San Martín Pinario Guesthouse

The guesthouse occupies part of the Benedictine monastery of San Martín Pinario, now the Major Seminary, a 16th-century building that has received pilgrims since the end of that century. The door is on Praza da Inmaculada, opposite the Azabachería façade of the cathedral, on the north side: you reach the Obradoiro in a couple of minutes by going round the church. Guests sleep inside the monastery, with its cloister and its garden.

Monks' cells with wrought-iron furniture

It has 126 rooms with full bathroom, doubles and singles, which recreate the monks' old cells, with wrought-iron furniture made to order by a local artist. The bathrooms have a shower and hairdryer, and the rooms have a telephone, heating and free wifi. They are sober, in keeping with the building.

57 rooms for those who arrive on foot

Separately there are 57 simpler and cheaper rooms, which the house reserves mainly for pilgrims who arrive on foot. If you finish the Camino and only need a bed and a shower before Mass or the Compostela, they are the house's most economical option. For several days of sightseeing, one of the 126 full rooms is more comfortable.

The website does not publish prices: ask by email, at [email protected], or on 981 560 282.

The dining room under the vault

The guesthouse has two dining rooms. One is the monumental dining room, under a stone vault, looking onto the cloister and the garden. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner menus of home cooking with fresh produce, and offer half board and full board. There is also a café and a television room, and reception is open 24 hours, useful if you arrive late by train or at the end of a long stage.

On foot from the station or car park

The old town is pedestrianised and the website does not mention parking: leave the car in a public car park on the edge and walk in. From the train station it is about a twenty-minute walk up to the cathedral. From the door you have the cathedral and Portico of Glory next to you and, for the afternoon, the climb to the cathedral roofs. The Hotel Costa Vella, smaller and with a garden, is about two hundred metres away, on Rúa Porta da Pena.