The Best Hotels in Bilbao, Northern Spain's Cultural Capital
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Spain’s north coast isn’t like the rest of the country and the best hotels in Bilbao aren't like the best hotels in the rest of the country, either. The region is a wild wind-sculpted landscape of dense forest and misty mountains. It resembles Scotland or Ireland at times and its coastal cities are just as curious. The capital of the fiercely proud Basque country, Bilbao was once an industrial metropolis of smoking chimneys and howling factories until a devastating flood in 1983 forced the city to rethink itself. Fast forward 40 years and Bilbao is a reinvented nirvana of delightful tapas (called pintxos here) and groundbreaking art, with the pièce de résistance being the radiant swirls of Frank Gehry’s iconic Guggenheim Museum.
So with such cultural allure, it’s little surprise that there are some fine hotels dotting Bilbao’s lively streets. Whether it’s luxurious stays overlooking the Guggenheim or quirky color-splashed art hotels, the city provides a host of options for wide-eyed newcomers or eager returning visitors. Below are our picks of the best places to stay in Bilbao.
Roberto Garcia PhotographyThe Artist, Bilbao
Looking out towards the Guggenheim’s sweeping titanium and glass frame, The Artist is a luxurious spot for any traveler fascinated by design. Originally called the Gran Hotel Domine, The Artist opened in 2002 and was designed by Spanish artists and architects Javier Mariscal and Fernando Salas, while Jeff Koons’ floral 40-foot sculpture Puppy sits just outside the entrance.
The airy lobby is dominated by the towering Fossil Cypress, an 85-foot column of rolled stone designed by Marisco that awkwardly soars up to the seventh (and top) floor. Speaking of the summit, it’s The Artist’s rooftop bar—imaginatively titled The Rooftop—that’s perhaps most impressive here. While the view of the Guggenheim is obviously the star, the eye is also drawn to the lush hills and the distant hillside neighborhoods of Bilbao’s extraordinary cityscape. Soak up the panorama with Idiazabal cheese, Iberico ham, and a glass of fruit-forward Rioja Crianza. Quality downstairs restaurant Olio and secret lobby cocktail bar Sixty One 61 form a fine gastronomic triumvirate.
The hotel boasts 145 rooms, most of which exude a warm palette with bright midcentury lounging chairs but are thankfully restrained on the art, which is left to the public spaces. The sublime 861-square-foot penthouse comes with its own private terrace facing the museum. And to unwind, the oak-wood Turkish bath and sauna are perfect escapes from an admittedly tourist-heavy corner of Bilbao.
Radisson Collection Hotel Bilbao
Set inside the imposing former headquarters of Banco Hispano Americano on Plaza Biribila, this central spot was originally built in 1945 but opened as a five-star Radisson Collection Hotel in 2022. Their luxury arm has brought a sleek Art Deco sheen to the lobby, complete with charcoal marble floors and smooth wood finishes in subdued earthy tones with pops of gold and dark blue.
The 137 rooms across six floors follow a similar color scheme against white-cream walls, sometimes adorned by framed black and white photos of bygone Bilbao. The hotel comes with a host of suites, while the Presidential Suite comes with its own outdoor hot tub overlooking the Grand Via. The narrow streets and pintxos bars of Casco Viejo (the Old Town) are just a short walk over the picturesque Nervión River, too.
Further above sits the rooftop restaurant and bar Eneoko Basque. Walls cascading with plants and greenery give this space a lush feel with fine views of the surrounding mountains, while the intricate Basque-Japanese fusion cooking from local Michelin-starred chef Eneko Atxa is original, with the tasting menu featuring dishes like hake in tempura and green sauce, and roasted squid. The weather in northern Spain can sometimes feel as rain-soaked as Britain out of season, so the hotel’s indoor pool is a fine shelter if need be.
Meliá Bilbao
This luxury offering from global brand Meliá was built in 2003, though its earthy rust-red desert tones from Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta give it an almost timeless appearance. Sitting between the wide River Nervión and Doña Casilda Iturrizar Park’s lush expanse, the 211-room Hotel Meliá Bilbao was inspired by Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida and the cubist fittings and hanging sculptures in the breezy lobby channel his abstract style.
A choice of 14 different room types is perhaps a little overboard, but the red is mercifully toned down in place of a cream and black palette, and the park and river views are equally lovely with Bilbao’s cityscape rising all around. These sleek Scandi-style rooms are spacious too, with marble-clad bathrooms and Meliá’s DreamMaker mattresses adding an extra layer of comfort.
Natural light pours into Sumendi, the ground-floor restaurant which specializes in hearty flame-fired Basque fare, while bar Bribone is the place for easing into post-dinner cocktails. The finest aspect of the Meliá is probably its wellness offering, which sits on the 6th floor. While the two saunas are a soothing refuge, it's the spa’s heated outdoor pool looking across the river that’s truly the star here.
Aya Ben EzriHotel NYX, Bilbao
Despite its location on the fringes of the Medieval Casco Viejo, the NYX Hotel Bilbao is wonderfully at odds with the neighborhood's twisting 15th-century streets. A buzzy neon-purple lobby and halls splashed with colorful murals by local artists like Iñigo Sesma and Fermín Moreno Martín make this hotel a total sensory contrast to its historic surroundings. And with the river gently curving north, the Guggenheim is a pleasant 20-minute stroll away too.
Above a marble spiral staircase, 108 double rooms make up the NYX with cool grey tones mixed up with the occasional pop of lipstick-red lampshades and mustard yellow armchairs. The hot purple vibes from downstairs can be switched on through LED lighting, giving a much funkier character to the rooms, while the bathrooms have an earthier marble palette with rainfall showers and cozy black robes.
The rooftop bar is a lively local hotspot in the summer months and for good reason, with skyline views backed by rising mountains and pumping DJ sessions. It’s a great space for evening cocktails, and though the hotel’s Clash Bar and Restaurant downstairs offers decent western fare, the historic tapas bars hiding inside Plaza Nuevo’s arches and colonnades are just a two-minute walk away. So take advantage of NYX’s sublime location, if you’re thinking about what to eat when night falls.
Roberto Garcia PhotographyMiró Hotel Bilbao
Occupying the same street as The Artist, the Hotel Miró also looks toward the Guggenheim and was named after Catalan fashion designer Antonio Miró. One of the city’s first truly boutique hotels when it opened in 2002, the hotel still feels fresh two decades later and its location perfect for Bilbao’s most iconic sight.
Burgundy leather armchairs with design-lead coffee-table books stacked nearby and a local black Markina marble floor await in the lobby, while sleek lines, cool tones, and the occasional pop of color characterize the 50 rooms at the Miró. Floor-to-ceiling windows ensure some fine views, especially from the 30 street-facing rooms, and their splashes of pear-green headboards blend well with the park scenes outside and the tree canopies creeping up to the glass.
Forty works of contemporary photography pepper the hotel’s walls, including work by Alex Hank and Ruud Van Empel. That aura of cool lends itself to Miró’s 24-hour mini bar, which is equally good for a morning coffee as it is an evening negroni. There’s no on-site restaurant, but there are plenty of quality bistros and tapas joints if you walk 5–10 minutes south into the lively Indautxu neighborhood. The immediate area around the Guggenheim tends to be a little sleepy at night, though look out for occasional evening music and food from Café Ona in the summer.
Alejandro BergadoHotel Carlton
For a dash of old-world luxe, the Hotel Carlton is Bilbao’s darling of the Roaring Twenties. Despite the city’s industrial 20th century, this beaux-arts paragon has stood as a staple of Bilbao’s luxury market since 1926 and has hosted guests including Ernest Hemingway and Albert Einstein.
Situated on the busy (and very central) Plaza Moyua, the Carlton is almost equidistant between the Guggenheim and Casco Viejo, while its grey mansard roof, at first glance, looks veritably Parisian. Inside, the stained-glass domed lobby held up by cream neoclassical columns is a majestic start and the carpeted marble staircase leads up to 140 rooms across six floors.
The spacious rooms are surprisingly contemporary in appearance, with moody tones of urbane bronze and warm stone. Several categories of rooms and suites are available to select, with the vast Imperial Suite the largest suite in Northern Spain.
Mexican chef Alejandro Ángeles Rebolloso helms the Carlton’s traditional Basque restaurant Artagan, while the El Grill bar is a more relaxed setting for pintxos and cocktails. Hidden away below in the basement is the Civil War–era El Bunker, once a reinforced concrete shelter but now an ornate mahogany and armchair-strewn private hire bar.
erlantz biderbostHotel Tayko Bilbao
This handsome 53-room boutique hotel facing the banks of the Serpentine River is in a wonderful location for exploring Casco Viejo. Originally constructed in 1924, the elegant lemonade-yellow Hotel Tayko Bilbao features a distinct gray spire above the top floor and leads into the neighborhood’s warren of weaving streets.
The Tayko brand has one other outpost in Seville, and this hotel opened in 2019, giving the century-old building a slick, minimalist makeover with exposed concrete, steel walkways, and a marble reception desk. Rooms here come in nine styles, often with a moody black and gray palette. Always try to snag a river view room, if possible.
But the Takyo has a seriously premium dining option for a boutique hotel. Led by celebrated Basque chef Martín Berasategui, Ola is a one-Michelin-star restaurant offering two tasting menus of exquisite fine dining using the region’s fertile farmland as its bread basket. La Bodega de Ola is a more relaxed experience, perfect for perhaps a cocktail or two before meandering into the Old Town.
Maremagnum/Getty ImagesCaravan Cinema
The old town’s art theme continues at the Caravan Cinema, which takes its design in a distinctively retro direction. As the name suggests, this boutique hotel takes much of its inspiration from cinematic history, with references throughout the 19th-century guesthouse, which opened as a hotel in 2014.
The three apartments and five rooms across two floors are all named after filmmakers, which adds an eccentric character to the already colorful 1950s vintage feel. The Alfred Hitchcock apartment is lined with canvas print posters of his classic movies, silhouetted birds painted on the ceiling, and other subtle nods to his oeuvre. Other decor features include Marshall speakers, Hierbas de Ibiza toiletries, a mosaic-tiled bathroom floor, smooth wooden midcentury furniture, an exposed stone wall, and cloud-effect mattresses. What this place lacks in luxury, it makes up for in character.
There’s no on-site restaurant here, but the superb location in Casco Viejo means there’s a smorgasbord of wonderful dining options on the Caravan Cinema’s doorstep. There's no need to leave the neighborhood from the pintxos bars flanking Plaza Nueva to the many bistros lining the streets spidering out from Bilbao Cathedral.
This article was originally published on Condé Nast Traveller UK.
