Arcos de Quejana

I didn’t stay at the hotel, we only stopped at the restaurant for lunch. We ate upstairs and the host was so so odd. He was very short and stern with us, made us feel so uncomfortable to enter the restaurant even though we had a reservation. When we sat down he was unbelievably confused by the fact that only some of our group wanted appetizers. I cannot express just how strange our interactions were with this man. The food was delicious but he was so rude. The worst part was when he came over to our table from all the way across the restaurant to remove the olive oil from our table because we were “having too much” and moved it 5 feet away to another table. We had to ask for it back from the other waitress (who was great). Come here for the food and expect to be condescended by the host upstairs. I’m still in shock from how he treated us.

We stayed in the hotel for one night on a Saturday and there were a couple of things that stood out. First of all I would like to give credit to the wonderful people who work there. The bar staff, restaurant staff and reception staff were all fantastic. Service with a smile and happy to help with everything. They are a credit to the hotel and for me the best thing about it. The hotel is really nice inside and we ate in the restaurant. It is fairly priced for the high quality of food they offer and they also offer more economical menus (around 25e a head) if you don't want to push the boat out. It has a nice terrace and lots of greenery. There's plenty of parking. The breakfast is adequate and personally I would go as far as to say that it is a good breakfast. No eggs or things like that but a wide variety of things to choose from, cereal, juices, fruit, yoghurt, cakes, savoury tarts, muffins, toast and jam, coffee, hot chocolate etc. I liked the breakfast area a lot. When we got there there was a wedding on and I was worried it would affect our stay but I can honestly say that it didn't. We were given great service the whole way through and the noise was minimal and stopped fairly soon after midnight. When we booked we did it online and didn't enquire but I recommend asking if your trip coincides with a wedding as although it didn't bother us at all(it was nice to have some life at the hotel) for those who were planning on a tranquil break in the basque mountains it could be a hit of a disappointment. Therefore I'd recommend asking as weddings are their thing and it's better to avoid disappointment! I think the hotel could do a few things to improve. First of all I know it's also personal taste but I found the bed quite uncomfortable. Check if you've got two single beds pushed together or a double if this is important to you as we had to singles pushed together and they constantly spread apart which bothered me. A good selection of bedding but the pillows were too low. (There was one extra pillow in the wardrobe and we didn't ask for another one but if we had perhaps this could have been remedied). A fan in the room would help a lot too as it gets really hot in summer. No hairdryer (perhaps on request?). Also, first impressions are really important so perhaps some kind of bell or something on reception as when you enter the person working there is also working in the bar and you can be waiting there for 5 minutes or so before someone comes and the chair behind the desk needs replacing. Overall I really enjoyed my stay. I'd go back and I thank the staff again for going the extra mile and being so friendly and good at their jobs. Thanks!

|Hard to tell how disappointed I was when I discovered the hotel! We were staying in the apartment for 2 nights (party of 4, including 2 kids). COMPARED TO A STANDARD ROOM, THE APARTMENT IS MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE BUT DOES NOT OFFER ANY ADDITIONAL SERVICE!|In my opinion, what is called "kitchen" on the website should include a hob and a decent oven. Actually, the equipment was there but did not work at all, which seemed absolutely normal to the receptionist. When the question was discussed, we were simply told the microwave was working (which is correct by the way). |Clearly, when we checked-in the apartment was not perfectly clean (for example, spider webs on the plants) and it was not cleaned/refreshed between day 1 and day 2. Also, the furniture was terrible! The armchairs did not match each other, the sofa looked 30-year old. I have to admit the photo on the website very nicely mask how unpretty the furniture can be. What seems like a trendy place on the pictures is actually closer to the apartment of my old grandma.|What was worse was the bedroom: it is not possible to call a mattress what was supposed to be one. Note there is only one bed (like in a standard room) and they charge 30 € for each night for an extra bed that you would not want to use for camping...|Overall, I have the feeling we paid way too much for such an apartment (compare to other hotel-apartments in the area) and we did not get more than what we could expect with a standard room.|The hotel encouraged me to express any disappointment directly by email and not via TripAdvisor which didn't seem very fair play. I admit I did it though. And guess what, I haven't received any reply! |

This places is just great. You are all the time surrounded by very experienced people which you can tell know how to do their job. The food was unbelievable amazing. The wine cellar is impressive. Would definitely recommend getting married there.

Enjoyed a lovely dinner in old farmhouse restaurant with modern facilities. Would have been happy to stay another night had it been possible. Signposting could have been a little better. Lovely gardens where weddings are held, maybe not so quiet if a wedding?

According to the menu the chef has been trained by a three star Michelin chef so we decided to book a table and to try the degustation menu.|We were seated in the windowless breakfast room with instead of the dining room on the first floor. Seems like two tables weren't enough to open up the dining room.|The six course degustation menu was cooked alright but did not meet our expectations, three courses (the timbale, the octopus and beef) where served with potatoes. |The presentation on the plate was ok but not what one would expect from a Michelin star trained chef.

I wanted somewhere to stay about an hour out of Bilbao. I found this place on Booking.com and it proved perfect. It's in a valley with astonishing mountains on one side. At Quejana is a 16th century palace, now monastery and this lovely hotel - that's it! Yet the road above Quejana is brilliant for birding - kites, eagles and small birds as well. The whole Ayala valley is overlooked but fantastic country with this gem of a hotel in the middle of it. If you're coming in to our out of Bilbao, stay here instead of rushing past on the motorway!

Nice environment and views. Room correct and clean. Amazing breakfast with tortilla de patatas and cakes hand made. Really good bread also. Everything good as expected and as explained in other reviews :)