So comfortable, in such a great location, what more could you ask for?…read more The breakfast here is great. The gym is sort of awkward to get to, but they at least have one.

Location, location, location. What did we do before Google Maps? The reality was that we only had…read moreone full day and night in Bilbao, so location was the primary consideration for Jamie W. and me as we breezed through the Basque country as a side trip to our Barcelona-based vacation. I just knew we had to be within walking distance of the Guggenheim, our primary reason for visiting Bilbao, so it was a nice bonus to be close to Funicular de Artxanda as well for our requisite panoramic views (review: http://bit.ly/2l6b6YI). Now as part of the NH Collection, the hotel itself is modern and sleek like a West Elm catalog come to life. The rainbow-filtered windows represent its distinctive exterior touch against the more traditional buildings that surround it (photo: http://bit.ly/2C30lKy). Our double standard room was comfortable and quiet considering the hotel's bustling location next to the Nervion River, and at $115 per night, it was a relative bargain (photo: http://bit.ly/2B7SvRJ). We found the front desk helpful though a tad on the curt side when they got busy since there were quite a few high-maintenance guests in dire need of etiquette lessons. One unexpected upside was the bowl of sugar-coated gumdrop chew candies that mirrored the rainbow colors of the windows.

4 star hotel that deserves 4 stars on Yelp. Besides the fun coloring on the outside, the location…read moreis super central right across the Guggenheim on the shore of the Nervión. The beds are probably new, they are superb. Best bed I ever slept in. Room is decent, a bit small, but decent enough. Bathroom is worth the 4 stars, even though small defects are showing. There's only óne thing very troublesome and that is the temperature in the room. Outside it's winter cold. Inside the room they raise the temperature up to 25 degrees. That's sick. So I have the window wide open. The airco blows warm air so can't be used yet. But really that's the only thing. The staff is friendly. I can't understand one word they speak, because their spenglish is so bad and these Basques speak a whole different language! Even their Spanish sounds different. Make sure you have breakfast included in your price. I didn't and breakfast separately costs 21€. That's crazy of course for the scrambled eggs and some fruit that I eat. Overall: very good hotel. If you don't have breakfast included, please prepare to eat for €21 which is hugely overpriced for the bit of scrambled eggs and a few pieces of fruit that I use in the morning. They were willing to accommodate me by letting me have breakfast a la carte in the bar, but I never did that of course. Alone. The bar has a good menu btw. And sushi. From 20:30 PM on of course. Spanish style. The sishi is very good!

Nice convenient Holiday Inn next to the Bilbao Airport. Clean comfortable rooms, comfortable bed,…read morebut a little pricey for the region. Only issue I had was the shuttle bus from the airport to the hotel was not clearly marked with Holiday Inn and was labeled okmobility. I waited for an hour before I finally figured it out after calling the hotel twice. The hotel staff could have told the driver to look for me but they didn't and the bus dropped people off and immediately took off.

We stayed here for 1 night after our flight landed at 10:15pm. Convenient & next to airport so we…read morecan properly rest after a long day of 2 flights from LAX to CDG and then BIL. Free parking and free breakfast starts at 5:00am!

This is a place we fell in love during our escapade in Spain…read more The hotel is located in a building of the eighteenth century, in the middle of a completely transformed for a few hotel rooms in a minimalist style but with great attention to details. The building itself is located on the side of a mountain meadows where cows are grazing with their bells. Real wilderness with breathtaking views and all that suddenly a few kilometers from Gernika. Proximity of Gernika and Bilbao is an additional advantage of the hotel. Atmosphere Basque mountains, greenery, peace and the damn cow bells really captivated us. Uniquely decorated rooms, lounge with fireplace and great service adds another star to this place. In addition, you can order a dinner. Which due to the location and the Spanish custom of eating late is a great idea and make it easier for visitors not used. Dinner is prepared by the girls, who are both hotel staff. It turned out to be a real, home-Basque dinner. As starters we got stewed vegetables, which were simple but delicious dish. Then we got a huge portion of the peppers from the oven with sea salt and an even greater portion of paella. Plus a bottle of wine. What is nice about this hotel is the availability at all times selection of cakes, fruit, tea and coffee in the dining room. Free of charge :D Beautiful and peaceful place, great hotel, friendly service, excellent dinner, a great place to stay for trips around Bilbao. And not so expensive, in total for two guests for two nights we paid € 232.

So there I was deluded into thinking I'd reviewed this wonderful hotel, but I hadn't so I'll remedy…read morethis now. We travelled around France and Spain for eight weeks and this hotel was in our top three. We had four nights. Relaxing, clean and comfortable. All the staff are real friendly. Bed cozy, air con perfect and great shower and so so quiet. We didn't go for breakfast as we just wanted to have long rests in the mornings as it was our last destination before sailing home. We used their underground car park and it was a tight squeeze as we have a big car and we had acquired a Thule roof box on our journey but car parking in Bilbao is a real challenge; my advice don't go by car without sorting car parking first. The hotel lift thankfully goes to the basement. As we made our way to the hotel it was downhill all the way having come from Jaca. As we got to 1000 yards from the hotel we got the feeling we shouldn't be there. It felt like a tram/bus reserved area, but there was a police car behind us and the lights stayed off. The river was on our left and as the sat nav said we'd arrived it sure didn't look like a hotel entrance. The guy behind check-in about instantly got off his chair to get us into the carpark and I was delighted. The next time it would start was departure day. €18 a night to park. If we return to delightful Bilbao we will be based here and we sure won't have a car and once we drop our bags we'll walk five minutes to get to Swad Himalayan restaurant then all will be well.

This is a small ultra modern boutique hotel centrally located in Bilbao. I stayed in February 2018…read more Very nicely designed rooms, high speed password protected WiFi that doesn't generate security warnings (unlike many small hotels in Spain). Clever lighting that makes you say "wish I had that at home". Night lights, reading lights that only shine on one side of the bed. HDMI connection on TV so you can watch Netflix etc off your devices if you carry the right cables. (Look for the ultra thin ones on Amazon or Monoprice, go for the long ones. You'll need the right adapter for IOS (lightning to HDMI) or Mac (thunderbolt to HDMI) or whatever your PC or Android needs. This lets you listen/watch US media. No restaurant except for small cold buffet breakfast and a bar. No coffee/tea or refrigerator in rooms. Softest TP I've seen in Spain. Not those nasty little mildly abrasive rolls. A treat for pampered American booties. I see rates around 50 euros on various websites. I paid 45 (without breakfast) booking direct on their website. Four stars for location, modernity and value.

Best for last! This…read morereview will be the last of my reviews from our recent trip to Spain. The reason I left it for last was because I wanted to give the place the attention it really deserves. Jesuskoa is a family owned and operated hotel/Bed & Breakfast. It is located in the small town of Zumaia, about 20 minutes drive from San Sebastian and 45 minutes from Bilbao. The main stone building on the property was built in 18th century by Jesuit priests and has been owned by the Oliden family for about 5 generations. The rooms are charming country-style and have TVs, free Wi-Fi and most importantly very comfortable beds. The apartments also have full kitchens. The restaurant is run by chef Ramón Oliden who uses mostly local ingredients, usually from his own garden. A breakfast buffet is offered for an additional charge, and served in the restaurant which also offers Basque cuisine. If one wishes to a charming and comfortable hideaway in a gorgeous corner of the Basque Country close to beautiful beaches of Zumaia, or the driving distance of beautiful coast of the Bay of Biscay in San Sebastian, Casa Rural Jesuskoa is the place to stay.

I stayed here just one night while in town to dine at Azurmendi. It's just a short 20 minute drive…read morefrom the Bilbao airport and even though I arrived around 10:30 am on a Saturday, they had my room ready for me and allowed me to check-in early, which was a huge win. I read some reviews that described this hotel as having a conference aesthetic and it's certainly not a boutique design, but it really is a very beautiful and clean hotel, right across from the Guggenheim with outstanding service and a great bathroom. I had been traveling for awhile and started to feel a bit ill when I arrived, so I appreciated the black out curtains, incredible water pressure from the shower, and very comfortable bed so I could get a good nap in right when I arrived. Service was outstanding. The hotel arranged for a taxi to take me to Azurmendi, since it's a bit outside the city, and was so helpful anytime I needed something. I always appreciate turn down service and especially appreciated the pillow spray they left which was really lightly floral, not overpowering at all and really helped me sleep. The towel warmer was awesome and made me feel so cozy every time I got out of the shower. All around, this is a great hotel that I'd absolutely stay in again, perfect as a home base if you're in Bilbao, with an unbeatable location if you want to fit in the Guggenheim (literally right across the street!) Incredible service team and very clean, comfortable, and quiet rooms.

Our gracious host, artist grand hotel. A pleasant nights stay before the running of the bulls. Our…read morefirst night in Spain

If you want to feel like royalty this is the place to stay...in fave it was even built by Queen…read moreMaria Cristina. We had the most lovely stay here in my new favorite place, San Sebastián. The hotel itself couldn't be more beautiful and we truly felt like we were living in a palace. The staff couldn't have been more friendly. And it's in the most perfect location - just minutes away from the best pintxo spots in town. I didn't get to check out any other hotels in San Sebastián, but find it hard to believe we would find anything better than the Maria Cristina.

A part of San Sebastian History…read more Hotel Maria Cristina first open its doors on July 9, 1912. The first celebrity to visit was the Regent Queen Maria Cristina after whom the Hotel was named. The building was and is a magnificent piece of architecture designed by French architect Charles Mewes, who is also credited for designing the Ritz hotels in Paris and Madrid. During the Spanish Civil War that started in 1936 the hotel was temporarily occupied by troops sympathetic to the revolution, but after a few days they surrendered to the local militia men. Fortunately the building was not damaged much in the process, but if you carefully look, you may still see a couple of the bullet holes on the walls outside. The hotel is an exclusive five-star hotel with a price tag that is too rich for my blood, but one can walk in and sit at one of the available tables in the lobby, order a coffee or drink and admire their surroundings.

This old "palace" (as they call it) is a beautiful stone building far up on a hill in a small…read morevillage south of San Sebastián. It takes around 35 minutes to drive from the hotel to central San Sebastián. We asked the hotel reception for a map and they recommended us where to park close to San Sebastián Old Town which was very useful. They didn't have that much information about which pintxos bar to visit however. It's good to know that some bars are open for lunch and close during the afternoon and open again for dinner. And other bars only open at night. Don't miss these: Bar Nestor (lunch or dinner) http://www.yelp.se/biz/bar-nestor-donostia-san-sebastian-2 Txepetxa (simple pintxos) http://www.yelp.se/biz/txepetxa-donostia-san-sebastián Zeruko (extreme pintxos) http://www.yelp.se/biz/zeruko-san-sebastián Also: Koh Tao (great coffee) http://www.yelp.se/biz/koh-tao-donostia-san-sebastián Arzak - one of the best restaurants in the world - (book FAR in advance) http://www.yelp.se/biz/arzak-san-sebasti%C3%A1n-2 We had room 103 and it was just what we'd hoped. Classic and beautiful but not too much. The bathroom was newly renovated and the sheets were clean. Only thing we didn't like was the home scent they had sprayed in the room prior to our arrival. If you get hungry there's both the Bailara restaurant (by Enrique Fleischmann) and a snack menu in the bar, in the Iriarte Jauregia Hotel buildning. Tip to guests: Book far in advance to get a better rate. Tip to Iriarte Jauregia: You should definately do something about the big electricity pylon in front of the hotel that destroys the view.

Beautiful modern hotel inside an ancient castle: A+ Would stay again and again. Superb locally…read moregrown and raised cuisine on site, and nearby farms to visit and partake in endless hospitality that is the essence of the region and its people.