Hotel 176 - El Azafrán, roadside stop on the A-23 with restaurant
Hotel 176 - El Azafrán is a two-star hotel at the A-23 service area in Teruel. It has 12 rooms, a restaurant, a café and truck parking. It suits drivers and travellers passing through, not anyone looking for a charming getaway, and it is open round the clock.
Written by Valeria Romano
Published .
Updated
Mapiola is a travel blog: this is not the official website of Hotel 176 - El Azafrán.
Where Hotel 176 - El Azafrán is and how to get there
Hotel 176 - El Azafrán is at the service area of exit 176 on the Autovía Mudéjar, the A-23, in the province of Teruel. The description places it in the El Gancho industrial estate, in Caminreal. It is a stop along the way, so you arrive by car or lorry straight off the motorway.
There is a large private car park with 44 lorry spaces, and the complex is open every day of the year, around the clock. To me, that is the whole point of the place. If you are driving between the interior and the coast and want to stop for dinner and a bed without a detour, this is built for you.
What the rooms are like
The hotel has 12 rooms, single and double, all on the first floor. Each one has a full bathroom with a generous shower. The description talks about a practical, functional design, with attention paid to soundproofing, which is welcome beside a motorway.
Don't expect much character. It is a two-star roadside hotel and, judging by what guests say, it does its job as a simple place to sleep. One Tripadvisor review, written a while ago, said the room was clean and in order for the price paid.
What the complex offers besides the hotel
The hotel is part of the Área 176 complex, also known as El Azafrán, and much of its appeal lies beyond the bed.
- Restaurant. A varied menu that changes daily, with home-style cooking, according to the description.
- Café. One guest singles out the good coffee.
- Ham shop. A review mentions a good ham shop next door.
- Games room. Somewhere to stretch your legs during the stop.
- Lorry parking. The most repeated point in the reviews.
What guests say
The Google rating is 3.6 out of 5 from 781 reviews. That is an average score, and it shows that someone who only stops for lunch has a different experience from someone who stays the night.
Several guests say it is a good place to break a journey. They value the cheap menu, quick service, attentive staff and the lorry parking. Another review says the hotel is fine, nothing more, and one more notes that when they arrived with a problem, the managers were efficient.
The complaints are there too, and they are recent. Three one-star reviews describe service and cleanliness that have got worse, a kitchen that has dropped in standard, an outdoor terrace that goes unattended, dirty and gives little shade, and rude treatment from a waitress. One of them mentions a smell of pig slurry from the farms nearby at times. And an older Tripadvisor review, happy with the room, was very critical of dinner.
What to know before you book
This is a hotel to get through, not to fall in love with. Before you book, take a look at this comparison.
| The good | Worth knowing |
|---|---|
| Open every day, at any hour | Recent reviews criticise cleanliness and service |
| Large car park with lorry spaces | One review says dogs were not let in |
| Cheap menu and quick service, according to several guests | The outdoor terrace gets complaints about heat, dirt and little shade |
| Rooms with soundproofing | It can smell of pig slurry depending on the wind, according to one guest |
My advice: if you are staying the night, order dinner with low expectations and check the most recent reviews before you decide. If you are travelling with a pet, I would ask by phone first, because one review says they were not let in with a dog.
Who it is for and what is nearby
Hotel 176 - El Azafrán suits lorry drivers, sales reps and families coming back from the beach who need a bed and a hot meal without fuss. It is also fine for breaking up a long drive across Aragon.
I wouldn't recommend it for a romantic weekend or for anyone who wants a walk after leaving the hotel, because the surroundings are an industrial estate next to the motorway. If your route through Aragon calls for something with more mountain atmosphere, look at the Hostal Centro, in Sallent de Gállego. And if you want another Aragonese option to compare with this roadside hotel, go back to that same hostal in Sallent de Gállego.
Passionate about travel and about the kind of places that turn a getaway into something unforgettable. I love writing about hotels, country houses and charming hideaways, helping every traveller find the perfect place to rest and feel at home.
