We stayed in the hotel for the week and overall enjoyed our stay. The reception staff was not overly friendly but professional and helpful.

On the upside, the hotel has a great location. Being situated at the end of Gran Via, the main shopping street spanning most of the city centre of new Bilbao (and ending at the beginning of the old town), makes it both close to virtually all sights and the bus terminal, which is a good base for day trips.

The walking distance to the Guggenheim is about 15 minutes, 10 minutes to the Museo de Bellas Artes, 10 minutes to the bus terminal and 30 minutes to Casco Viejo (the old town). There is also a metro stop nearby (San Mamès), which allows for a much faster and inexpensive trip to Casco Viejo.

Another big advantage of the hotel is its breakfast buffet, which is rich, tasty and virtually doesn't leave any wishes open. Especially the Spanish ham, the delicious fresh bread and the freshly pressed orange juice turn having breakfast into a delight.

However, there are also two major downsides. One is the fact that you have to pay disproportionate fees for WiFi in the rooms. The hotel claims to have free WiFi in the reception area, but you have to ask for a voucher at the reception. With the voucher, usage time is limited to 30 minutes. The complicated procedure could be on purpose to coerce guests into using the hotel's paid WiFi.

The other disadvantage is the sleeping quality in the hotel beds.
We stayed in a room with a queen-sized bed, which unfortunately we found to be rather narrow and much too soft. The softness was of the type that causes a feeling of "hanging" in the bed and caused pain in the back. Additionally, the bed was equipped with one long pillow shared by the two of us, which we found unusual and also rather uncomfortable.

If it wasn't for the bed, we'd immediately stay in the hotel again. As sleep quality is an important factor of enjoying a vacation, we are unfortunately not so sure about it, due to the bed. Maybe opting for a twin bed would have provided for better comfort.