Refuge Accueil Paroissial "Kaserna"

[Yallah]

Hi friends,

I'm curious if any of you have stayed at Refuge Accueil Paroissial "Kaserna" in St-Jean-Pied-de-Port. I enjoy staying at religious accommodations but I'm having trouble locating any information about this one. Is it donativo? Cozy or awkward? Do they take reservations? The phone numbers I've found online so far have not worked.

Many thanks for any leads!

 

[karenhypes]

Hi, There is a listing in the "Miam Miam Miam Dodo" book (2011 edition) and it appears it does operate on a 'donativo' basis (part libre aux frais). Address: 43 rue d'Espagne, 64220 SJPP. Phone: 05-59-37-65-17 & 06-28-72-22-86. It has 12 beds, offers dinner and b'fast and is open from April 15 to Sep 14-20. Most of the gites/albergues in SJPP do take reservations. Hope this helps.
Dayton

 

[journeycakes]

I loved my stay at Maison Kaserna on Sept 1, 2013. A sketchy map and long walk on the wrong road got me lost enough to miss out on the last bed at an Auberge the pilgrim office had directed me toward. The Hospitalero at the auberge with no vacancy drove me in his car to Maison Kaserna and ensured through a conversation with the hospitalera that I would have a bed there before he left me. I was given a friendly welcome by the two women in charge, one of whom spoke excellent English. The dormitory accommodated about 10 or 12 in bunk beds but there were only 6 beds occupied that night. Each bed had its own small light and electrical outlet which was very nice! The two complete bathrooms were very clean and comfortable. The food was excellent. We were given dinner, a bed and breakfast for which they suggested a suitable donation was €18. They said they were operated by an organization which (after a bit of post-Camino research) I now understand to be the home parish of the Catholic Church. There were no overt aspects of faith displayed toward us pilgrims during our stay, but it was a lovely and peaceful atmosphere staffed by kind people. There is no wi-fi at this albergue which wouldn't have been a problem except there was also no wi-fi at Orisson where I stayed the next night, so by the time I reached Roncesvalles, my family at home hadn't heard from me since before I left Pamplona on the bus going to SJPP, so they were worried about my well-being. In hindsight I would have gone to a bar or coffee shop with wi-fi before leaving SJPP and sent a quick e-mail to the folks at home telling them I was happy and well and would e-mail again in 2 days. Prior to my departure from home I'd told them to anticipate gaps in communication from me depending upon wi-fi availability, but because it happened at the beginning of my walk it was more worrisome than it was later in my journey

 

[domigee]

I spent the first night there on my 1st camino in July 2012. The hospitaleros were a lovely French couple, it was their first day too. I was the only French-speaking pilgrim and they didn't speak any English .
It is one room with bunk-beds, and 2 bathrooms, all very clean and very new: i think it had just opened on 1st July that year. Like in most albergues there is a small laundry washing place downstairs in the courtyard.
It was donativo but from memory, 12 euros were suggested for a bed and 12 euros for the meal.
It was a great way to start the camino, I got on really well with the hospitaleros, both seasoned pilgrims and very kind and encouraging.
As mentioned, there is a plug outlet by each bed and stupidly I left my phone charger in there, doh. They actually took the trouble to post it back to me and we have kept in touch by email for new year greetings!
I now know it is a Parish albergue but there was no outward religious signs when I stayed there.

 

[Stacey Wittig]

I had a lovely stay at Maison Kaserna on May 7, 2015. The hospitaleros were kind, generous and service-minded. The space was donated by a devote Catholic woman; I believe that she was local. I find it odd that the discussion above seems to find it a benefit that "there were no outward religious signs" at this albergue. Me, on the other hand, find it beneficial when there is a spiritual dynamic to the place.

 

[journeycakes]

I had a lovely stay at Maison Kaserna on May 7, 2015. The hospitaleros were kind, generous and service-minded. The space was donated by a devote Catholic woman; I believe that she was local. I find it odd that the discussion above seems to find it a benefit that "there were no outward religious signs" at this albergue. Me, on the other hand, find it beneficial when there is a spiritual dynamic to the place.

It was months after I stayed at Maison Kaserna that I did some research and discovered (to my surprise) that it was operated by the local Catholic parish. I would have enjoyed knowing that fact at the time. My earlier remark was offhand and reflected that I'd never noticed expressions of Christian faith and spirituality such as are commonplace at albergues in convents and monasteries; however, I could have been too overwhelmed by my first albergue experience of my 2013 journey on the Camino to notice what might have been more obvious than my first impression captured! BTW Stacey, I met you when you stopped in at Albergue Amanecer in Villarmentero de Campos for the donativo breakfast served by Wilbert the Dutch hospitalero the morning of May 17, 2015.

 

[Stacey Wittig]

It was months after I stayed at Maison Kaserna that I did some research and discovered (to my surprise) that it was operated by the local Catholic parish. I would have enjoyed knowing that fact at the time. My earlier remark was offhand and reflected that I'd never noticed expressions of Christian faith and spirituality such as are commonplace at albergues in convents and monasteries; however, I could have been too overwhelmed by my first albergue experience of my 2013 journey on the Camino to notice what might have been more obvious than my first impression captured! BTW Stacey, I met you when you stopped in at Albergue Amanecer in Villarmentero de Campos for the donativo breakfast served by Wilbert the Dutch hospitalero the morning of May 17, 2015.

Thanks for letting me know that we met, JourneyCakes! I remember you well, and hoped that we would meet again... and now we have. Albergue Amanecer certainly is a place of spirituality... in a New Age/hippie sort of way ... and I enjoyed it very much. I am now working on my second book, "Spiritual & Walking Guide: Lourdes to SJPP." It's a great way to keep my Camino alive.

 

[ShellsG]

How does one go about making a reservation at Maison Kaserna?

 

[journeycakes]

In this forum's listing of "all" albergues on the Camino Frances in one pdf the following information for this albergue in SJPP will hopefully help you:

Maison Kaserna: Private albergue; 12 beds; Bed cost: 15 €; Included in price: B&B; facilities: M, W, D; Phone 559 376 517; Street address 43, R. d'Espagne; e-mail: jacques.mullon@orange.fr
(When I stayed there in Sept 2013 I just showed up and they had a bed available. Also it was a donativo with evening meal and breakfast included. When I asked, 18€ was suggested as a suitable donation.