Refugio Poqueira

Great hike from Capileira up the river stunning views and back along the acequira surrounded by butterflies and amazing flowers, wild orchids among others.

It's quite odd the lack of information on the progress up at the shelter. The fact it's closed is inconvenient but you would at least expect some kind of projection for completion or some kind of news out there. 2 years this has been closed, how long does it take to rennovate a refuge? The locals must dispair.

Very clean refugio, well organized and in a beautiful location surrounded with cows and horses. Only downsides: the room where everyone slept got very hot and stuffy in the night time. The food, although extremely generous portions, tended to be on the sweet side - I’m more a savory person, so take this with a grain of salt.

Very nice place with lovely staff. Was there when it was quite calm, so had a shared room for myself. Food they serve is great and big portions to fuel up after a day of walking in Sierra Nevada. Can also buy here water, beers, foods etc.

The refuge has been closed since summer 2023 for work, well that's how it is, you have to be patient. On the other hand, where it is unacceptable is to no longer inform climbers on your website, about the conditions of access. No more webcam to check the snow conditions on Rio Mulhacen, no weather report, no photos, nothing! This gives a bit of the impression that since the refuge is closed and they can no longer make cash, well they just gave up on the rest and their duties, too bad for a so-called alpine refuge with a website etc... I have never set foot in this shelter and we will never set foot there and camp all around for free.

Very comfortable cottage. The prices are very fair. Even Alpenverein members have the discount, so we paid 12e/person (without meal). Showers with cold water are free, hot water cost 2 euros. The cottage is locked from 22 to 7, which we were sad about, because we wanted to get out early to see the sunrise.

It's amazing that this place is open all year round for people and I appreciate that it is there! There is a lot of room for improvment though, it's a shame it's not more sustainable, they really should have some solar panels instead of all fossil fuel power generation. Also there is no water filtration so there are no taps with drinking water to fill up your bottles (unless you pack a ceramic pump), you will get through a lot of single use plastic during your stay. The staff (volunteers?) also seemed pretty fed up when we visited.

DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE! I know there are no alternatives but this place is awful. The host was so mean, not kind and cheap. food is poor, there is no heating system at night, everything costs extra (including hot water) and the overall atmosphere is terrible. Additionally, don’t commit for two nights in advance, as cancellation is not possible - even if the place is entirely empty.