All the bedrooms, bathrooms and lounge areas at La Cocotera Hostel in the old part of Tarifa, Spain are immaculately clean. The entire place is quiet, even at night. After you check in, rather than receiving a key to your bedroom door lock, you get a plastic card, which also works to open the front door to the hostel.

There is a sunny rooftop terrace that has several comfortable seating areas, and spectacular panoramic views over the rooftops of the old part of Tarifa, the 1,000 year-old castle, and across the Strait of Gibraltar to the mountains of Morocco only 20 miles in the distance.

The attractive seating area adjacent to the small kitchen has a large table with stools where you eat and a comfortable sofa to relax. This was my favorite area at La Cocotera Hostel. There are two refrigerators with plenty of room for food, but remember to label with your name all food items that you have bought with stick-on labels that are supplied. There is strong WiFi throughout the entire building and in all rooms. I would definitely stay here again and it is affordable.

My bathroom was clean and there was very hot water, particularly early in the morning, but the sink’s drain was partly clogged and water was slow to drain out, nearly overflowing, but within a few minutes the water went down the pipe. The shower had a glass enclosure, but no bath towels are provided unless you pay one Euro.

The kitchen cooking area is locked at 11:30 at night so you must finish cooking and eating by that time. The door is unlocked at 9:30 in the morning, which is inconvenient if you want to make a breakfast and have a cup of coffee or tea before an early checkout.

It would be nice to have a complimentary breakfast, but it is not included in the price of your room. You must buy your own food outside. The kitchen only holds two or three people, but you would be cramped. There is only a two-burner hot plate, a cutting board, knives, forks and spoons and standard kitchen utensils, pots and frying pans, cups, bowls and plates.

There is a Mr. Coffee-type machine, but no filters were anywhere in sight nor sugar. Also provided in the tiny kitchen is a Philips electric water kettle to make boiling hot water for tea, and on two separate shelves below the narrow 3-foot wide counter is a microwave and an electric oven.

The bedrooms have comfortable mattresses on the bunk beds with white sheets and a white comforter, but the pillows could be a little thicker. Each bunk bed has a bright reading lamp on the wall and one electrical outlet for charging your telephone or tablet. As stated before, free WiFi is available in all rooms. During the cooler months, there is electric heating in the rooms.

There are stairs but no elevator, so if you have walking problems or use a wheelchair, this might not be a suitable place to stay.

I was happy to have found a new place in Tarifa that I could afford, but I suspect the prices are higher during the busy summer months.

Credit cards are accepted, but you must immediately pay for your entire stay in advance when making your reservation, with no refund for no-show or arriving a day late even if your ferry boat was cancelled due to high winds. In some instances, you may request a change of dates, but it must be done at least 24 hours before your arrival.