We just stayed at the Conde Duc and were able to walk to the hotel with 2 suitcases from the downtown bus stop where the airport public bus drops off. The bus trip was 1.25 Euros each(cab ride 20 Euros+). The hotel is in a great location across from one of the modern pedestrian walkways and a lovely promenade that runs along the main downtown river. You can walk to the Guggenheim in 15 minutes. There is also a light rail stop just across the walkway. The hotel restaurant is a great deal with a decent variety of entrees and the drink prices in the bar are very reasonable. Unfortunately the restaurant and bar were closed for Saturday and Sunday lunch and dinner - a major disappointment that ought to be addressed. We asked for an quiet interior room and it was indeed quiet but it had a window opening into an interior patio shaft that runs up to the top of the building somewhat like some older Paris hotels where you learn about life from the sounds. The cooking smells from the first floor restaurant made opening the window chancy but necessary as the air conditioning only emitted tepid air, and lucky or unlucky for us our stay had unseasonably warm weather. It's possible, since it was early spring, that they hadn't got their air system up and running yet. I speak reasonable Spanish but the answer to the aircon problems was vague. I would write the hotel and ask about the aircon and get it on the record. We finally left the room door ajar when in the room until retiring for the night. I would recommend asking for one the larger rooms that face the street with the great view with windows that open into the fresh air. A few minor other problems with the room that require my rating it down were where the bathroom door was a heavy tomb sealer that had to be lifted up and dragged closed with noisy effort. Also, inexplicably, the room lights would turn off and the circuit breaker switch above the bathroom door had to be reset. Regardless of the usual 3 star inconsistencies, the price of our room and the unexpected good restaurant make the Conde Duque my choice for a return trip.

I booked this hotel through the internet where I specified an exterior room and having done so would recommend this. I was given a large room with a balcony on the Guggenheim side of the building which was great. Nice view but not too noisy. The bathroom was of a palatial proportion but the plumbing was possessed. It seems to instantly jump from luke-warm to scalding without warning. This aside - I enjoyed my stay. The wood floors are nice, the walls slightly thin but I didn't find noise an issue and I am a light sleeper. The staff were friendly and the breakfast pretty good with unlimited freshly squeezed orange juice. The location I think is perfect being midway between the Guggenheim and the old town. In terms of eating I highly recommend the gourmet restaurant at the Guggenheim and Cafe Irunya

Beware of getting a room next to the maid's closet. My room was at the end of a winding hallway, and an unidentified door was next to it. The floors were wooden. The first morning I was woken up around 7 am by what sounded like someone rolling a rollerbag next to my room. The noise returned periodically. But it happened at the same time every day. I finally figured out that the maid starts cleaning that early, rolls out a vacuum cleaner, and rolls it loudly over those wooden floors! (I don't know if all rooms are equally affected.) On the plus side, the breakfast buffet was very nice. The dining room has English language menus for lunch and dinner (typical-of-Spain VERY LATE dining times for each meal), so while some of the waiters don't speak much English, you can point to what you want on the English menu and that's all it takes. Internet access worked fine. I had to buy 24-hour access cards at the front desk. I had a rental car (from the BIO airport) and so I used the parking lot. It's about two blocks from the hotel. You park on the street (10 min max) and quickly do just enough of the check-in for them to give you directions and instructions for the parking lot, then go park, then come back and finish your check-in. The parking is deep underground, and you have to get out of your car partway up a very steep ramp to push a button to alert the hotel to open the garage door to let you exit. Quite challenging with a stick shift until I figured out I could stop before the ramp, run up, push the button, run back down to my car, and they opened the door without me being right at the button. For the Guggenheim, it's an ideal location (a walkbridge across the river is right outside the hotel), and there's a real nice walking area along the river. Figuring out how to drive to and from the hotel was rather difficult, especially because the exit the hotel's website told me to take was closed during the whole time I was there, and because a lot of major Bilboa streets are one-way but most maps don't show that. Hotel staff was very helpful. I realized on my last day that I had booked for 3 nights when I needed 4, and they were able to extend me no problem.

I stayed at this hotel for more than a week in July, and even if I was alone, I payed only 50 euros for a double-single-use. The hotel from the outside is nothing special, but the interior is very clean and spacious, both the reception (the receptionist are very friendly and helpful) and the breakfast room. The rooms are the best part of the Hotel, since they are very clean, with wonderful and spacious marble bathrooms, very comfortable and big beds, wooden fllor, manual air-condition and thick curtains that can let you sleep in the morning! I really have nothing to complain about this hotel, also because it is within walking distance to Guggenheim Museum and the Old Town.

This hotel is not very impressive on the outside - some dark spots in the windows but when we got out of the elevator going to our room, the hallway was bright and immaculate and the room was clean and had wood floors - haven't seen wood floors in a lot of hotels lately. The bathroom was immaculate. Within walking distance to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. It is located along the river.