Hotel Alda El Pasaje

The location is amazing, close to everything, and the staff were helpful. They booked me a taxi to the airport. I also appreciated how they responded when I showed them my mosquito bites: they brought a fan and sprayed repellent, and I managed to sleep well after that. Before then, with no AC, it was hard to sleep with the window open. I got bitten several times, and the city-centre street noise didn't help. The room was very small, with no tea or coffee or fridge, and the bathroom was dated. The shower pressure was so high that water soaked the floor despite the curtain, and the temperature was hard to adjust. Breakfast was okay, but the bowls and cups still had bits of food on them even though they were supposed to be clean. Check-in was strange and felt like an attempt to save money. Nobody staffs the hotel after 4:30pm, so later arrivals have to use the intercom. It was awkward and slow, and they make you pay through a link sent to your phone. The lift also has a door on each floor, and they stay closed. On my first day I got stuck in it until my colleague opened the door, so I wouldn't use the lift.

I never got to stay, so I can't say what the rooms or the actual stay were like. I needed parking advice before booking, and stopped at the hotel reception even though online there seemed to be plenty of availability. The doors were shut and the place seemed very poorly staffed. The hostess could see me on the doorbell camera in broad daylight but wouldn't open the reception. She spoke rudely, showed no interest in two potential clients needing two rooms, and asked whether I had a reservation. When I said I didn't, she claimed the hotel was full and sent me away from the doorway. I ended up getting a bigger, better room for roughly the same price at the 4* hotel next door, where the service and advice were much nicer. I wonder what the owners would think about losing two clients that way.

The location is ideal for the beach, harbour, and shopping area, and the cleanliness was perfect. Rooms were cleaned daily and towels changed regularly. Breakfast was the only downside, with very little to choose from: a glass of juice, a cup of coffee, and a croissant. No butter, jam, or anything else.

The two women at Hotel Pasaje went out of their way to help us after we realized we'd left our passports in the safe at our Bilbao hotel. They helped us get in touch with the hotel and arrange for the passports to be sent overnight. We stayed at Hotel Pasaje last September, and their effort deserves 5 stars. I can't remember their names, but they were wonderful.