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Bilbao · Hotel shortlist

Hotels with a gym on the beach in Bilbao

Luca Ferreira

Luca Ferreira Spain and Portugal

Updated 1 September 2026 · 14 Bilbao hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Bilbao, out of the 14 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.7 down to 4.5.

Spirit Hotel Gran Bilbao is the one I would book myself.

Spirit Hotel Gran Bilbao

Highest rated of the five

Spirit Hotel Gran Bilbao

★★★★★4.7 from 11,449 reviews

Spirit Hotel Gran Bilbao comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.7 from 11,449 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is a 4 star property, found under city centre and around $102 a night on the dates we checked.

14 hotels in Bilbao qualified for this list and five made it. The Artist Grand Hotel of Art is the one I would book if the first is full.

Why it works for this trip

  • Spatreatment rooms on site, no booking a taxi for it
  • Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
  • Restaurantdinner downstairs on the night you land
  • Bara drink without going back out
  • Family roomscots and larger rooms rather than a squeeze

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All five, ranked

  1. Spirit Hotel Gran Bilbao1

    Spirit Hotel Gran Bilbao

    ★★★★★4.7 from 11,449 reviews

    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking
    • Pet friendly

    Check rates Read more

  2. The Artist Grand Hotel of Art2

    The Artist Grand Hotel of Art

    ★★★★★4.6 from 2,218 reviews

    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking
    • Pet friendly

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  3. Catalonia Gran Vía Bilbao3

    Catalonia Gran Vía Bilbao

    ★★★★★4.7 from 1,809 reviews

    • Pool
    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking

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  4. Hotel NH Collection Villa de Bilbao4

    Hotel NH Collection Villa de Bilbao

    ★★★★★4.5 from 4,051 reviews

    • Gym
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking
    • Pet friendly
    • Kid friendly

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  5. voco Bilbao - City by IHG5

    voco Bilbao - City by IHG

    ★★★★★4.6 from 2,823 reviews

    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Pet friendly
    • Air conditioning

    Check rates Read more

How this list was put together

14 Bilbao hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

Luca Ferreira

Luca Ferreira Spain and Portugal

Shuts the workshop two weeks every summer and rides. The Pyrenees, the Danube route and most of Portugal on frames he built himself, camping most nights.

Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.