Anyone stayed in this youth-hostel? I would be glad to hear any comments; one thing that did surprise me is that when I booked by phone I did not have to put in any credit card details, just name and was told that I have to make a confirmation two days in advance. Is it usual or should I be more cautious to get some sort of confirmation from the youth-hostel? I was reeeeeeally happy to book the room for us as the whole Jerez looks fully booked for the time when we go so it would be good to be sure the room will be available! Thanks.

While I'm no expert with Spanish youth-hostels "Albergue Juveniles" in Spanish), I am a little surprised they required you to confirm 2 days in advance. Well, maybe because of the Horse Festival, eh?

May I/we ask how much was the youth-hostel bed per person? Did they say how many people each room will accommodate? Sounds like it'll be full.. take your ear plugs so the snoring in the next bed from you, 3 feet away on the next bunk, doesn't keep you away.

Short youth-hostel story: Stayed at one in Zurich, Switzerland in 1992. Got up in the middle of the night, almost stepped on the guy's arm in the bunk bed below me as I got down, went to the bathroom, came back, and realized I'd forgotten my key to the bedroom so I had to knock several times until one poor man sleeping in my room, one of 16 I think and the one closest to the door, woke up and let me in. Keep in mind that the snoring/heavy-breathing/talking-in-sleep and late-night arrivals can be a bit too much if you're a light sleeper.

Well, at least you got yourself a bed. Have fun!

Saludos, MadridMan

Hi MadridMan and everybody else. Thank you for the short description! :o )
I stayed in number of various hostels in England, Wales and Ireland - I dare to say there is hardly anything that could take me by surprise...(rule one - never say never, though!). This hostel in Jerez looks fairly good: all rooms are either single/double or triple, shared bathrooms. I am not that worried about the place itself but it seems to be strange that they do not require to have the advanced payment. I will try to contact the tonight again, sendin my query by fax... Will let you know how we are getting on!

Palice, this doesn't sound like a youth-hostel at all. Are you sure it's called the "Albergue Juvenil de Jerez de la Frontera" or simply "Hostal Jerez de la Frontera"?? Sounds more like a hostel (called "hostal" in Spanish) than a youth-hostel (called "albergue juvenil") to me. Never heard of a youth-hostel which had single, double, or triple rooms, only dormitory-style, multi-stranger sleeping arrangements.

Saludos, MadridMan

Well, check out their web page: www.inturjoven/com/uk/redalbergues/cadiz/ajjerez.asp
it´s all there... I know what you mean - but it is all written on the web page. The pics in the Photos section look good to me too, so far no reason to be suspicious. The building is not exactly the state-of-the-art / super romantic thing, but to be honest I do not care - for our budget this is the only option anyway so we WILL HAVE TO try it! I come from Prague, Czech republic - not a place with a powerful currency, especially if the beer is the cheapest here in all the world! (Have you been to Prague yet?)

Hi palice! Could you check that URL again, please? I see the .com is missing, but even at that it doesn't work. Maybe you could copy it from your browser and paste it here? Thanks!

Here we go again... http://www.inturjoven.com/uk/redalbergues/cadiz/ajjerez.asp
I have just visited the website now - you are right though, as last week I could not get on it for three days... Let me know whether you succeeded this time MadridMan.

And to revive this older thread here we go with the first hand experience (still fresh!):
we stayed in Albergue Juvenil at Jerez on May 6 and May 7 and were really impressed.

Even though we spoke virtually no Spanish (yes, we did keep to pointing to the name of the hostel and address...)we managed to get on bus No.9 from nearby of the train station which took us right in front of the hostel. It takes some 10 minute drive from the city center, 0.70 euro per person for one way ticket. The building is modern (see the www link above) and accommodation fairly basic I have to admit, but having a twin room (no earplugs needed ), bathroom shared with other rooms but clean and loads of warm water the sixth floor room also had a nice view of the suburbs quarter.

There were quite a few local shops around which we only discovered the night before we left - food was of course so much cheaper than elsewhere in the city. What did surprise us the most was the cost for one night - bed & breakfast (delicious BTW :p , scrumptious hot bagettes with butter or jam, also cooked ham and coffeee/pineapple juice just made it for the meal of the day) were at less than 12 euros/per night per person in a twin room, those who are not 26 years old yet would get an even cheaper cost.

No complaints from us on this part! Next time we head for The Feria del Caballo we know which place is THE ONE!
Just forgot to mention - confirming the stay two days in advance by phone was just fine not only here but also elsewhere in the Albergue Juvenil chain.