Hotel Carlton

Elegant hotel with gorgeous views, charm and history! Our suite was beautiful, well maintained, clean, and spacious. We ended up checking in twice this holiday season and plan to be back again next month. After staying in a few other five star hotels in downtown Bilbao, I can say this property is my favorite thus far. It’s conveniently located in Abando, close to shops and lots of great restaurants, bakeries, and bars. The hotel is also celebrating its 100th year.

In September we had the good fortune to stay at the Hotel Carlton while on a Viking land tour in Bilbao. The hotel is quite nice, centrally located, the staff are very helpful, the rooms are very clean with enough space, the morning buffet is wonderful. Our room looked out on the Federico Moyua plaza which was beautiful to see with all the multi-coloured flowers. The morning buffet was just delicious, with lots of selections to keep you happy for much of the day of sightseeing. We loved our stay here and recommend this hotel!

Very good experience. Hotel location is perfect, at the very center of the city. Check in was easy. Staff was friendly and professional. Rates paid are fair for the quality you get. They have a little gym. Breakfast was good. Rooms are decorated more old style, but well kept and maintained (no carpet smell etc). I would recommend both for leisure and business trips.

Hotel Carlton in Bilbao impressed me with its spacious and elegant rooms, even if the style feels slightly dated. The restaurant is excellent and serves high-quality dishes, while the breakfast buffet has a wide selection with everything you need. The hotel’s location couldn’t be better – most attractions and city highlights are within easy walking distance. Overall, a very enjoyable stay and a place I would definitely choose again.

I have been coming to Bilbao for years to visit family and have stayed in what feels like every four star hotel in the city. There was always something not quite right, whether it was noise, cramped rooms or an awkward location. Then I tried the Carlton. That extra star shows itself in the comfort, the calm and the sense that things are as they ought to be. My search for the right hotel in Bilbao is over. This is, in all likelihood, the best hotel in the city.

Excellent location.|Parking was intimidating until hotel told us to just pull up in front, unload and they would park car. Easy!|Hotel is old (which is fine), but it needs renovation (mostly new decor).|The rooms are tired: old fabrics and hard beds.|Breakfast was low-end, but filled our tummies for the day.

The worst hotel choice I have ever made. The rooms are extremely outdated — it feels like they haven’t been renovated since the opening in 1926. Furniture is worn out, and the so-called “soundproofing” is so poor that I could hear every single move from the room next door. The staff is unprofessional and rude. When we complained about the condition of the room, they simply said they didn’t see anything wrong. Housekeeping was also below basic standards. We were traveling with kids, so safety was my top priority. Imagine my shock when I discovered a broken electrical socket in the room — a clear safety hazard. Even worse, the staff dismissed it, claiming they saw nothing dangerous about it. For a hotel that claims to be five stars, this is absolutely unacceptable. I would strongly advise anyone considering this hotel to look elsewhere.

Incredibly beautiful hotel. The hall, the rooms, the ceilings are amazing. The service is fantastic and helpful. It is on sich a central location that you can reach all the main attraction of Bilbao on foot.

A classic hotel that hasn't aged well. Stuffy, pretentious with basic and traditional amenities. Expensive restaurants, slow Wi-Fi, no convenience store, loud banging at 6am (called the front desk with no follow-up). Great location near the subway and central to downtown.

An elegant grande dame located on the central square across from a beautiful garden. We stayed for one night in mid April in a Superiorto kick off a visit to the Basque Country. Our room on the fifth floor (512) was delightfully large with a nice balcony overlooking the square. In April the 187€ was a steal for this quality and especially given the inclusion of breakfast (23€/pp value AND two free passes to Guggenheim museum-20€ value). Like most historical properties it would be a nice upgrade to have better access to power outlets, but other than that I thought the marble bathroom was a good size and we had more than enough room in which to spread out. The hotel itself is beautiful with rich red carpets on a sweeping grand staircase and an amazing stained glass domed courtyard just off the lobby. The Belle Époque stained glass and other touches add a refined elegance to your stay. The breakfast buffet was included in our room rate and was absolutely outstanding with so many classic basque foods plus anything else you could possibly want from fresh fruit and juice, many pastries and breads and omelette s cooked to order. An amazing feast and not to be missed. Highly recommended

Will stay here again if I ever come back to Bilbao. Everything is more than I expected. The room is spacious and the breakfast buffet is very impressive. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The location is excellent. It's right outside of the metro station and only a shirt walk to the Guggenheim museum..

New favourite hotel in Bilbao. Best location wise-only a few steps away from airport bus pick-up and metro. Short walk to the Guggenheim.Very fancy rooms (old school), clean and low key cool balconies. After staying at Ercilla, this will likely be my next go to hotel in Bilbao. The staff were very helpful. Price way-reasonable!.

Best place to stay in Bilbao, hands down. Upscale hotel, professional and friendly staff! Rooms are spacious, clean and very well distributed. The view from our room overlooked the city which was amazing! I recommend you book in advance, it does get sold out a lot.

Dare I say it: I loved Bilbao, probably more than San Sebastian. Sure, even in the summertime the weather can be quite unpredictable (I had my umbrella with me at all times) and chilly, but I'm fairly used to these things after living in Galicia (and Chicago!). My stay at Hotel Carlton made my visit to Bilbao all the more enjoyable. The hotel is situated directly in the center of town and is a comfortable walk from the Guggenheim Museum, as well as the "old" part of the city. Upon checking into the hotel (and without even asking!), the concierge gave me a thorough description of the area, described highlights and key attractions in Bilbao, and advised me to take my camera on a clear day and head to the Mirador de Artxanda. I heeded his advice and after a sharp, uphill climb, was presented with one of the most beautiful views of the center of Bilbao and its prominent architecture, the surrounding mountains, and the river. Throughout my entire stay, the service was polite and friendly - I was always presented with a "Buenos Dias" when leaving for coffee in the morning and a "Buenas Noches" when finally arriving back to the hotel after an evening of pintxos bar crawling. The room itself was comfortable and clean with in-room wi-fi. I also made use of the small fitness center in the building, which surprisingly enough, had ample cardio and weight equipment. It was definitely one of the nicer hotel gyms that I've made use of in Europe. Most of the guests of the hotel appeared to be on business, judging by how many of them were in suits, speaking English, and having the front desk call for taxis to take them here-there-everywhere, but given the affordable pricing of the hotel (under 70 euro a night) and the key location, Hotel Carlton is a wonderful place for tourists and vacationers to stay as well.

Decent location but in need of a facelift. Staff were friendly but the hotel is aged. The location was very good and the airport bus literally went to the door step, right in the centre of town. The room stank of smoke and room was showing signs of age, could do with a new carpet, more paint etc. Hard to call the hotel gym a proper gym, and same goes for the steam room, pretty basic. i cant say this was a surprise however, the prices reflected this lack of renovation.