Armenteira Municipal Hostel - Pre-bookings Warning ?

[Little-Neville]

Myself and my daughter recently completed the Porto to Santiago (via spiritual route) leg of the Portuguese Camino. We were interested in fellow pilgrims views on the fact that the Municipal Hostel in Armenteira on the Spiritual path takes advanced bookings unlike the majority of Municipal Hostels on the Camino.

We did not realise that we needed to pre-book this hostel and when we arrived at it (12:45) we were shocked to find a note on the door saying that today the Hostel only had beds for pilgrims that had prebooked – there were no other pilgrims waiting. There were a couple of telephone numbers to call which we tried and managed to get through to a person but then struggled to communicate with them due to language issues, at which point a man came out the hostel, he advised us that the hostel was fully pre-booked but he could offer us 2 places at a house behind the monastery. He said that a lady would pick us up in 5 minutes and the cost would be 25 euros each including breakfast. We asked whether it was possible for us to sleep on the floor outside the hostel entrance that has a roof but he was not receptive to this. We were in a state of shock having got up so early to get to the hostel early. We felt under a lot of pressure, to accept the one offer he had proposed. Once we accepted the offer a lady appeared approximately 5 minutes later to take us and our bags to the accommodation. We were then driven up a hill, past the monastery and beyond – approximately 1.9 km away from the original Albergue. We were dropped off at the house at about 13:00 and shown , our room, bed and facilities. There were odds and sods in the fridge (bread, cakes, butter, Jams) and a coffee machine. The lady said she knew a woman that could offer us dinner for a further 12 euro's each (payable to the lady when the food arrived) - which we accepted as there appeared to be no other choice available (I.e. no shops or restaurants in the immediate vicinity). We asked how we get our pilgrim passport stamped - she said tomorrow you can get it done back at the Albergue. She agreed that she would pick us up at 6:00 am and drop us back at the Albergue in Armenteira.

I must admit at the point the lady left we quite depressed as we were now isolated and away from the Pilgrim community in Armenteira. To be fair that Lady did reappear a little latter with a couple more pilgrims. At this point myself and my daughter decided to walk down the hill to Armenteira which in practice only took about 25 minutes, where we got our Camino passports stamped, had a drink at one of the two restaurants/bars in the village and we also managed to visit the Monastery . When we returned to the house there were 3 more adults, 1 with a young child. At 18:00 our evenings meal arrived and we sat down with 3 other guests to eat our meals.

To be fair the house (https://www.booking.com/hotel/es/casav-rustica-bicano.en-gb.html#tab-main) was very nice and we enjoyed the food . Nevertheless, both my daughter and myself are both of the opinion that if we had known that we would not be staying in Armenteira village itself we would have not have bothered with the Spiritual path or otherwise booked beds at another location.

 

[J Willhaus]

Myself and my daughter recently completed the Porto to Santiago (via spiritual route) leg of the Portuguese Camino. We were interested in fellow pilgrims views on the fact that the Municipal Hostel in Armenteira on the Spiritual path takes advanced bookings unlike the majority of Municipal Hostels on the Camino.

We did not realise that we needed to pre-book this hostel and when we arrived at it (12:45) we were shocked to find a note on the door saying that today the Hostel only had beds for pilgrims that had prebooked – there were no other pilgrims waiting. There were a couple of telephone numbers to call which we tried and managed to get through to a person but then struggled to communicate with them due to language issues, at which point a man came out the hostel, he advised us that the hostel was fully pre-booked but he could offer us 2 places at a house behind the monastery. He said that a lady would pick us up in 5 minutes and the cost would be 25 euros each including breakfast. We asked whether it was possible for us to sleep on the floor outside the hostel entrance that has a roof but he was not receptive to this. We were in a state of shock having got up so early to get to the hostel early. We felt under a lot of pressure, to accept the one offer he had proposed. Once we accepted the offer a lady appeared approximately 5 minutes later to take us and our bags to the accommodation. We were then driven up a hill, past the monastery and beyond – approximately 1.9 km away from the original Albergue. We were dropped off at the house at about 13:00 and shown , our room, bed and facilities. There were odds and sods in the fridge (bread, cakes, butter, Jams) and a coffee machine. The lady said she knew a woman that could offer us dinner for a further 12 euro's each (payable to the lady when the food arrived) - which we accepted as there appeared to be no other choice available (I.e. no shops or restaurants in the immediate vicinity). We asked how we get our pilgrim passport stamped - she said tomorrow you can get it done back at the Albergue. She agreed that she would pick us up at 6:00 am and drop us back at the Albergue in Armenteira.

I must admit at the point the lady left we quite depressed as we were now isolated and away from the Pilgrim community in Armenteira. To be fair that Lady did reappear a little latter with a couple more pilgrims. At this point myself and my daughter decided to walk down the hill to Armenteira which in practice only took about 25 minutes, where we got our Camino passports stamped, had a drink at one of the two restaurants/bars in the village and we also managed to visit the Monastery . When we returned to the house there were 3 more adults, 1 with a young child. At 18:00 our evenings meal arrived and we sat down with 3 other guests to eat our meals.

To be fair the house (https://www.booking.com/hotel/es/casav-rustica-bicano.en-gb.html#tab-main) was very nice and we enjoyed the food . Nevertheless, both my daughter and myself are both of the opinion that if we had known that we would not be staying in Armenteira village itself we would have not have bothered with the Spiritual path or otherwise booked beds at another location.

I am glad you did find a bed and sorry that you didn't get to stay in the albergue. It seems more and more places are accepting reservations now whether they are municipal, paroquial, or association. I have not checked, but do any of the App (Wise Pilgrim, Buen Camino, etc.) note if if they take reservations? I know that Gronze.com usually does, but I don't think the Spiritual Variant is listed there.

Reviews on Google show others concerned and mentioning the acceptance of bag transport and reservations now.

 

[good_old_shoes]

Good thing is, the Camino provided and there were still beds, even if not the preferred beds.

Sad thing that luggage-shipping groups are preferred over walk ins in a municipal, though... and the others pushed into more expensive accommodation.

I know this phenomenon from France, where it's (sadly) normal.

But I always thought in Spain, the municipals usually keep at least some beds for walk in pilgrims, even if they accept reservations...?

 

[jungleboy]

May I ask an honest question?

From your post it sounds like:
A) you knew the albergue could be pre-booked
B) other pilgrims were already talking about this, prompting the possibility that the albergue could be busy/full
C) because of this, you left earlier than usual in the morning as you were worried it might be full

With all that in mind, why didn’t you try to pre-book yourself?

(Not trying to get into a general debate about the merits etc of booking vs non-booking, but maybe that’s inevitable.)

Nevertheless, both my daughter and myself are both of the opinion that if we had known that we would not be staying in Armenteira village itself we would have not have bothered with the Spiritual path or otherwise booked beds at another location.

Each to their own but this seems like a strange conclusion to me. Firstly, Armenteira town is not the main attraction of the VE. Secondly, the albergue is a fair way past the town anyway. Thirdly, you still went into town in the afternoon. So what exactly did you feel you missed out on to render the entire VE not worth doing? I’m sorry you didn’t have a good experience in Armenteira but I hope you enjoyed the stone and water route, the hórreos of Combarro and the other attractions of the VE.

 

[Little-Neville]

May I ask an honest question?

From your post it sounds like:
A) you knew the albergue could be pre-booked
B) other pilgrims were already talking about this, prompting the possibility that the albergue could be busy/full
C) because of this, you left earlier than usual in the morning as you were worried it might be full

With all that in mind, why didn’t you try to pre-book yourself?

(Not trying to get into a general debate about the merits etc of booking vs non-booking, but maybe that’s inevitable.)


Each to their own but this seems like a strange conclusion to me. Firstly, Armenteira town is not the main attraction of the VE. Secondly, the albergue is a fair way past the town anyway. Thirdly, you still went into town in the afternoon. So what exactly did you feel you missed out on to render the entire VE not worth doing? I’m sorry you didn’t have a good experience in Armenteira but I hope you enjoyed the stone and water route, the hórreos of Combarro and the other attractions of the VE.

We had heard that they did take advanced bookings although when we investigated this matter, we got mixed messages on the various camino forums regarding this policy. We also tried to access a website for this hostel however when we tried to book the website redirected us to Bookings,com where there were no details about the hostel. We wanted to attend the mass at Armenteira monastry which was at 18:00 which happened to be the same time as our meals were delivered to the house we were staying at. I am critical of the way that we were bundled into a car within minutes of arriving at the hostel - it would have made a lot more sense if the Hostel manager had said to us - do you want to stay in this house - if so I can arrange for you to be picked up later from the hostel - which would have given us time to explore te Monestry and eat at one of the restaurants.

 

[peregrino_tom]

Little-Neville, TBH after reading your story I'm left scratching my head. I thought your final paragraph was going to be very different.
My summary of what happened is:
You arrived somewhere and found that there were no places at the accommodation you'd hoped to stay at. Then the local people used their resourcefulness to contact their friends, gave up their time and did a whole range of things while under no obligation to assist you. They worked together to find you a place to stay and provided you with food and accommodation at a very reasonable price.
To me, this is the sort of kind-hearted magic that makes the camino so wonderful. Rather than avoid the VE if I knew that such generous people were to be found on it, I would have actually have diverted towards it!
I really hope that you and the other guests were fullsome in expressing your gratitude to these kind people of Armenteira.

 

[jungleboy]

We had heard that they did take advanced bookings although when we investigated this matter, we got mixed messages on the various camino forums regarding this policy. We also tried to access a website for this hostel however when we tried to book the website redirected us to Bookings,com where there were no details about the hostel. We wanted to attend the mass at Armenteira monastry which was at 18:00 which happened to be the same time as our meals were delivered to the house we were staying at. I am critical of the way that we were bundled into a car within minutes of arriving at the hostel - it would have made a lot more sense if the Hostel manager had said to us - do you want to stay in this house - if so I can arrange for you to be picked up later from the hostel - which would have given us time to explore te Monestry and eat at one of the restaurants.

Fair enough.

Perhaps some general lessons for pilgrims here are:

1) While online booking is more convenient and it's understandable that there is 'phone fear' for pilgrims in another country with a different language, if you feel you need to book somewhere and there's no other way, it might be more prudent to call rather than hope for the best.

2) Don't hesitate to speak up if you're not comfortable with what's being proposed to you regarding timing, accommodation etc. If you prefer different times for pickup, dinner etc, it doesn't hurt to ask if they can accommodate your wishes. In most cases I would think they can, and if they can't/won't, at least you did all you could.

 

[dougfitz]

When I walked the VE earlier in the year, I booked the albergue using WhatsApp chat, but on the day cancelled and stayed in Combarro. It was clear from a variety of sources that booking was an option, and that is what I did. I don't think the albergue or any of the promotional flyers that I saw on the way from Valenca at albergues, hostels etc, that seem to have been published by the local councils promoting the VE, suggested that it was a place that didn't take bookings. So I am wondering why you are concerned and what the point of raising the issue might be?

If you were misled by anything, it appears to have been some of the interlocutors you chose on this or other forums that might have suggested that you didn't need to book. I don't recall you raising the question here, but I might have missed that. It is unfortunate that following advice that I can only presume was well-meaning in its context has led to this unfortunate turn of events.

If there is a lesson in this about the quality of the advice any of us give, it is this. Rarely will any of us be there right beside you when the time comes when you might want to hold us accountable for what we have said here on the forum. And the corollary to that is that if we are unable to be held accountable, responsibility for the advice you do take is entirely yours. That might sound unpleasantly harsh when advice is given by well intentioned people keen to share their experiences to help others, but I do think it is the underlying reality of how this forum operates.

As for whether municipal albergues should take reservations, that is entirely the remit of the albergue management. My recent experience with the Xunta albergues in Galicia when walking the Camino Sanabres was that it was wonderful to be able to walk to them without booking, and find a bed in them. I would rather more not take bookings than less, but I fear I am mimicking King Canute attempting to hold back the tide, albeit I might not be able to claim to have the same humility of purpose!

 

[El Cascayal]

The Albergue in Armenteira began life as a municipal albergue that apparently had many upkeep difficulties. It is now run privately. It accepts reservations. It is organized and impeccably clean. The Hospitalero is highly personable and attentive to each Pilgrim. The morning breakfast that you sign up for at registration is excellent. The Camino spirit is alive and fostered here.

 

[pat932490]

Capitalism in Spain. Actually, it sounds like it turned out ok. it could have been worse. In life, one must expect unexpected curves.

 

[gollygolly]

Myself and my daughter recently completed the Porto to Santiago (via spiritual route) leg of the Portuguese Camino. We were interested in fellow pilgrims views on the fact that the Municipal Hostel in Armenteira on the Spiritual path takes advanced bookings unlike the majority of Municipal Hostels on the Camino.

We did not realise that we needed to pre-book this hostel and when we arrived at it (12:45) we were shocked to find a note on the door saying that today the Hostel only had beds for pilgrims that had prebooked – there were no other pilgrims waiting. There were a couple of telephone numbers to call which we tried and managed to get through to a person but then struggled to communicate with them due to language issues, at which point a man came out the hostel, he advised us that the hostel was fully pre-booked but he could offer us 2 places at a house behind the monastery. He said that a lady would pick us up in 5 minutes and the cost would be 25 euros each including breakfast. We asked whether it was possible for us to sleep on the floor outside the hostel entrance that has a roof but he was not receptive to this. We were in a state of shock having got up so early to get to the hostel early. We felt under a lot of pressure, to accept the one offer he had proposed. Once we accepted the offer a lady appeared approximately 5 minutes later to take us and our bags to the accommodation. We were then driven up a hill, past the monastery and beyond – approximately 1.9 km away from the original Albergue. We were dropped off at the house at about 13:00 and shown , our room, bed and facilities. There were odds and sods in the fridge (bread, cakes, butter, Jams) and a coffee machine. The lady said she knew a woman that could offer us dinner for a further 12 euro's each (payable to the lady when the food arrived) - which we accepted as there appeared to be no other choice available (I.e. no shops or restaurants in the immediate vicinity). We asked how we get our pilgrim passport stamped - she said tomorrow you can get it done back at the Albergue. She agreed that she would pick us up at 6:00 am and drop us back at the Albergue in Armenteira.

I must admit at the point the lady left we quite depressed as we were now isolated and away from the Pilgrim community in Armenteira. To be fair that Lady did reappear a little latter with a couple more pilgrims. At this point myself and my daughter decided to walk down the hill to Armenteira which in practice only took about 25 minutes, where we got our Camino passports stamped, had a drink at one of the two restaurants/bars in the village and we also managed to visit the Monastery . When we returned to the house there were 3 more adults, 1 with a young child. At 18:00 our evenings meal arrived and we sat down with 3 other guests to eat our meals.

To be fair the house (https://www.booking.com/hotel/es/casav-rustica-bicano.en-gb.html#tab-main) was very nice and we enjoyed the food . Nevertheless, both my daughter and myself are both of the opinion that if we had known that we would not be staying in Armenteira village itself we would have not have bothered with the Spiritual path or otherwise booked beds at another location.

My recollection of the hostel in Armenteira is that it is NOT exclusive to walkers / pilgrims. It is a hostel that is more akin to the YHA in the UK, with bookings taken in advance. When passing I was fortunate to stay overnight in the Monasterio de Armenteira, though I know from others who stayed at the hostel that same night that there was a large group of excited, young adolescent school children, not walking and not pilgrims, who stayed overnight and who created a fair disturbance until the early hours of the morning. This challenge of noise disturbance in dual or multi-use hostels is not unique to Armenteira

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I stayed at that muni albergue in mid May of 2019. I just double checked my 2018 Brierley Portuguese guidebook and he definitely calls it a "municipal" at that time for €6. I had a very pleasant experience there, and walked the short way back to the village and recall I had a delicious del dia sitting in the sun on a lovely day.
Now, going forward, I will no longer assume a municipal is only available on a first arrival basis.

 

[bullingtonce]

Myself and my daughter recently completed the Porto to Santiago (via spiritual route) leg of the Portuguese Camino. We were interested in fellow pilgrims views on the fact that the Municipal Hostel in Armenteira on the Spiritual path takes advanced bookings unlike the majority of Municipal Hostels on the Camino.

We did not realise that we needed to pre-book this hostel and when we arrived at it (12:45) we were shocked to find a note on the door saying that today the Hostel only had beds for pilgrims that had prebooked – there were no other pilgrims waiting. There were a couple of telephone numbers to call which we tried and managed to get through to a person but then struggled to communicate with them due to language issues, at which point a man came out the hostel, he advised us that the hostel was fully pre-booked but he could offer us 2 places at a house behind the monastery. He said that a lady would pick us up in 5 minutes and the cost would be 25 euros each including breakfast. We asked whether it was possible for us to sleep on the floor outside the hostel entrance that has a roof but he was not receptive to this. We were in a state of shock having got up so early to get to the hostel early. We felt under a lot of pressure, to accept the one offer he had proposed. Once we accepted the offer a lady appeared approximately 5 minutes later to take us and our bags to the accommodation. We were then driven up a hill, past the monastery and beyond – approximately 1.9 km away from the original Albergue. We were dropped off at the house at about 13:00 and shown , our room, bed and facilities. There were odds and sods in the fridge (bread, cakes, butter, Jams) and a coffee machine. The lady said she knew a woman that could offer us dinner for a further 12 euro's each (payable to the lady when the food arrived) - which we accepted as there appeared to be no other choice available (I.e. no shops or restaurants in the immediate vicinity). We asked how we get our pilgrim passport stamped - she said tomorrow you can get it done back at the Albergue. She agreed that she would pick us up at 6:00 am and drop us back at the Albergue in Armenteira.

I must admit at the point the lady left we quite depressed as we were now isolated and away from the Pilgrim community in Armenteira. To be fair that Lady did reappear a little latter with a couple more pilgrims. At this point myself and my daughter decided to walk down the hill to Armenteira which in practice only took about 25 minutes, where we got our Camino passports stamped, had a drink at one of the two restaurants/bars in the village and we also managed to visit the Monastery . When we returned to the house there were 3 more adults, 1 with a young child. At 18:00 our evenings meal arrived and we sat down with 3 other guests to eat our meals.

To be fair the house (https://www.booking.com/hotel/es/casav-rustica-bicano.en-gb.html#tab-main) was very nice and we enjoyed the food . Nevertheless, both my daughter and myself are both of the opinion that if we had known that we would not be staying in Armenteira village itself we would have not have bothered with the Spiritual path or otherwise booked beds at another location.

It seems to me this is nothing more than a Camino happening; however, the challenge that you faced had more to do with how you perceived things rather than what actually was occuring. It also seems that the people involved were very accommodating and came nowhere near to overcharging. As such, and because you and no one else made the decision to pre book, everything turned out extremely well and one ought to be thankful in this regard. Just my take though as I am an old codger stuck in his ways and mindset.

 

[dougfitz]

Now, going forward, I will no longer assume a municipal is only available on a first arrival basis.

There was at least one municipal albergue on the CF taking bookings when my wife and I walked in 2016. It is not a recent phenomena.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

There was at least one municipal albergue on the CF taking bookings when my wife and I walked in 2016. It is not a recent phenomena.

My first Camino (the Frances) in 2015 I stayed at all types of albergues, and walked until I decided to stop for the night. I am sure I was ignorant of reserving ahead as my main source of info at that time was "The Way" and my Brierley guidebook. I don't "think" he mentioned the possibility of reserving beds ahead of time at the private albergues in his guidebook and I was winging my Camino with no problems.
I now always book everything ahead of time before I leave home, but from what I read on the forum, apparently the ability to reserve municipals has become even more of a phenomena in recent years.

 

[trecile]

I stayed at that muni albergue in mid May of 2019. I just double checked my 2018 Brierley Portuguese guidebook and he definitely calls it a "municipal" at that time for €6.

Apparently it's now a private albergue. Maybe it happened after Brierley completed the 2018 guide, or maybe he missed it.

The Albergue in Armenteira began life as a municipal albergue that apparently had many upkeep difficulties. It is now run privately. It accepts reservations

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Apparently it's now a private albergue. Maybe it happened after Brierley completed the 2018 guide, or maybe he missed it.

Yes, I saw @El Cascayal had mentioned that it had changed. I figured that a mistake was a possibility, but my point is that I knew no better than to follow what I read as a newbie in my guidebook on my first Camino, naive as I was; I know that even Gronze has occasional errors. Possibly the OP was going by past experiences of herself or others and not up to date on how things are continually changing.

 

[Lleslie]

We, too, assumed you couldn't book ( lastJune) and were nervous as their would be 5 of us from Porto but luckily the hospitalero where we stayed in Valada (couple of stages out of Lisbon) was interested to see our plan and assured us we must book. Contacted by whatsapp and received a reply almost straight away.

 

[GailGwyn]

The Albergue in Armenteira began life as a municipal albergue that apparently had many upkeep difficulties. It is now run privately. It accepts reservations. It is organized and impeccably clean. The Hospitalero is highly personable and attentive to each Pilgrim. The morning breakfast that you sign up for at registration is excellent. The Camino spirit is alive and fostered here.

Sorry, but this wasn't our experience when we stayed there in 2021. The hospitalera was brusque, unwelcoming and dismissive. We thought that the treatment we received was because we were not Spanish, but a young Spanish couple we made friends with said that they'd received similar treatment. If I walked that route again I would never stay there.

 

[VNwalking]

Now, going forward, I will no longer assume a municipal is only available on a first arrival basis.

That's the main lesson here,
Never assume, unless you're OK with the consequences.