i have not been to blibao in over 7 years and we are heading up there this august for the u2 concert in san sebastian.
flying in and out of bilbao as bilbao has changed a lot in the past 7 years and i have not been to the googy yet.
will spend sat. through monday in bilbao and train or bus it to san sebas. on monday until wed., then train or bus back to bilbao on wed. for flight home to madrid.
i have pretty much everything covered but was wondering if anyone has a personal (from experience) rec. for a hotel in bilbao (budget is up to 150 euros/night for double room).
i have seen plenty of great hotels online but was looking for advice from those who have been within the past few years.
It was nice - very modern - covered parking below - and they let my dog stay with us, no prob
It's up on the hill in the old part of town - close to a metro stop and minutes from everything - it's not downtown, in the middle of the new center, if that makes sense
I stayed at that Barcelo Hotel a couple of years ago and thought it was nice. They also had a great spread for breakfast. I was able to reserve a room for 50 Euros using Bancotel, but since it's the night of the U2 concert you'll probably have to pay a bit more.
During my trip to Bilbao I stayed at hotel/hostal Artetxe. It was not in the centre of the city but a short drive away. The place was very clean, nice and inexpensive at that time. http://www.tiedglobal.com/directory/HOTEL_ARTETXE.html
Enjoy your time!
Ola
Posts: 196 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 02 November 2004
I was there last Christmas in NH Deusto Hotel, in the North of Bilbao, besides Deusto University, near the center and Gugenheim Museum. Try it with Bancotel or Weekend Plan and maybe you got room in 50 euros.
Good luck! Angel.
Posts: 70 | Location: Madrid Spain | Registered: 24 June 2003
ok, i looked into bancotel but for some reason the 2 vouchers (100 Euros) they asked for for per night for most of the bilbao hotels on their list was twice the cost of booking the hotel via a bookings engine or via the hotel directly so, i suppose that bancotel is good depending a LOT on the hotel you use it at.
after a lot of research, i decided to go with the occidental carlton...
i also booked it via my bookings engine at http://www.multimadrid.com/accommodations since there was a special. saved about 15 euros a night and a bit more since i made myself a commission by booking through me
now i will ask, does anyone know if this hotel is REALLY as sweeeeeet as it looks?
hard to believe a 5 star hotel for 60 Euros/night and right in the middle of everything.
- rent or buy a cell phone from me for your stay in spain, more info at 
- already have a cell phone, get a spanish SIM card for it at 
so, i suppose that bancotel is good depending a LOT on the hotel you use it at. 
and right in the middle of everything.
