The Hostelz.com Review
This hostel began in February 2003 in the very nice coastal peninsula town of Cadiz. It is an extremely relaxed place run by a friendly, relaxed group of people and a dog. The facility is a 2-story building with 2 four-bed rooms, 1 six-bed room, and 2 small rooms with 1 big bed. They also have extra mattresses for the floor and during warmer times you can sleep on the very nice roof lounge. Below the roof is the regular lounge with full kitchen, couches, laundry facilities (cheap), and an environment where you are encouraged to drink upon being checked in. They also have an additional flat nearby that they operate. They also rent out surfboards.
It isn't a spic and span place but is cleaned often enough. The upper bathroom is cleaner than the lower, and those who like spotless restroom facilities may be wary of the lower one. The place carries a few smells but any who have travelled and hostelled shouldn't mind any of that. Make sure to book in advance for fiesta days, and don't expect reception before noon. If any guests are awake, they will let you in and you can put your bags on the roof until someone arrives.
Getting here is very easy - it's located two blocks from a main plaza, San Juan de Dios in a small alley-street and very close to the port bus station. Any information kiosk can point you there.
It isn't a spic and span place but is cleaned often enough. The upper bathroom is cleaner than the lower, and those who like spotless restroom facilities may be wary of the lower one. The place carries a few smells but any who have travelled and hostelled shouldn't mind any of that. Make sure to book in advance for fiesta days, and don't expect reception before noon. If any guests are awake, they will let you in and you can put your bags on the roof until someone arrives.
Getting here is very easy - it's located two blocks from a main plaza, San Juan de Dios in a small alley-street and very close to the port bus station. Any information kiosk can point you there.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
May 2004
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Casa Caracol Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Very last resort There's better places. Here, the security is LOUSY. I entrusted my money belt to the reception staff and they put it in a "secure" drawer and told me the desk was always manned. I checked out and asked for the money belt, a 50 euro note was missing and replaced with a 20. I was in a hurry so couldn't argue my case to the (I'm sure) honest guy on the desk. I wrote to the boss by e-mail, later but was fobbed off. Just stay elsewhere! I concur that it's a dishonest hostel. Not worth a star. — Gee , british (2011-09-17) Better places to stay Do your self a favour, stay at one of the new hostels that have opened in Cadiz. The latest reviews are misleading, if you want to earn 5 bucks they will pay you for a good but dishonest review. — Will , England (2011-02-21) Casa Caracol is a wicked little place stay there!! Casa Caracol is a lovely hostel. the place is full of character, it is clean, and loads of fun. The brothel closed down next door over 2 years ago. There are doors to every room! Lockers for everyone, but the real draw is the vibe and the welcoming feel of the place it has heart and soul in a beautiful building and a fabulous roof terrace full of plants and hammocks. The mould is history as the roof has been repaired after the deluge in 2009. In the winter there is a wood burning stove so it is cosy. Check it out yourself! — Anonymous , England (2010-10-06) Surprising that this a business When I arrived the receptionist continued talking with her friend on the phone for fifteen minutes while two other guests arrived. She explained that she had not talked to her friend for some time. Once they had caught up, she could not accept my fifty euro note, for a twenty-six euro charge, because she had no change. The hostel employs seven individuals to maintain thirty-two beds. One particularly pretension hippie resides on the couch in the common area in exchange for occasionally changing light bulbs. Most of these people are well meaning but have no business running a hostel, yet if you are traveling solo it might be the best way to meet young English speakers in Cadiz. However, your experience will be more hippie nomad abroad than andalucian. It is, I believe, the only hostel in Cadiz. but if you are not traveling alone it is highly recommended to stay in a pension for a comparable price. — Dan McLeod , Canada (2009-03-14) nice and warm atmosphere, nothing to complain. sure, if you want to sleep quietly at night and take great showers, it's definitely the wrong place. you'll meet long queues for the shower, and people coming back home early in the morning (like in all hostels of this type?). forget planning your evening with strict appointments. in contrary, make sure to forget the time and change your life on low-fire. then you'll meet many backpackers from all over the world, all with their own stories to tell. dinner parties on the roof, or chilled guitar music as well as friendly stuff. furthermore, it's a safe place for your luggage. I also had the impression that it's a clean place. — olita de frankfurt (2006-09-08) I met friendly people and this place has a nice relaxed vibe. The one aspect I would warn other females about is the owner. On first meeting him he was nice enough, friendly and down to earth, when it became apparent I wasn't interested in seeing his bedroom (yes he took us to his house, how friendly) or travelling south with him for a few days he became extremely rude. I'm sure his heart is in the right place and he means no harm. — Annonymous (2006-05-05) As I made my way through Spain (about fifteen hostels in thirteen locations) I was shocked to find out that this is by far the worst hostel I came across. They take away your passport as a "deposit" for the key. That's insane. In a worst case scenario that's the only thing I would need to get back home, I can lose everything, even my credit card, the embassy will get me back. And talking about the credit card, how am I supposed to pay with my credit card in Spain without the passport? The breakfast consists of Muesli and something to drink. Although this is not
unusual in Spanish private hostels (meaning a youth hostel that doesn't
belong to the REAJ), this is a joke. You could at least provide some slices of toast. I went to an REAJ hostel in Alicante which was eight Euros a day during low season and had the one of the best breakfasts including lots of bacon, cheese, cake, all that good stuff. Although there are other hostel chains like the Home hostels where (at least in some of them) you don't get breakfast at all it's just ridiculous to have a hostel posing with free breakfast that consists of something that costs them almost nothing at all. At least try to make it less obvious. Better bring your earplugs (some industry earplugs attenuating the noise a lot). In case you want to sleep at night you would either need them or drink until you're in a coma. The hostel is loud and I mean loud at night.
Unfortunately there's no way to protect you from the noise in the hostel
as the design of the rooms is quite "open," meaning you can't shut off the noise. You're supposed to put all your used toilet paper in a bin and not to flush it down the toilet. Although there are areas in Europe where this is necessary, I'm not doing that in Spain, no way. Gross. There are three showers (actually it's four if you count the one on the roof), one of them (first floor) sort of improvised in the middle of the bathroom meaning that if someone wants to use the toilet after someone took a shower the whole bathroom will most likely still be flooded and will immediately get dirty if the person about to use the bathroom is wearing shoes. Sometimes it looks clean, most of the time it feels dirty. Well if you belong the the strange kind of people that go to Spain to actually
speak Spanish I'm sorry to tell you that -- just like in a ton of hostels that don't belong to REAJ -- the staff is struggling hard to have a conversation with you as the official hostel language is English. Unfortunately hostels like that are starting to make me hate English and I'm only writing this rating in English to share my impression with other tourists that want to go to Cádiz and consider this hostel one of the few possibilites to stay there. I'm from Germany and surprise surprise, in Germany we don't speak English officially. In Germany we speak German, I'm pretty sure in England and the US (for example) they speak English and -- I'm deeply sorry -- in Spain you have to be able to speak Spanish, at least working in a hostel. It seems the team is
changing quickly all the time as many lost souls wandering the earth are
occasionally working at the hostel to save a few bucks and get have a
place to sleep. — Andreas Rathmann (2006-04-16) Ignore all the comments before; there are no dirty sheets here currently as the staff work really hard to make this place nice for everyone. Yes, indeed, I know because they've roped me into helping too. There's no bed-bug problem either, and I've never been kept awake by the brothel next door. The place next door is more like an old-blokes Irish boozer in Cork and there's no need to be intimidated by it. The only risk of embarrassment here, is getting humped by Che the dog, but he's way more attractive than the fille de joie next door. — nickgonewalkabout@yahoo.co.uk (2005-12-24) Great place!! I honestly recommend this place to everyone who is looking for a relaxed time in a very warm atmosphere. Check it out, you will certainly like it. — Cris (2005-09-06) Have you ever seen Peter Pan? Well, the staff here are kind of like The Lost Boys in that they "Never Wanna Grow Up..." international hippies who kind of loaf around this damp, noisy, dark tree-house-esque hostel. There was free mueseli and internet, however you are going to feel like an intruder in someone else's club house. Hammocks are not as cool as they look. Cute dog, though. — Areola (2005-04-17) This was such a fantastic place; everyone ends up coming back for more! The staff are super friendly and I had a great time here. Thanks for making my stay in Cadiz such a blast! — Helen (2005-03-28) I strongly advise you to check out this hostel for a once in a lifetime experience. During my stay in Cadiz, the Caracol was a home away from home. For anyone who loves to have fun everyday of the week, this is the place to be! With friendly helpful staff, a multi-lingually relaxed owner who is a great laugh and always looking for ways to improve the place, perfect rooftop relaxation with hammocks under the sun and stars, nearby stunning beaches and the cutest dog in the world. If your going to Cadiz, the Casa Caracol is the way to go! But beware, once you've entered paradise its hard to leave... — Danielle (2005-02-21) What can I say? Dirty sheets, lazy staff, a brothel next door (open all night), bedbug bites all over me. Perhaps bedbugs ate the free breakfast, because I didn't see it. If you like suffering, go there. — Anonymous (2005-01-30) This hostel is the best! I have the best memories of this place. I went here this last summer, and the people here are the friendliest! Why are you waiting to go here? It has a good vibration for all!!! :P — Eduardo the Argentinean guy! ;) (2005-01-22) The hostel was great; my experience included nights drinking and partying to spending the days lazily lying in a hammock on the roof reading a book. I planned to spend a few days and I ended up staying over a week. It was just too good to leave. — Daniel (2004-12-27)