Prime Location Bilbao | 4BR, 2BA & Parking

Pros: 1. Location. Five minutes’ walk from the bus to/from Bilbao Airport, the apartment is located in a refined part of Bilbao’s 19th-century left bank. Surrounded by great shops and excellent places to eat. Ten minutes’ walk to the Guggenheim, twenty to the Casco Viejo. 2. Comfort. The apartment is in top condition, with four reasonably-sized bedrooms (by the standards of a central location in a European city). Two bathrooms, each with a shower (great water pressure), sink and WC . Strong WiFi. Very comfortable beds. Perfect for a short or medium duration stay for six adults or a family. 3. Cleanliness and care. Absolutely spotless, the apartment was also provided with everything needed for a longer stay (cleaning materials, kitchen and toilet roll, washing machine / drier). Very responsive hosts. 4. Parking. The parking space is under a different building, about five minutes’ walk away. On-street parking is scarce in central Bilbao. To get a free parking space with this apartment is a real benefit.

Cons: 1. Noise. My God, the noise. Sure, a certain amount of street noise is to be expected in a city-centre location. And this apartment (on the first floor of the building) delivered that, with rubbish/recycling collection daily from right outside at 2330 every evening, and again at 0400, as well as usual traffic and revelry sounds. No air con in the apartment meant having to leave windows open, meaning unavoidable disrupted sleep. But this was made substantially worse by the noise from the apartment above and from the stairwell in the late evening and during the night. One of the bedrooms adjoins the stairwell and so is particularly badly exposed to this. Solution: nothing to be done about this except bring earplugs and/or go out all night. 2. Lack of air con. Perhaps unavoidable due to the age of the building but some form of air con, even a small mobile unit, would have made a big difference to the comfort and noise level. Temperatures during our stay in June peaked at 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit) with high humidity. Solution: hit the nearby museums and department stores (although neither will let you sleep there).

Fantastic location

Noise from people walking down the stairs.

Lovely, big, characterful apartment, the hosts had thought of everything! Two full bathrooms a bonus with four adults on the trip.

Nothing -

Fantastic apartment in the middle of Bilbao new center, close to everything you need. Perfect for families (we were traveling with our dad, 5 adults in total). Comfortable beds, large living space and super clean. Great communication with hosts all the time.

Excellent location close to all attractions. Spacious and very clean. All amenities catered for.

The door system was a bit confusing. Keys to get into property didn’t work every time but link to electric means did.

This was a spacious, well furnished apartment, right in the centre of Bilbao, with easy access to the best sites and restaurants. Modern and well equipped, it was a marvellous point for setting out to explore and experience Bilbao. Many of Bilbao's sites and sounds were only a short walk way - the Guggenheim was only 10-15 minutes, as were some splendid restaurants. 5 minutes away is a local park (for walking the dog) with an outdoor cafeteria and bar. This glorious city simply unfolded from our lovely apartment.

A better selection of wine glasses, including some for champagne, particularly since it was New Year's Eve, would have been welcome!