New municipal albergue in A Pobra do Brollón

[Bradypus]

The Gronze Facebook page is reporting that a new 36 bed municipal albergue has opened on the Invierno at A Pobra do Brollón

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[Angelo]

The Gronze Facebook page is reporting that a new 36 bed municipal albergue has opened on the Invierno at A Pobra do Brollón

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Thanks for sharing

 

[VNwalking]

Woo hooooo!
Another place to stay between Quiroga and Monforte. I like the vibe of this little pueblo a lot, and wish them all success.

 

[Flog]

Good news! Infrastructure and accessibility has been steadily improving on the invierno.. yet thankfully it's still challenging enough to remain unspoilt and not drawing the masses..

 

[peregrina2000]

This thread has a couple of links to press announcements Thanks to @FreeCat and @Bradypus for always giving us the hot off the presses Invierno news!

 

[peregrina2000]

Just a heads up for anyone planning to spend the night. I just got a WhatsApp from the albergue telling me that they greatly prefer to have advance notice of your arrival (day or two ahead should be fine), not because there’s likely to be a bed rush, but because they want to make sure to have everything in order and open. Don’t call, just WhatsApp.

Phone is 34 609 490 941

 

[Hom4]

I was able to book a bed at this albergue on Booking.com.

 

[VNwalking]

Booking rips off the albergue, and you may end up.paying more than if you book directly. Fortunately this is just as easy:

Don’t call, just WhatsApp.
Phone is 34 609 490 941

Or just show up, the old-fashioned way.

 

[peregrina2000]

Booking rips off the albergue, and you may end up.paying more than if you book directly. Fortunately this is just as easy:

Or just show up, the old-fashioned way.

I would second VN’s suggestion that you contact the albergue directly. They do take a hit when you go through booking, but they cannot afford to shut off access to that huge market (especially since they are an albergue turístico, not a pilgrim albergue).

The women running this albergue (with a license from the municipality) would very much prefer that you NOT just show up. They like to have advance warning because they do not always have people staying there and if you just show up they might not be there. They are also running their parents’ pensión (As Viñas, which had been closed for several years when the parents retired), and they have kids. Send a text message via WhatsApp a day or two ahead; it will be greatly appreciated.

 

[trecile]

I stayed there last month, and it's a fantastic albergue! The beds have real cotton sheets, and they supply real cotton towels. I made a reservation through WhatsApp. There were only two of us that night. You can buy a full dinner made by a local woman for only 9 Euros, and it was excellent. If you want a beverage with dinner you will need to buy one in town, or you there is a vending machine with sodas and beer. There is a refrigerator and microwave that you can use.

 

[Hom4]

Booking rips off the albergue, and you may end up.paying more than if you book directly. Fortunately this is just as easy:

Or just show up, the old-fashioned

Normally, I would call. However, I didn't want to risk a bed not being available since limited lodging options on this stage. I know I'm paying a few euros more based on the users' reviews for this location. More a piece of mind for me. Thank for info regarding the opening of this albergue.

 

[peregrina2000]

. I know I'm paying a few euros more based on the users' reviews for this location.

You aren’t paying any more by using booking. Both booking and the albergue website show the rate as 17€ for summer season. What that means is that the albergue is going to receive 3, 4, or even 5 euros less than if you booked directly with them. Not a big deal, perhaps, but it adds up.

No need to call them, you can just send a text via WhatsApp and you will get a confirmation text response.

 

[Pilgrim9]

I don't like using WhatsApp because, if I remember correctly, upon installation it immediately demanded access to my entire address book. That felt invasive. Also, it is yet another app that one must learn to use. Ditto for lots of other proprietary apps. Enough is enough!

I much prefer to standardize upon Booking.com, with whose booking, confirmation, and payment processes I have become very familiar.

If the Booking.com service fee to a locally-owned, economically-priced lodging place such as an albergue is just a few Euros, and if the lodging place will evidence that to me, perhaps by showing me representative Booking.com transaction record(s), then I will cheerfully hand over the service-fee-equivalent number of Euros in cash, no receipt required, to the lodging place so that it is I, not they, who pays the service fee. That seems fair to me because it is I who is getting the benefits of ease of use and standardization of my processes - and of not needing to share my address book with yet another app.

I would be less likely to do this when dealing with a hotel that charges world-class prices.

 

[VNwalking]

The women running this albergue (with a license from the municipality) would very much prefer that you NOT just show up. They like to have advance warning because they do not always have people staying there and if you just show up they might not be there. They are also running their parents’ pensión (As Viñas, which had been closed for several years when the parents retired), and they have kids. Send a text message via WhatsApp a day or two ahead; it will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Laurie. Good to know!

 

[BombayBill]

Booking rips off the albergue, and you may end up.paying more than if you book directly. Fortunately this is just as easy:

Or just show up, the old-fashioned way.

I know B.com is a controversial topic and sometimes for good reason. But let me gently push back on "rips off". I worked at an understaffed frequently booked solid Alb. When I was the sole person on duty for the day I had to - Serve breakfast, gently exit the Pilgrims, clean up, prepare the next morning's breakfast, and later greet new guests. I did not have to time to answer the phone, check emails, or juggle bed inventory against ever evolving needs. B.com was the ever wakeful mastermind behind arranging reservations. It served its purpose for our Alb. Yes at a cost but an extra body to help out at an Alb also comes at a cost.

So sorry for sidetracking this thread which is eminently useful to me planning my own walk.

 

[peregrina2000]

I know B.com is a controversial topic and sometimes for good reason. But let me gently push back on "rips off". I worked at an understaffed frequently booked solid Alb. When I was the sole person on duty for the day I had to - Serve breakfast, gently exit the Pilgrims, clean up, prepare the next morning's breakfast, and later greet new guests. I did not have to time to answer the phone, check emails, or juggle bed inventory against ever evolving needs. B.com was the ever wakeful mastermind behind arranging reservations. It served its purpose for our Alb. Yes at a cost but an extra body to help out at an Alb also comes at a cost.

So sorry for sidetracking this thread which is eminently useful to me planning my own walk.

Totally agree that there are places that happily (or sometimes in resignation) use booking. I even know of one place on the Vasco Interior that relies exclusively on booking for reservations, it’s the only platform to use. The owner also runs a restaurant and does not want the hassle of dealing with reservations, just like what you describe.

But when you know that it is easy to book directly with a particular albergue, and when you know that it is no more complicated to send a whatsApp than to sign up on booking, it seems to me that it’s a nice gesture to save the albergue some euros. Surely not a big deal, though.