was back then -- though I do wish we had had those sheets !!

You can see though that the walls and ceiling panelling do look like they needed a bit of work, and the "dirty" rumour that I heard did NOT mean "absolutely filthy", just "in need of a good, deep clean" -- which all these places do need every few years.

The "insalubrious" part referred mainly to the parlous state of the plumbing (and the water quality I believe), possibly to some ageing shower and toilets and other related facilities, and I would guess to the cramped conditions -- I seem to remember it as one of the smellier Albergues I ever stayed in, but that was 18 years ago, and the smell was from the pilgrims, not the Albergue !!

It does look much better now, and it does not need so many beds as it had, given the proliferation of alternatives over the 2010s.

It's possible that I confused rumours that I heard in 2021 for 2022 ones, if so then forgive any confusion regarding conditions last year.

 

[Valerie J]

I stayed there last October. It was very clean and comfortable, and I really appreciated the hooks in the showers! The hospitaleras were really welcoming.There was no water in the morning for about an hour, as it was Oct 31, Halloween, and the local kids had turned the water off at the mains outside!

 

[david g]

During our first camino frances (2015), my wife and I stayed in the municipal albergue in Najera. It tied with the municipal albergue in San Juan de Ortega (also dank, smelly, dirty with bathrooms and beds in poor conditions) as being the worst albergue we stayed in during our camino. The albergue in Najera had 47 bunk beds (= 94 pilgrims) in a single room. It was completely full. The ventilation was terrible and sound carried throughout the night with non-stop coughing, snorting, farting, burping. The restrooms were cramped, with only one rest room for men and one for women. For the men, one of the three showers was broken. We vowed to never stay there again. During a subsequent camino, we ran into a couple that had planned to serve as hospitaleros at the Najera municipal, but learned shortly after they arrived that bedbugs were everywhere, so the municipal had to be shut down. From the above comments, it does not seem like conditions have improved. Bob

I served as a hospitalero there last October. No bed bugs, sheets/pillow cases washed EVERY day, all rooms swept, mopped and sanitized EVERY day. Remember, bed bugs can be carried from one place to another and are not necessarily a sign of a place being less clean than another. The albergue itself now has roughly half the beds as before (54) but that still means bathrooms will still seem to be crowded simply because there are so many pilgrims. Our charge was $ 6 euros for the night which seems to me to be a bargain considering you’re getting a bed (with real sheets) a kitchen with utensils to cook meals, showers and bathrooms. I had many pilgrims leave in the morning telling me that this had been their favorite albergue yet.

 

[Tim-F]

I stayed there in May last year. I found the hospitaleros to be very friendly and helpful, and don't recall having any concerns about cleanliness. The main negative I remember is that the rungs of the bunk-bed ladder were painfully thin on my sore feet. I liked the queing system for early arrivals ...

 

[Peregrino3393]

I take issue with your statement that it was dirty. I was a hospitalero there last year and can confirm that the entire albergue was cleaned daily from top to bottom and freshly washed sheets and pillowcases were provided to every pilgrim every day.

Agreed. I was an hospitalero there in Oct 2022 and April 2023. Many pilgrims wrote in the book and told me in the morning that it was one of the cleanest albergues that they had stayed in thus far.

 

[good_old_shoes]

I first stayed there in 2015 when it still had the "married couple bunk beds" where you slept directly next to a stranger almost like in one big bed. I thought it was really funny, and most pilgrims seemed to take it with humor.

The hospitaleros were very nice, there were clean sheets on the beds, a kitchen, even some basic ingredients already there. Yes, small windows in the dormitory for that amount of people, and small bathrooms. But the overall good atmosphere still made it a good albergue for me. I returned in '17, '19 and '23, if I remember correctly.

To be honest at first I found it a bit sad to see that there was only half the number of beds when I stayed there last year, and that some tired pilgrims might have to walk further. But of course it's great that they put the effort into renovating the albergue, and I totally see why the number of beds was reduced (fire safety alone is a good reason). It's a really nice, spacious dormitory now, and the kitchen is much appreciated and many pilgrims used it every time I stayed there.

What more can a pilgrim ask for than a clean bed (with freshly washed sheets!), a shower, a kitchen, lovely hospitaleros, a river nearby to relax and dip your feet into, and all that at a price that is affordable for almost everyone.

Good to hear it was only temporarily closed for repairs. The municipals are so important!

 

[DreamWeaver]

Thanks everyone for your valuable input. I am going forward to go back there again this autumn. Perhaps we can close this thread for now.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I am the FICS person in charge at Albergue Municipal de Najera. I am glad I came upon this thread well after the false rumors were quashed.
"The authorities" NEVER shut down the albergue. There was never a fire there. Things did get pretty crowded and rundown, even before Covid closed everything down for two years. The albergue we took over in 2021 was in a hair-raising condition.
Much work has been done by many people. The plumbing has been upgraded, the sanitary conditions much improved, many mattresses and bed frames replaced. A lot more work remains to be done, but we are few, money is tight, and we all are volunteers.
The biggest credit for the transformation at Najera goes to the hospitaleros who work there. It's an older place, things go wrong, machines break down, tempers fray. But the volunteers keep up their good work, day after day... they are what makes the pilgrimage work.
I am encouraged by the good words left here by some of them.

 

[Annette london]

I am the FICS person in charge at Albergue Municipal de Najera. I am glad I came upon this thread well after the false rumors were quashed.
"The authorities" NEVER shut down the albergue. There was never a fire there. Things did get pretty crowded and rundown, even before Covid closed everything down for two years. The albergue we took over in 2021 was in a hair-raising condition.
Much work has been done by many people. The plumbing has been upgraded, the sanitary conditions much improved, many mattresses and bed frames replaced. A lot more work remains to be done, but we are few, money is tight, and we all are volunteers.
The biggest credit for the transformation at Najera goes to the hospitaleros who work there. It's an older place, things go wrong, machines break down, tempers fray. But the volunteers keep up their good work, day after day... they are what makes the pilgrimage work.
I am encouraged by the good words left here by some of them.

We stayed here on our first Camino in 2005
Yesterday a lady started chatting to us as we entered the town when she heard us speaking English
Turned out to be Mona who was volunteering there for the week
Later on, I went down to the albergue and we had a nice chat

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Annette, you should've checked in and stayed!

 

[Annette london]

Annette, you should've checked in and stayed!

Hi Rebekah
thanks for that!
we’ve done the albergue experience
now it’s pensions and Hostals for us
we are too old and need our sleep!

 

[Peregrino3393]

I stayed there in May last year. I found the hospitaleros to be very friendly and helpful, and don't recall having any concerns about cleanliness. The main negative I remember is that the rungs of the bunk-bed ladder were painfully thin on my sore feet. I liked the queing system for early arrivals ...

View attachment 148986

Thanks Tim for your feedback. hospi. J.

 

[Peregrino3393]

I stayed there in May last year. I found the hospitaleros to be very friendly and helpful, and don't recall having any concerns about cleanliness. The main negative I remember is that the rungs of the bunk-bed ladder were painfully thin on my sore feet. I liked the queing system for early arrivals ...

View attachment 148986

As an hospitalero who likes to return to this great town and serving in this albergue like all the hospi I take pride in the albergue, I appreciate you taking the time to give feedback and posting photo.

 

[DreamWeaver]

I liked the queing system for early arrivals ...

View attachment 148986

That queuing system is cute
Whn I arrived in 2018, it was backpacks