Hostal Via Lactea

This hostel is located about a 6-min drive (30 min walk) from the famous Burgos cathedral (ie. the city centre). It is clean, newly refurbished and the rooms are surprisingly spacious. The room we stayed in was a twin with big windows,receiving lots of sunlight and ventilation. The room does include an en suite bathroom (shower with toilet) and a TV. The down sides of the room are that there is little storage space and while there is a small writing desk, it is barely enough and is very basic. The style of the room is minimalist, so it is pleasing to the eye, but the lack of closet space and tabletop space can be an issue. We visited in March and temperatures were hovering around zero. The room was wonderfully warmly heated - to the point of being excessively so, making it sometimes feel like a sauna. However, the radiator in the room can have its settings changed and the heating regulated. It is important to note that there are no extra services provided (in keeping with its status as a hostel). We were there for 3 days and never saw anyone manning the reception except on the first morning when we signed in. This was a slight problem for us because we had no one to get the free wifi password off (until our last day when we made our payment). There is a microwave located behind the reception desk in the lobby, but we never found out if it was for staff or guests (because there was never anyone around to ask). Despite the lack of a (visible) receptionist, we had no problem arriving in the early hours of the morning because we called in advance and were given the code of entry to let ourselves in, with our room key left out on the front desk for us. There is a funky cafe a couple of doors down (affiliated to a nearby hotel) which is trendy and nice. Right next door to the hostel, there is also a small cafe offering very basic fare. The location is rather isolated. Aside from a small grocery store (NOT a supermarket, as some reviews claim) there is literally nothing else around. The grocery store only accepts cash and stocks a very limited supply of items, aimed at travellers passing through. There is free parking available and fairly ample space to park. This hostel is excellent value-for-money for the budget traveller on a business trip. It was the cheapest deal on offer at the time of our booking and we had no regrets, but we were on a business trip and had little extra needs besides a roof for the night and a bed to sleep in.