It's very hard to find an affordable hotel in Bilbao, that's fairly close to the center, so I was quite happy to find this one, and the reviews were positive. However, I think the hotel is overrated. It's fairly run down, and the cleanliness level is not great, neither the daily nor the long-term cleaning of the rooms. It's not disgusting, but the shower, for example, has not been scrubbed properly in months. Reception staff was friendly, but the people in the bar were not at all, they were closer to rude. It's a bad sign when they start to close the register 15 minutes before the official closing time at the bar, and when you order something after that, they see you more like a nuisance than anything else. You will get your drink, but they act like you are disturbing them, and that's not the way it should be when you order a drink in a bar.

First of all thank you to the HGB team. I have been with my kids. 1)Room is quite big, enough for 2 adults and 2 kids. Bathroom very complete, with a shower and a bathtub and quite comfortable, plenty of towels and toiletries. 2)Location is actually perfect, 10-15 mins walking, you will be in the old town. 3)Parking, for those who are reading this review, it cost 16euro per day, however, I found out that street parking (white line only) is free, so I decided to do so. If you are staying for a while, I suggest this option. Just be patient and look for free space. 4)Restaurant, as a professional chef for a long time, in my opinion, the menu is not interesting, the offering are just simple sandwich, some steak, but doesn’t really represent the gastronomy of this region (which is considered one of the best). Wine list is not the best however the price/quality i can say is 8/10. I mean, come on, a bottle for 10,15,17 euro, what else can you ask for? 5)Lastly, Service. Amazing, very professional people and helpful. Thank you guys. I ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL, specially for families. Thank you

A bit expensive in summer season but worth it. Twice been here. Evening restaurant is REALLY delicious and not expensive. Greatest recommendation. Edit 2 weeks after: again a. Great time here with super staff, very dedicated to customers service. We had a diner at the restaurant twice and twice it was served quickly and delicious. We had breakfast at the cafeteria which is cheaper. The waiter was super quick and helpful and kids loved their doughnuts

This wonderfully priced hotel is perched on a hill outside the city centre. The staff at reception are excellent and always willing to help. Each floor has a dispenser for sparkling water, which is a huge plus in my book. The buffet breakfast is excellent, and the food options are genuinely delicious and freshly prepared.

Fantastic stay with my 6 year old! Our room was the biggest we have ever had (we stayed in the HGB Club double). Breakfast was good, with a selection of hot and cold food and very helpful staff. The front desk staff were amazing and very helpful, able to advise us on travel and location matters and they also ordered us a taxi to the airport when we left. We were able to leave our luggage in their very safe storage room, while we enjoyed our last day in Bilbao, as we checked out at 10am but didn't need to get our cab until 3pm. Can't remember any specific names, but they were all fab! Our view was gorgeous, on the 7th floor overlooking the bridge and mountains, and the whole hotel was extremely clean, with a water machine right outside our room to top up our bottles on our way in/out. The bathroom was lovely, with complimentary toothbrushes/toothpaste, comb and shower cap, toiletries and all the usual (hairdryer etc.). Very friendly housekeeping staff and other guests were friendly too. During the day, there is complimentary fresh juice when you enter the hotel and the artwork on the walls and within the ground floor is beautiful. My child had fun at breakfast time playing with the "Instagram props" in the restaurant. The safe in the room is also free and the whole place feels very safe. Only downside was that the hotel is a bit out of the centre of the city, although that wasn't an issue as public transport is very easily accessible (note that the tram is easier to access than the metro and there are a few "hills" to get to the metro). Overall, very pleased, thank you!

Just a short walk from the Casco Viejo and not far by tram from the Guggenheim and New Town this is a lovely four star with friendly staff, comfy beds and nice views. Only slight downside is the uphill wall back from town as all local transport is around a 10 min walk from the hotel. Staff were helpful and friendly, but gym is closed currently.

Spacious room with a nice view to the city. Comfortable and clean, with safe private parking spot. Very delicious breakfast buffet, including lots of gluten-free options, but not cheap. On downsides, the online/app check-in system is inconvinient in our opinion. The sound-proofing in the room wasn’t good - could hear the people in the rooms next to us. The staff at the restaurant did not communicate in English. Location is further away from the city centre than we expected.

Very good hotel and for the cost well worth it. Only negative for me was location at top of big hill. Close to Bilbao city centre. Check in was great but new system where phone app is used as door key was a little confusing. Staff were very good and helpful as we only had a little Spanish. Vending machine and free fruit and fruit juice.

Highly recommend this fun, modern hotel with probably the nicest overall staff I’ve ever experienced! What makes this hotel so unique is the buffet breakfast-it’s 5 star amazing. So many choices, freshly made, healthy ingredients…and service with such kindness. One day my husband asked for a hot sauce and the chef came out to apologize for not having it. The next day, it was there for us. I wish I could publicly thank the chef by name but I did not get it😩.

Love this hotel! Breakfast buffet is gorgeous, Michaela and all the staff are lovely and really helpful. Hotel is nice and quiet and accommodated our family of 5! The public transport throughout Bilbao is something to be proud of! Get a Barik card (1 per group) and top up and you can go on all the trams, buses, metro and even the funicular train for next to nothing! We felt so safe in the city and it’s so clean! Happy holidays!

Super clean very comfortable and great location for us. Fantastic experience and excellent staff and superb quick maintenance department who fixed a small leak in our bathroom in a matter of minutes and on a Sunday wow that's what you call service. The staff were all so helpful and accommodating especially with the way they looked after us with our travel companion sheba the cat nothing was too much trouble for all staff including the bar. And amazing service ordering a taxi which was outside the hotel in two minutes excellent experience we will definitely be back thanks again for a lovely relaxing night

A beautiful and modern hotel, very close to the city centre and in a very quiet neighborhood. All the staff is really pleasant and welcoming, specially the men working in the restaurant. We had a very spacious room, which was adapted for disabled people. Everything was spotlessly clean. Very comfortable beds and pillows. Wifi works really well. Rooms have a mini fridge, machine for coffee and tea and a safe. Our room was on the seventh floor and the views to the river were beautiful. Restaurant with beautiful views to the river and even a beautiful play area for children. The breakfast was simply amazing: all kinds of bread, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, individual Spanish omelettes, bacon, ham, cheeses, fruits, a honeycomb, smoothies, fresh orange juice, yogurts, cereals, waffles, pancakes, all kinds of pastries and much more, plus all the hot drinks. With this huge selection of breakfast items, we didn't eat again until dinner time. It's been my fourth time at Hotel Gran Bilbao and I will try to come back every year if I can.

Staff friendly and helpful. Breakfast buffet amazing with amazing range of hot and cold options and loads of healthy options. The location is not bad. Easy to reach by car, although it took me a while to find the entrance of the underground car park. The number 77 bus takes you to the Old Town for €1.35. return in a taxi was €11. The room was very spacious, clean and well-provisioned. I liked the touch of having a water fountain on the floor with still and sparkling water to refill water bottles, and the green tea and red fruit drink available in the foyer was yummy! The only downsides I found, and this may be due to the fashion for hard floors, is that you could hear a certain amount of noise from other clients, even past midnight. It didn't stop me sleeping though, or wake me up. I was surprised there was no BBC News channel. Quite a few American or European ones in English. There were a couple of channels with BBC programmes, or The Dog Whisperer for example, but it was not possible to change to Original Audio. Other than that, a quiet, restful stay.

First time visiting Bilbao and we stayed at Hotel Gran Bilbao. This hotel has many amenities and the best part is that rooms are spacious and modern. Staff is professional and the entire building is super clean. In addition, bus 77 stops at the hotel entrance and for 1.70 EU takes you to old town which you can order today’s menu and be delighted with Basque food. We will definitely come back!

Good quality price ratio considering standard of rooms and global hotel. Location outside the city center but conveniently connected by bus (77) and tram. Personnel is helpful in providing useful information for visiting

The stay was just great. The room was fabulous and very spacious, the team was super friendly and service-oriented, and their amenities and facilities and attention to detail even exceeded my expectations... plus the location at least makes it restful due to the quietness and calmness of the area. Definitely recommended and exceeding expectations

We very much enjoyed our stay. The room was so spacious, clean and comfortable and there was a delicious breakfast of healthy and hearty options. Mihaela was very helpful offering us many good recommendations for local sites and points if interest.

Everything was perfect, the room was spacious enough, view from the window, king size bed, cleanliness, personnel, breakfast - top! If we come back to Bilbao, we will choose this hotel again! Just a bit sad this great place doesn’t have a spa…;)

A lovely friendly hotel, great location, an hours walk to the Guggenheim museum along the river, 20 mins to the old town. Fantastic breakfast, great food in the cafe (beef burger) at good value for money. Staff very friendly and would stay here again.

I recently had an incredibly disappointing experience during my stay at Hotel Gran Bilbao. From the moment I arrived, it became clear that the hotel fell far short of my expectations in terms of both comfort and customer service. First and foremost, the air conditioning in my room was not functioning properly, and to make matters worse, there was a strong smell of smoke permeating the room. This was not only unpleasant but also posed a health concern, as my toddler began coughing due to the noxious odor. When I brought this issue to the attention of the receptionist, Armando, he stated that there was no maintenance personnel on-site to address the air conditioning problem. Shockingly, despite the discomfort and health issues caused by the smoke smell, Armando refused to accommodate our request to move to another room, citing the unavailability of housekeeping. In desperation, I had to repeatedly call Armando to emphasize the severity of the situation, particularly considering my asthma condition. Eventually, I decided to go downstairs to speak with him in person. Unfortunately, even face-to-face, Armando remained uncooperative and stubbornly declined our request to switch rooms. Frustrated by the lack of assistance, I made a point of noting Armando's name and informed him that I would be taking the matter up with management. To my surprise, shortly after returning to my room, Armando called to inform me that we would be moved to another room, but we would have to relocate once again the following morning. Feeling utterly disappointed and dissatisfied with the overall experience, I informed Armando that I would be canceling the remaining night of our stay. At this point, he informed me that cancellation was not possible due to the hotel's policy. Despite my insistence on discussing the matter with management, my subsequent conversation with Klaulima, another staff member, yielded the same unhelpful response. Desperate for a resolution, I spoke to Tatiana, yet she echoed the same sentiments, leaving me with no other option but to express my extreme dissatisfaction and intention to write to management regarding the terrible customer service and unacceptable conditions of the hotel. Ironically, a few minutes after my conversation with Tatiana, I received a call from the hotel, now stating that we could indeed cancel the remaining night of our stay. By this point, the damage had already been done, and the series of disappointments had left a lasting negative impression. Overall, my experience at Hotel Gran Bilbao was characterized by a complete lack of customer service, with an inhospitable room that reeked of smoke and an air conditioning system that failed to function. I sincerely hope that the management takes my feedback seriously and addresses these issues to prevent other guests from enduring such an unpleasant stay.

Very clean and modern hotel. Within reasonable walking distance to areas within Bilbao, or access to public transit as well. Appreciated the secure underground parking as we had a rental car during our stay. Would definitely stay here again.

We had a pleasant stay. The breakfast was very good, the rooms were large and clean. There was even a good play area for children for during the breakfast. I highly recommend getting the doughnuts as they were delicious! Very happy to stay here again.

Exceptionally large triple for our visit which was cleaned scrupulously daily. Breakfast is one of the most varied and interesting I’ve seen for a long time. Easy to reach by car, old town 10 mins on foot and a bus stop outside hotel. Handy base for Bilbao and the Basque region. Guest parking in a multi-level underground garage but you’ll need your wits about you to find a spot.

Front desk staff were awesome! They were friendly and very helpful. It's very easy to catch bus 77 to the old town and Guggenheim. The view was wonderful. We had a challenge with charging our EV but the manager was able to help us. Would definitely stay again!

The hotel is walking distance from the city centre, with plentiful parking. Our room overlooked the surrounding hillsides and river bridge, and was bright and comfortable. We chose to eat at the hotel, the food was good and the staff were excellent. If we come back to Bilbao, this is where we will stay.

Our second visit to this hotel. The rooms are excellent, as is the service and the breakfasts are superb. We like the location, 10-15 minute walk to the Old Town and an easy walk there (harder coming back up the hill). There is a bus stop right outside. The staff are friendly and helpful and easy to communicate with. Mihaela (pictured) gave us information about the city, transport etc. my husband celebrated his birthday today - at breakfast!

Spacious and comfortable room close to the old town The room is super spacious and the facilities such as the expresso machine is nice. Having the parking on the ground floor and being able to access the room through a lift is comfortable. To access the old town and the closed market is about 10-15 minutes walk downhill (the return may be a little more difficult uphill). Missing towels that we had to ask every day from reception.

One of the best accommodations in Bilbao. Amazing for leisure and business trips. Extremely clean rooms. Top comfortable beds. Outstanding friendly and competent staff. Internal restaurant with delicious menu. Definitely a place to stay.

Really enjoyed our stay here. Wonderful, spacious and clean rooms, the bathroom is huge! A really, really great breakfast too. Staff were friendly and helpful and the water stations throughout are very smart!

The room was beautiful with the wall painted in an urban style, the view was phenomenal, the staff were so kind, helpful and always smiling. They helped us with any information we needed. The hotel also had a great system of the guests being able to refill their water bottles on every floor in an effort to reduce plastic. The hotel was well connected with a bus stop right outside to take you to the city center. It was a very pleasant experience 😊

Very noisy! My wife and I were woken many times during the night. You can hear everything in this hotel. Especially the loud guests all hours. Adding carpeting might help. Otherwise everything else was good.

Very nice staff, room was spacious and spotless. Good breakfast, and food in the restaurant was very tasty. Location is 'meh' - but the bus stops right outside. Only serious problem I had was the stench of their carpet cleaner, which was quite overwhelming and gave me a massive headache.

The hotel was great! New and very clean with cool decor. The breakfast was exceptional and the bed was very comfy. It’s a short 10 min walk to the market and old city.

Location turned out to be fantastic. Very walkable, great bus service, easy to airport. We even discovered a couple of new places to visit. Service impeccable, could not have been friendlier or more helpful. Room very comfy and spacious.

There were good and bad things about this hotel but on balance I wouldn’t chose it again. The location is up a steep hill from the city. Finding the transit card was a little challenging. The front desk really should offer pre-loaded cards for sale. The room looked nice. The bed was comfortable and it was clean. The shower was a mess though. It was badly designed so that you couldn’t turn it on without getting in first (and who likes to risk being scalded or frozen by an unknown shower?). The door didn’t close properly, which meant the floor got wet. The sink leaked. The coffee maker either didn’t work or I am too stupid to figure out how to turn it on. The room was very hot. There was a hole in the wall next to the drapes with exposed wires. It needs maintenance. On the plus side, the staff are very helpful and kind. The bar downstairs makes delicious coffee. The view from the room was gorgeous. When I return to Bilbao I will stay closer to the old town.

A fantastic hotel caring and wonderful staff at all levels position is perfect to explore Bilbao and its surrounding areas by foot tram metro train or bus food was excellent and breakfast was a daily treat

Standard 4 star hotel. Everything is good. Parking is in the deep basement. Breakfast is great. Rooms are very nice.

Magnificent experiencia at this hotel,the decor & buffet breakfast are out of this world

Best Hotel I've stayed in for many years, Reception great and a breeze through, good bar, attentive staff, beautiful decor, rooms very clean, smart and well equipped

We stayed at Hotel Gran Bilbao during this summer, the room was very spacious, and the breakfast was excellent. The staff were very friendly special thank to Rahul, he made our stay feels like home.

Exellent all arround, a bit far from downtown but public transportation is right outside.

Our room was spacious and comfortable. The hotel staff were nice and attentive. We enjoyed the daily breakfast buffet. Everything was perfect except when we were checking out they tried to charge us about 300€ more. We complained and showed them the reservation details in our email. They apologized and charged us the original amount. It was a weird ending to an otherwise lovely stay at Hotel Gran Bilbao.

We stayed at this hotel, as the tayko, which we stayed at last time was too expensive, although you do get what you pay for. The hotel gran bilbao is not in a very centric location and it is a pretty long walk to restaurants and businesses, as well as the center of the city. The lobby and room are decently modern and the bathroom has a pretty nice rainfall style shower. The air conditioning did not really work and I was unable to sleep the two nights we stayed here. I make sure a hotel has air conditioning before staying because I can’t sleep in a hot room, so if you are the same, stay away from this hotel. The staff at the front desk said it is a centrally controled system, and that they would lower the temperature, but I still found myself sweaty and not sleeping in the room which was probably 25 or 26°C. The restaurant in the lobby was pretty good for dinner, we ended up eating dinner there twice as we were pretty tired from walking all day and cabify does not work in Bilbao, so also keep that in mind when staying at this less than centric hotel.

The hotel is great. And it has plenty of free parking. The reason I gave 3 stars for service os that you have to pay for breakfast €18.50 woth a €100 per room per night! Other then that the staff is great! 2 stars for location is because it is far out from the city and there re not really any cute stores or grocery stores within walking distance!

Excellent room, large bathroom. Very clean. Minor issue is that despite advertising there convenience for British holiday makers using the ferry there are no English TV stations. Not even the world service.

The hotel is very nicely laid out with ample underground parking(a touch expensive at 16 euros per day). Its on the outskirts of Bilbao but an easy downhill walk to the centre.15 mins relaxed pace walk. Staff very helpful, marked down from 5 stars all round because of the Internet based prebooking system,its rubbish and needed their staffs intervention to use,they helped quickly so I couldnt mark the human service down. Would stay here again.

Great hotel, the best breakfast every, the amount of different food was amazing. The room was lovely.

The family room was ginormous, if somewhat sparsely furnished. I like the detail of having a water and sparkling water dispenser on each floor. Great underground parking available. Walking distance to the old town, and 45mins to the Guggenheim.

Nice, clean hotel. Very central location. Nice restaurant. TV could be improved. The only channels are Spanish, but it is in Spain after all. Some English speaking channels would have been good, for me.

Great comfortable room, easy parking, good location. Friendly staff. In the restaurant they have baked vegetables which was a delicious vegan option!

We really enjoyed our stay at Gran Bilbao. The beds were extremely comfortable, the bathroom facilities were excellent, the view was amazing and the staff were excellent. The location was also fantastic to get into the old part of the city very quickly. Thoroughly enjoyed our stay. I will be returning.

Great service from all staff. Very clean. Good views from top floor bedrooms. 30 min walk into city centre. Fabulous breakfast choice in lovely large, airy dining room.

For the cost of a room we expected more. Not a great location, steep hill down to the old town but more steep coming back ! Restaurant was a bit like a school canteen. We are used to the Paradore hotels which are far superior and much the same price.

The hotel is beautifully located, the room with a view of the mountains and a nice viaduct. Room clean and well equipped. Daily service. Paid underground parking, but the entrance is very tight, especially for larger cars. NEGATIVES: Room service comes in despite having a "do not disturb" sign, or at least knocks on the door every few minutes as if the fate of the world depended on this smoothing of the sheets. I don't know if it's the Spanish standard, but the bed is covered with a duvet layered with two loose sheets. It's very inconvenient. DOUBLE NEGATIVE: Room service took away my private cup, plate and cutlery. There was no way to confuse them with hotel rooms. When reporting the problem at the reception, the lady was not able to understand what I meant. Such a temporary loss of knowledge of English.

A classic for when I am in Bilbao. Cool hotel just outside the center (mind that it’s a bit uphill if you come from the center). Been a the end of October and it was as great as always, even though a little bit pricey (parking 15 euros one night). Anyways, good and clean 4 stars with a good view (if you get the right room) on the bridge.

Very pleasant stay. All staff very friendly. Restaurant quite good and not at all expensive. Has large parking at affordable price. Quick 15m all to historical centre.

Great hotel, the rooms are very nice large, the breakfast is as complete as you can imagine... À bit far from the city center on foot though. Very good experience.

Great hotel for a visit to Bilbao, old Town 10 minutes walk, and guggenheim museum 30 minutes walk. Clean, spacious rooms, great bathroom. Good parking facilities.

Handia! A fantastic place to stay in Bilbao 5 stars all around. The hotel is clean and full of quirky instagramable spots. Check in was a breeze for the 4 rooms I booked for my party of 8. The restaurant and food ... superb! Mikel went out of his way to make sure we were comfortable, gave us some tips for getting around, and always looked out for us. This is also true for the rest of the staff from the front desk, food service, and housekeeping. Muchas gracias por hacer que nuestra estancia sea maravillosa. Itzuliko da!

Poorly located hotel for Bilbao! Incredibly steep incline to get back to the hotel even for my scrawnyish physique! Rooms require a massive refresh and upgrade, shower is just terrible which is odd as the bathrooms are huge. Breakfast in the morning is adequate.

Michaela was very welcoming and helpful. The staff we're fabulous. We will definitely stay again!

I really expected more from this Hotel just judging from its name. Within one week travelling in the north of Spain it was the most disappointing one. 1. It was not possible to switch two lights off, so I had sleep with dimmed lights the entire night. 2. The aluminum plate between the bath and the living room was not fixed and screws were standing out. I protected the screw with my shoes to ensure that I will not walk into it and to be hurt. 3. It was almost not possible to get a bill with the companies name on it. Just after arguing the employee managed to do it. Thanks to his personal enthusiasm it finally received that I needed.

The location is quite nice and the rooms are clean and spacious enough. The employees are friendly and overall was a good stay. Things I would change: Would be nice to have shower gel and shampoo separate, Instead of a all in one soap since those are worse for the hair. The mattresses are too soft and the pillows too low, would prefer firmer options. Also would like to have nocilla or nutella spread in the breakfast buffet.

We loved our stay here and enjoyed the hotel a great deal. Their front desk staff are super friendly and helpful. If you need to know anything about the area, they can help. The food at the restaurant is good, but it's very expensive compared to the nearby restaurants. The coffee and cocktails bar was also good. Room service staff were very friendly. My only complaint is the lack of a guest laundry room. Doing laundry here is a very expensive proposition, so if, like me, you like to do laundry halfway through a trip to save weight, plan on using one of the nearby laundromats instead.

Great Breakfast! You know what is for business traveler most important. The breakfast has even sport and healthy food corners. You are my favorite hotel in Bilbao of course if the price will remain otherwise my company will not allow to stay there.

If you’re staying in Bilbao, I highly recommend this hotel. It’s in a perfect location with beautiful views. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful especially Mihaela, she made sure we felt welcome and gave us great recommendations on things to do around the area. Make sure to get the breakfast! You get a taste of all the local foods for an excellent price & high quality.

Our stay was an absolute pleasure because the staff are helpful & friendly; the hotel is spotless, pretty & very comfortable. Efforts towards low carbon are also sincere. The restaurant is great & the breakfasts are a cornucopia treat. We had a beautiful view of Bilbao's hills & river & it's quick & easy to get into the middle of town.