Petit Palace Arana Bilbao  

Location

Bathroom shower showed signs of leakage and dry rot.

Our first slight disappointment with Petit Palace. The staff were very welcoming but the room was a little small, particularly the bathroom, in which the shower area was quite shabby. The breakfast was of the extpected standard and in a quaint upstairs room even if headroom was limited due to the attractive beams. The location was perfect with close proximity to the train station and a tram stop plus evening eating/drinking and the scenic river.

I am reluctant to critisicse this hotel as we were made to feel very welcome, but the room safe did not work (and we are experienced with this type of safe from last and this year) and, desite reporting this, nothing was done about it.

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The location of the hotel is fantastic; close to the river and at the heart of the Arenal (the old town). It's a stone's throw from the Catedral de Santiago and the hotel itself is in a beautiful old building. Furthermore, it's only a 20 min walk along the river to the Guggenheim. We made the faux pas of booking right in the middle of the Aste Nagusia (Bilbao's annual week-long festival)—the hotel is located right at the heart of the festivities which is potentially great if you’re up for a party, but not so good if you're hoping to get any sleep. There is live rock music playing on the hotel’s doorstep well into the early hours of the morning (at least until 3am).

The hotel is part of a chain called 'High Tech Hotels' whose decor tries to be ultra-modern and trendy. Sadly, while the room we stayed in may have been modern and trendy in the '90's, it is now tired, grubby, and very much in need of some TLC. The bed was on a platform raised about 4ft from the floor which had a metal bannister (presumably to stop you from falling off) running around it—unfortunately the bannister itself was falling off and frankly hazardous. The carpet on the platform was really grubby and stained—I’m not sure if it was because of its age or through lack of cleaning—as was the wall to one side of the bed. The room itself had the potential to be lovely with a great big window overlooking the Teatro Arriaga but with its dark purple ceiling, enormous platform (covered in black/white checked carpet) and its dark furniture—it ended up being just dark, dismal and stuffy. A real shame!

The hotel is placed in the heart of Bilbao, perfect location.

The shower. Difficult to use and not made for people under 1.8 m. Why the exercise bike in the room?

I liked the location of it and its fairly modern and nicely furnished rooms and the atmosphere.

The breakfast was not great.

Great location on the edge of the old town. Easy parking in a garage. Good access to Guggenheim Museum - although a short drive or a very long walk was in order....

Scenic walking distance to museums and several tourist attractions; walking distance from the train station; public transport within 50 meters. Morning breakfast tasty and fulfilling.

Fantastic location. Very friendly staff. Very comfortable huge bed. Rooms very quiet.

Shower was small & was difficult to use.

This hotel was nice and modern, but set within a lovely old building. The reception staff were brilliantly helpful, and patient with our slow Spanish. The location is great for the old town and the theatre (and tourist info office there) and the centre of Bilbao is small enough to walk around.

We chose not to have breakfast at the hotel as it seemed very expensive.

The hotel is very charming - an old building fully renewed inside, but with old parts of the building still to be seen. The staff was very friendly and helpful and spoke fluently english.

The parking facility is 5 minutes away from the hotel.

Location was good

The rooms were dirty, very musky smelling and poorly maintained. The shower system was ridiculous and the curtains were filthy!