Albergue Albor (Caldas de Reis)

About us

Our hostel is in the old town of Caldas de Reis, a small town with a great history. There is evidence of settlers in this area since the Iron Age, as it sits in a privileged geographic location that has always been part of the communication routes between northern and southern Galicia. This small town has a spring that provides thermal water with healing properties, and the Romans were well aware of it. Given the importance of this and its exceptional location, they named it “Aquis Celenis” — the origin of the current name — and granted it the administrative status of “municipium”, making it an official stop on the Roman Road XIX. In the 12th century, since Queen Urraca of Castile had a defensive tower in the town where she spent long periods, it came to be called Caldas de Rex (today Caldas de Reis), a town of royal and abbey domain. Today we still have relics left by our ancestors. Places of special interest located on the Camino itself are the Church of Santa María, of Romanesque origin; the hot thermal water fountain, as well as the washing place fed by that same water (a little off the route); and the Roman bridge over the river Bermaña. Other points of interest are the large Botanical Garden and its “Carballeira” (oak grove), declared a picturesque site and historic garden in 1962, with more than 100 botanical species from different parts of the world, in the very centre of the town. It leads to a riverside walk that takes you to the wonder of nature that is the Segade Waterfalls, where you can enjoy the local flora and fauna and even cool off in its waters on the most suitable days. There you will find the ruins of the first hydroelectric plant in Galicia, a milestone in its time. And a few metres further up the river you come to the Roman bridge of A Baxe, from the 1st century.

Our premises are right on the Portuguese Camino to Santiago de Compostela, in a house over 150 years old. A building with a peculiar history, as it belonged to the great family doctor “Don Pepito Sexto”, who looked after most of the town’s population in the first half of the 20th century. We were born from the need, in hostels, to make privacy individual without giving up the collective concept. It was conceived as a B&B kapuseru hoteru or pod hostel (capsule hotel) without giving up the charm of the local architecture. We believe it is our duty to offer our guests a space to relax after the long hours of walking, the bad weather and the battles of the Camino. To this end, we have designed the facilities to give our guests the best conditions for their well-being. Our bunk beds are designed with a special height that lets you sit comfortably in both of their spaces, with excellent-quality mattresses to aid rest, curtains in each compartment that ensure the guest’s privacy, individual lighting and a socket. We also offer other services to improve our guests’ comfort, such as individual full bathrooms, shoe dryer, hairdryer, laundry service, washing area and outdoor clothes line, dining and lounge area, buffet-style breakfast service, outdoor relaxation area and many other things you’ll have to discover. We want to stand out in every field, and one we are most proud of is our sealing-wax stamp. Created with our logo, we place on our guests’ credential an original and unique stamp that certainly draws attention. Blue wax, with the relief painted in gold and a Camino shell create this unique, original mark.

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