Review for Hostel Sol Y Mar in Corralejo, FuerteVentura, Spain(Canary Islands)

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Let me first preface this review by stating the fact that I have NEVER felt it necessary or worth my time to write such a comment/review... That, in itself, should be ALL you need to know...

I felt it VERY IMPORTANT to simply make this information/warning available for those future travelers to Corralejo on the beautiful island of FuerteVentura...

In my MANY travels around the world, I have stayed in countless hostels in the multitude of countries that I have visited...

NEVER, and may I repeat NEVER, have I been treated with such vile contempt as I was at this hostel(Sol Y Mar) in Corralejo...

I had read a few VERY negative reviews on this hostel, but thought that maybe it was just a few "bad apple" experiences that happen to have been in the bunch...
Being the eternal optimist, and taking an unbiased tact, I decided to see myself if these accusations where actually "factual"...

WOW!!!!!! To my horrific surprise, the stories were ALL true...

After phoning Rachel, whom I was told runs/owns/sister of the owner the hostel, she initially sent over a "drone" by the name of Ben(...surf/windsurf instructor, so beware of this boy too) to "size" me up and "attempt" to squeeze out an extra 5 Euros per night by quoting me 20 Euros/night instead of the 15 which I already knew(fortunately)...

He tried to "justify" the difference in price by telling me that "because I was not in their surf school that the price was higher".... This "drone" was really PATHETIC because he made the mistake of telling me this in front of another guest who had been there for 1 month and he too was NOT in the school but only paid 15 Euros a night and IMMEDIATELY stood up and said that was "not correct/very uncool" to attempt such a heist...

I immediately told him I "knew" the price was 15 and was going to leave...

Knowing that he was caught trying to "steal" from a simple backpacker(VERY CHEAP!!!!!), he called Rachel to save his backside... After leaving the room to converse strategy, "privately"no less, the drone(Ben) returned to say that they would be able to accommodate me at 15 Euros a night and that Rachel would be arriving in 15 minutes to take payment...

Upon her arrival, she greeted me with NOTHING more than a steely eyed contempt and DID NOT even say "hello" or "welcome".... She just grunted/mumbled "hey"....UNREAL!!!!!

That is about what to expect from this hostel, or as a previous guests so aptly stated in their reviews on various hostel booking websites.... "hostile".

I should have departed the "hostile" from the beginning, my mistake... And I am man enough to admit it...

They "say" that it is a 5 night minimum... Ask yourself this simple question, "Where have you EVER been in the world that there is a 5 NIGHT MINIMUM to stay in a "backpacker" styled hostel????"
The answer is simple...NO WHERE...

It's done simply to make sure that once you realize that it is a "hostile" and not a hostel environment, you have NO recourse in going to another location without taking a financial "hit"... Most people stay for 3-7 days in a location like this, so it locks you into staying for the remainder of your holidays regardless of your experience...

The "hostile" itself(EXCLUDING attitude filled Rachel) is not bad...
Average all across the board... Nothing special, but you just have to put up with her "pompous/jaded/negative" attitude... Or do/should you???


BUT, and I REALLY mean BUT, ask yourself this question, do you REALLY want to patronize an establishment that is run/owned by an individual who has NOTHING but contempt, vile, attitude, greed, disrespect, VERY jaded/negative disposition, etc. for the people who patronize the said establishment???

You do have options in this village... Look around and save yourself the humiliation....
Let your Euro do the talking...Maybe the staff/management will come to it's senses and realize that you should not disrespect the hand that feeds you...

It is not a privilege to stay at your hostel("hostile"), but just the contrary, you should be respectful/thankful of the fact that we have chosen your establishment over ALL the others....

Oh yeah, a simple hello or good morning when encountering your "guests" would not be toooooooo much of a stretch of common/decent social etiquette to expect from the proprietor of a business that you happen to be patronizing... Or then again, maybe it is...

I am obviously not the ONLY individual who has experienced this scenario... Simply read the other reviews on the various hostel booking websites and you'll see that I am not an isolated incident... Beware of the overly positive reviews also(... probably written by staff, management, etc.)

Word of mouth can be the best/worst form of advertisement in any business...

Greed, disrespect, and ignorance WILL cost you MORE than simply being kind
and thankful....

A Wandering Soul

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