Barceló Bilbao Nervión

Safe, trendy stay at the top of downtown

Prós: Two female travelers: Comfortable beds, safe, clean room. Just across the cool foot bridge to everything downtown. Good location -- walkable to the Gugg. Very welcoming of foreigners and most of the staff speaks English very well and were able to communicate complicated transit directions to me (like how to get to the bus that takes you to the airport) despite my limited Spanish. We were even able to borrow an adapter for our phones. It's not "the perfect" central location, but good price relative to hotels that are right at the city center. If you want the air conditioning to cool you room down, leave a key in the placard when you leave for the day, otherwise it turns off to save energy. Room smelled clean and fresh. We were fine with the size of the bathroom area.

Contras: The lobby sitting area needs a good dusting/cleaning and maybe new carpet in the hallways.