warning about hostel in Ciruena

[wayfarer]

Why was post on albergue warning removed??

 

[tyrrek]

Hi Wayfarer. There was a problem on the site and Ivar had to put up an old version instead. Consequently posts between 20th April and 2nd May are missing.

Buen Camino!

 

[docpam]

Re The warning about the hostel
The posting was negative and did not contribute to the ethos of a pilgrim which is humility.
Personally it made me rethink what I was going to do. I am traveling thousands of kms to volunteer as a hospitalero in the Basque area, later this year. I just hope I meet pilgrims with the correct attitude.

 

[tyrrek]

Re The warning about the hostel
The posting was negative and did not contribute to the ethos of a pilgrim which is humility.
Personally it made me rethink what I was going to do. I am traveling thousands of kms to volunteer as a hospitalero in the Basque area, later this year. I just hope I meet pilgrims with the correct attitude.

It's a pity we don't have some kind of 'Timebank' idea around the Camino, where people could volunteer their varied skills to put things right when an albergue or other aspect of the Camino is struggling in some way. I know there would be issues with the ownership etc, but so many people want to be generous with their time and experience. Humility while a pilgrim and also service to those who make the pilgrimage thereafter. Enjoy your hospitalero experience, docpam!

Buen Camino!

 

[markss]

"Where past pilgrims share and future pilgrims learn"... the byline of this forum

If someone has a negative experience that they want to share why shouldn't they? Many of us have come across an albergue or two that we would avoid in the future. Wouldn't it have been nice to know about that through another's account before staying there ourselves? Why the condemnation? We don't all have to agree here. As for the ethos of a pilgrim, sounds a bit self righteous. Of that I too am guilty. Anyway I'd argue that for a good many who walk the Camino it would be more aptly described as a low cost holiday rather than a pilgrimage. At the end of the day the bars seem to have many more patrons than are in the churches.

Regardless, kudos to the volunteers, hospitaleros and others. Kudos too for the people who share the experience, good and bad on this forum.

 

[wayfarer]

Thank you for the update Tyrek. As for the other comment, some of you people think we should whip ourselves all the way to Santiago to be a "real pilgrim" . I have had a fantastic time on this Camino despite the rain cold and pain. I have met some of the nicest people, pilgrims and hostal owners who have treated us with kindness and respect and I do not think that warning fellow pilgrims about one bad hostel is negative or against the ethos of this brilliant website or being a pilgrim. Alittle bit of reality is as important as a little bit of humility.
Enough said.

 

[merrellj]

Whilst appreciating the need not to malign any particular establishment, this should not preclude objective comment being posted in the general interest and indeed my own comments are made in ignorance of the original posting.

Out of season in April Ciruena was somewhat of a speculative ghost town development with no alternative accommodation unless proceeding another 6km to Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and whilst I too found the albergue a different experience, my colleagues fully enjoyed the hospitality around the communal dinner table and the apparently permanent lentil stew and yogurt dessert on offer.

My personal complaint was that the 13 Euro price quoted was fixed irrespective of whether you wanted to take the dinner (and breakfast) or not. In declining both, I then found myself effectively having to pay twice when getting something to eat at the local bar.

 

[vagabondette]

I just hope I meet pilgrims with the correct attitude.

What in the world is a "correct attitude"? Are only the attitudes that match yours correct? Are people not allowed to have and express different opinions? Whose place is it to judge what is correct and what is not? What if I said that I think your attitude is not correct because you apparently think someone should be censored from talking about a bad experience? Would that then make MY attitude incorrect? I suspect you'll enjoy the camino a lot more if you don't have the expectation that everyone is going to think like you do. If you don't like an opinion, move on. But trying to make someone wrong by saying their attitude isn't correct is much more negative IMO than someone sharing a bad experience at a hostel.

 

[Pieces]

I love perfect people, must be so nice...

Personally I've given up on perfect. Not that I don't try and be nice, generous and overbearing, just in acceptance that I sometimes get it wrong...

Sometimes I have a bad day, sometimes I'm tired, or upset or just plain old fed up. Sometimes I even take offence (also when no offence was meant) and react to this is an unconstructive way. Sometimes on the Camino, where we should all be blissfully happy, in tune with the universe, God and our fellow travellers, I get tired, frustrated, thin-skinned & impatient. Some days I will have been walking in extreme pain for hours, or it will be hot or raining or I just wanna go home cause I dont see the point.

I am not perfect, some days all this may rub off on people along my way, even when I try for it not too. I hope the hospitaleros I will encounter will be generous enough to be kind to me should this happen, as I will try to be generous to them when the shoe is on the other foot and all the peregrinos they have encountered that day were not of the perfect kind, entirely in tune with the universe.

But being one of the imperfect ones I realise that this will not always be the case...

 

[tyrrek]

Well said Pieces.

I agree that we should be able to speak about both positive and negative experiences. How can it be right to say how fantastic a hostel is (I've done that in the past), but not be able to say the opposite? Either way we're just ranking places, and that may be absolutely no reflection on the people working there. They may have to work 10 times harder to keep a run-down establishment going than a well-maintained one, and the condition of the place may be out of their hands.

However the idea that we should just accept what we are offered only stretches so far when you're not being offered it for nothing. I think I said on one of the lost postings that there's an element of understanding in the albergue system. We turn up on the understanding that we are going to have very basic accommodation shared with others who may snore and keep us awake all night until we get kicked out at 8am. However it will be reasonably clean and habitable. In return we pay a small charge, which should reflect the real running costs and understand that the people working there are doing so on a voluntary basis and treat them and the place accordingly.

Where this understanding breaks down criticism should be constructive, solutions offered, and lessons learned so the Camino continues to flourish.

Buen Camino!

 

[annelise]

I only wish to say that I most heartily agree with the arguments set out in most of these posts,

As one who originally contributed with a rather negative review on the Cirurena albergue in some detail (post lost in the transition to the new platform, and thanks Ivar for serving us), I wish to say that my original post in no way was directed to hospitaleros/-as and their wonderful services to us in albergues, nor to the rather high price in Ciruena.

It concerned the attitude displayed towards pilgrims from the host (owner) of this private albergue.

And I would still advise not to miss it - for a different camino experience, weird as this may sound!

As some one said in one of the lost postings, no one remembers in the long run the places where everything was spick and span. But I will never myself forget details from Ciruena but probably from a number of other albergues where everything was perfect. And again, kudos to all who serve.

 

[tyrrek]

And I would still advise not to miss it - for a different camino experience, weird as this may sound!

Oh dear. You're one of those people Wayfarer was talking about who like to whip themselves all along their Camino. :lol:

Buen Camino!

 

[fraluchi]

I only wish to say that I most heartily agree with the arguments set out in most of these posts.[...] It concerned the attitude displayed towards pilgrims from the host (owner) of this private albergue.

When my wife and I stayed at la Virgen de Guadalupe in Cirueña, we were treated in a cordial and helpful way. The owner, Pedro, was helpful, cooked his obviously standard dinner and breakfast, and accompanied us to the local church for a moment of spiritual retreat.
Tripadvisor reports amaze me as to how opinions or experiences can vary from one person to another, or one time and another.
Perhaps we can make constructive suggestions to Pedro when we pass there on some future occasion? :?:

 

[mralisn]

I love perfect people, must be so nice...

Personally I've given up on perfect. Not that I don't try and be nice, generous and overbearing, just in acceptance that I sometimes get it wrong...

Sometimes I have a bad day, sometimes I'm tired, or upset or just plain old fed up. Sometimes I even take offence (also when no offence was meant) and react to this is an unconstructive way. Sometimes on the Camino, where we should all be blissfully happy, in tune with the universe, God and our fellow travellers, I get tired, frustrated, thin-skinned & impatient. Some days I will have been walking in extreme pain for hours, or it will be hot or raining or I just wanna go home cause I dont see the point.

I am not perfect, some days all this may rub off on people along my way, even when I try for it not too. I hope the hospitaleros I will encounter will be generous enough to be kind to me should this happen, as I will try to be generous to them when the shoe is on the other foot and all the peregrinos they have encountered that day were not of the perfect kind, entirely in tune with the universe.

But being one of the imperfect ones I realise that this will not always be the case...

Once again, perfectly stated!

This thread reminds me of my signature below. I saw this once in an alburgue on the Camino Norte. I hope to never forget the difference.

 

[methodist.pilgrim.98]

The notice often also reads

The tourist demands. The pilgrim thanks.

I think it is perfectly reasonable for a member of this forum to draw our attention to a potential problem.

Most albergues charge you extra for meals and are perfectly ok about you eating elsewhere.

I personally like the albergues which charge me an all inclusive price and saves me having to look for somewhere to eat, but I need to know that information before getting there.

However, I would be annoyed if I had eaten not long before arriving and then be told that there is no discount if you don't eat.

If we know that there is a potential problem we can then alter our plans accordingly.

The original poster has done us a service.

I think the problem here arises because the subject line suggests that there is a major issue at Ciruena when the poster is simply passing on some necessary and valuable information.

I would have suggested, Important information about the hostel in Ciruena. I would have then read the post as a useful thing to pop into my guide.

 

[wayfarer]

In Leon and having a rest day. Delighted to report that I am having a wonderful Camino. (or sorry to report depending on your point of view) Have had no bad experiences bar the unmentionable above. Have met some lovely people all along the way, pilgrim and albergue owners alike. So glad I decided to jump in and do it after nearly 20 yrs thinking about it. Here's hoping the rest goes as well and that the knees, hips and feet continue to hold up and that my John Wayne walk will mark me out from those less ordinary. Thank you Ivar for a great website and a great mine of information for the actual and prospective pilgrim.

Santiago or bust.
Buen Camino.

 

[tyrrek]

In Leon and having a rest day. Delighted to report that I am having a wonderful Camino. (or sorry to report depending on your point of view)

Glad to hear it. Keep flogg...sorry, slogging along! Buen Camino!

 

[wayfarer]

 

[wayfarer]

In Astorga. Beautiful town. Weather has really improved. This is what I imagined the Camino to be like. Up early, good days walk, check in, shower, change then sit out with a glass of wine and chat with all the people we met on the way, new friends and old (well about 3 weeks old). Long may it last.

Viva la Camino.

 

[wayfarer]

Finally made it to Muxia via Santiago and Finisterra. what a trip. Have kept notes and hopefuly will write a blog when I get home. Pure magic.

 

[tyrrek]

Finally made it to Muxia via Santiago and Finisterra. what a trip. Have kept notes and hopefuly will write a blog when I get home. Pure magic.

Congratulations! Glad you enjoyed it. I'll be especially interested in the Santiago-Muxia stretch as I've never walked that.

Buen Camino!

 

[wayfarer]

I went the clockwise route. Santiago-Finisterra-Muxia. I must be mad but I think I might do it all again in a few years. Travelled with the same people off and on for the journey. Met most of them in Santiago at the end. Like a band of brothers. For me that was the spirit of the camino.

 

[tyrrek]

I must be mad but I think I might do it all again in a few years. Travelled with the same people off and on for the journey. Met most of them in Santiago at the end. Like a band of brothers. For me that was the spirit of the camino.

You'd be mad not to! I've done it twice in the last 12 months plus a Camino Ingles. Just beware if you have an addictive personality!

 

[naplesdon]

Pedro is a great hospitalier but also brutally honest with his guests. His mantra is: "You are in Spain therefore you speak Spanish!" The place is a basic small auberuge in a town with only one bar but on a June night when it was about to snow his pilgrim meal was an incredible stew of local ingedients that he allows a few of his guest help him prepare. I am American but I live in Biarrtiz and at breakfast the mext morning Pedro broke his vow of speaking only Spanish after realizing I was from Basque Country and spoke to me in french telling me that he too was Basque and was from San Sebastian. Amazing! Thank you Pedro for your hospitality.

 

[wayfarer]

Not wishing to reopen an old thread but circumstances can colour ones views, and mine were coloured in late April by a freezing cold albergue with no proper drying facilities, one badly working shower, damp mattress, blankets and pillows and €20 for accommodation, evening meal and breakfast. (it was still €20 even if you opted not the to have the meal and breakfast) This after a long wet cold days walking. Pedro was the only show in town and he used it to full benefit. The experience was indeed memorable but for all the wrong reasons. :evil:

 

[Pieces]

very sound motto indeed, I also expect everybody visiting denmark to learn danish beforehand or just not show at all...

in any instance Spain dont even need all us misrable "tourists" their economy is doing great and they need the labour elsewhere *coughs*

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I think there may be two albergues being confused -- Ciruena and Cirinuela. Cirinuela is off to the right of the Camino at about the golf course. It is not on current lists of albergues, so it may be closed.

Ciruena is straight ahead when the camino turns right toward Santo Domingo at the entrance to town. There is an albergue and an associated bar.

In the topic that was lost during the server transfer, the two were being confused. It would be a disservice to one of the albergues if it is being criticized for actions of the other!

Los Albergues: Albergue Virgen de Guadalupe

(22 votos) ¡Me gusta! 10 comentarios

Dirección: Calle Barrio Alto, 1
Localidad: Cirueña
Teléfono de contacto: 638 92 40 69
Email: virgendeguadalupe1@gmail.com
Página web: http://www.virgendeguadalupe1.blogspot.com
Propiedad del albergue: Privada
Institución o administración encargada de los costes de mantenimiento: Privada
Persona encargada de atender el albergue: Petrus

Albergue Ciriñuela
Hostal Albergue Virgen de las Candelas: Abierto todo el Año. CAT: *** Localidad Tel. Dirección Ciudad Provincia CP
Ciriñuela 9413443290 Calle Real n. 90 Ciriñuela La Rioja 26258
Contacto Tel. E-Mail WEB Tipo CAT.
Ilka Conceiçao 686313449 Mail Web Privado ***
Plazas Tot. Literas Camas Colchones Suelo Discapac.
22 14 8 No
Precio Precio Precio Precio Precio Precio
15-14 € 14 € 15 €

 

[wayfarer]

You are correct falcon269. The original post referred to The Virgin of Guadalupe. And I hope this whole topic doesn't kick off again. :?

 

[El Condor 2014]

Whilst appreciating the need not to malign any particular establishment, this should not preclude objective comment being posted in the general interest and indeed my own comments are made in ignorance of the original posting.

Out of season in April Ciruena was somewhat of a speculative ghost town development with no alternative accommodation unless proceeding another 6km to Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and whilst I too found the albergue a different experience, my colleagues fully enjoyed the hospitality around the communal dinner table and the apparently permanent lentil stew and yogurt dessert on offer.

My personal complaint was that the 13 Euro price quoted was fixed irrespective of whether you wanted to take the dinner (and breakfast) or not. In declining both, I then found myself effectively having to pay twice when getting something to eat at the local bar.

Ahhh ! at the mentioned of LENTILS I know exactly which Albergue you are talking about.
However, I had a good experience in this Albergue. My wife was ready to call it quits right there and then, the Hospitalero ( apart from been a little out there ) had a serious and honest conversation with my wife and sorted her problems out. If I stop there on my second Camino in May , I must thank him