Hotel Puerta de Bilbao

For the first time in my life, I felt discriminated against. We brought food to eat by the pool, where there were no signs saying this wasn’t allowed. A staff member, who I think was the hotel manager, came over and told us we couldn’t. I politely said there was nothing posted, but he yelled, repeated the same thing, and walked off, leaving us there. Earlier that morning I’d seen several other people eating by the pool without anyone stopping them.

Good prices, a nice location, and very kind staff. Nice hotel, I’d recommend it.

We spent seven days here in June, with part of the booking through Booking.com, and I’d strongly advise against this hotel. We may not have checked carefully enough when we booked, because the invoice showed different prices for different days. One night cost €230! For that, we got a bare room with no minibar, toiletries, toilet brush, coffee machine, kettle, cups, or glasses. We asked to confirm those things weren’t provided. The shower drain needs cleaning, and the walls are so thin we could feel the neighbours’ bed shaking. The restaurant doesn’t open until 19:30 either. It’s outside Bilbao, about a 20-minute walk to Ansio metro station, with hardly any shade along the way, then another 20 minutes to the old city. Public transport to the airport takes a long time; a taxi takes 20 minutes. There’s no hotel shuttle. It seems geared more towards business meetings than tourists, and going into town doesn’t feel like something you’d do often. The same or a better room here can be booked for €90 a day, so check carefully. Not a four-star hotel.

We stayed two nights. The restaurant’s three-course lunch menu was €22, good value, and we enjoyed the meal. Our modern, spacious room was clean and well maintained, and the receptionist was lovely and helpful. At check-in she immediately explained how to get to the parking garage. There’s a Tesla destination charger, which made things more convenient. The pool is on the small side, so it could get crowded in good weather, and it’s only open from 10:30 to 20:30.