3 Best places to stay in Bilbao

Bilbao’s most luxurious grand dame hotel, this gleaming landmark dates back to 1926. It’s only 400 metres from the Guggenheim Museum, at the start of the ‘Golden Mile’ of high-end boutiques, bars and restaurants, and within walking distance of the Casco Viejo with its characterful tapas bars.

A touch of old-fashioned class recalls the days when it played host to the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Ava Gardner; the gorgeous lobby with its stained glass and sweeping grand staircase adds a sense of occasion to your check-in, and easy valet parking means road-trippers can simply ditch their car at the door.

There’s elegant dining at the Aratagan restaurant, a clubby bar for cocktails and pintxos and a summer terrace.

Special weekend packages include a double room, buffet breakfast and two tickets to the Guggenheim. For a blow-out stay, book the top-floor Imperial Suite.

This petite, light-filled hotel by Barcelona designer Antonio Miro is emblematic of post-Guggenheim Bilbao, with chic, black and white minimalist rooms, contemporary photographs, library, a cool spa and laid-back, helpful staff. There’s an honesty bar and free umbrellas to borrow on rainy days.

The location, on Bilbao’s ‘Golden Mile’ of exclusive shops and restaurants (the Gran Via), is superb – and only a five-minute walk from the Guggenheim and the Museum of Fine Arts.

Upper floor rooms with a river view are best: the views at night, when the Guggenheim is illuminated, are spectacular.

With its unique glass façade placed directly opposite Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum, this cool design hotel allows you to drink in the ever-changing colours of Frank Gehry’s titanium-clad masterpiece.

The hotel itself is a kind of prelude to the contemporary arts museum, too – from its towering pillar sculpture of white stones in the lobby to the contemporary paintings that brighten the minimalist, white-and-charcoal rooms (some with premium ‘Guggenheim views’).

There’s no better way to start the day than digging into the Domine’s extensive breakfast on its lovely roof terrace, which becomes an excellent Basque restaurant after dark.

Hands-on staff and a well-equipped gym top off this superb base – a stylish and modern base in arts-obsessed Bilbao.