Occidental Bilbao

I recently stayed at the Occidental Bilbao Hotel for a 3-night vacation. Overall, my experience was a mix of positives and areas for improvement.

Firstly, the hotel’s location is excellent. It’s easily accessible by car from the motorway and conveniently within walking distance to downtown and many local sights. This made exploring Bilbao quite effortless and enjoyable.

Upon arrival, I found the hotel to be clean, comfortable, and functional. The room amenities were all good, providing a pleasant stay. However, I was disappointed to discover a forgotten sock between the curtain and the couch, which suggests housekeeping might need a bit more attention to detail. One of the light switches also has a contact issue and crackles.

The continental breakfast was another area that could use improvement. Despite Spain’s reputation as the greenhouse of the EU, the selection of vegetables was very limited. Additionally, there were no milk alternatives available, which was surprising and a bit inconvenient.

One thing to note is that the hotel is on the pricey side. While this isn’t inherently a problem, it was frustrating to find that they charged extra for parking and gym access. Given the hotel’s cost, it felt like these amenities should have been included.

Great hotel. The staff is very friendly and professional and it plays a big part in making this hotel an amazing place. I loved the ambience of the lobby bar in the evening and how everybody is respectful in the swimming pool.

Great experience, friendly stuff, breakfast really delicious and the servers where amazing, specially Ana and Angel (the Venezuelan girl!), at the dinner I have to tell that the portions are not big for its price but was ok.

There’s just one thing that I didn’t liked at all, when I booked over phone the reservation dept told me that the gym is included for free but when I arrived they told me that I have to pay extra for it while when I’ve been in other barcelò never been the case.

The Hotel itself is very nice, very clean, nice staff , rooms are nicely sized.
Just a couple of niggly things, not enough sunloungers available for the pool, unable to change language on tv as menu is disabled plus our room had a lovey view of the emergency stairs.
All in all a nice stay.

This is a great hotel to stay in, 10 minutes walk from the city center , casco viejo. Amazing view from the city. the swimming pool makes it really interesting as there are no hotels in Bilbao city center with swimming pool. The food in the restaurant is just amazing and good prices/ quality.

Nice contemporary hotel. Great design and atmosphere. Rooms are very modern. Good parking. A bit far from the center.

Don't be fooled by the picture of the pool. The stone structure with arches aren't ruins but a traffic tunnel. However, the sound barrier does a good job in masking the sound.

The access to the gym is an extra charge of 8€

Would stay here again.

From the appeal of the lobby to the comfortable beds this hotel has left a positive memory in my trip across Spain. The pool was nice and sufficiently deep. The room might feel small for some but not all. The beds we're superior as they were quite comfortable. The showers are nice and the room feels clean and we'll maintained. The breakfast was also quite nice as it had a wide variety of options for one to choose and enjoy. The lobby and services were good as well overall a nice place to stay if you are looking to staying in or just passing by Bilbao.

Great hotel, liked everything except the sound insulation in the room