I visited Santiago de Compostela for three days in Sept 2005 and while there I stayed at Hostal Alfonso, http://www.hostalalfonso.com . I had a single room on the top floor of the four story hostel. My single room had an excellent view of the cathedral from my window and the bed was comfortable and firm. My room's small bathroom had a shower, toilet, hairdryer, a sink and I found it very clean each day. In the morning the hostel served an excellent breakfast, which was delicious sliced meats, fresh rolls, and a large pot of coffee and hot milk for the coffee. I usually will skip breakfast in the morning, but I found the time to have the hostel's excellent breakfast.

Alfonso is located in a quiet section of town and the cathedral is within a ten minute walk from the hostel. The walk to the cathedral is interesting in itself because you will walk past many of Compostela's interesting shops, tapas bars, cafes and there are many of them. Alfonso also has fast internet access which you can use for free but there was no phone in my room. Why the hostel spoke hardly any English and I hardly spoke any Spanish beyond tourist Spanish, I never found it a problem because everyone was so friendly.

For the price, location, friendliness and quality of service I received at Hostal Alfonso, I can recommend the hostel to anyone and would definitely stay there again.

Bill