7 Kale Bed and Breakfast

The location was the best part, absolutely perfect. The room looked very clean at first, but then we found a cockroach. Staff said it would be cleaned, though knowing cockroaches, I suspect it may still be there. The walls are paper thin, so I could practically chat with the German girls next door and the Italian couple on the other side. Breakfast was uninspiring, too. Service was another problem. Patrícia was like a ghost, we never saw her. We did meet someone at breakfast who was friendly, and she said a stamp on our parking ticket would get us a discount. There was nobody at the garage to stamp it, though, so we got no discount. If you're driving, buying parking online is cheaper. Thank goodness the location is so good.

The old town area of Bilbao is lovely, and although the street gets loud, the room has good soundproofing. The rooms were clean, though very small and basic, and we were there around Christmas. We had no WiFi for the first two days. There wasn't anyone around to help, and the communication through booking.com wasn't very good. In fact, we didn't see anybody there during our stay. The air conditioning wasn't great. The weather happened to be good, but I imagine it wouldn't be much help on colder days. There's complimentary Nespresso and tea in the kitchen, but oddly, no water there, so we had to get it from our room. For the money, I don't think this place is good value.

The bed wasn't amazing, but the service more than made up for that. We also enjoyed the free breakfast the next morning, with fresh orange juice, yogurt, and more. The room was good, with lovely little amenity kits left out, and you get a code for access after hours. It's a lovely little place, close to plenty of bars and restaurants, and I'd recommend it for a trip to Bilbao.

The setup worked really well for our family of four for four nights. We had the Carolina suite on the 4th floor, with two bedrooms. One had a king bed that could be split into twins, and the other had two twins that could be pushed together or moved farther apart. There was also a sofa bed in the living room, which we didn't use. The kitchenette was practical, and the place was very clean and neat, with TVs in every room and free WiFi. Getting in was easy. I got an email with codes for the main entrance and 4th floor, and our room keys were waiting on a tray. The location in Casco Viejo is excellent, with everything only a few feet away. Pintxo bars are on the street below, which is lively at night, but the windows do a great job blocking the noise. We liked going to the local cafes just around the corner for coffee and breakfast. I'd highly recommend 7Kale for the location and a room that had everything we needed.