Radisson Collection Bilbao

Most enjoyable stay . Will...

Liked: Breakfast was delicious. The hotel itself was beautifully decorated. Very central location .
Disliked: Everything was perfect.

Superb

Liked: Great location, good size room,very comfortable.

A 5 star hotel without...

Liked: A clean, elegant and modern hotel in an ideal, safe, location in Bilbao city in close proximity to everything.The room itself was well-apportioned and everything seemed very new and well-maintained. I booked in for the 2-hour treatment in the spa and the service from Sara was excellent - she was extremely attentive and the gratuity was richly deserved.
Disliked: We took two stars off from the rating primarily for the bed and the air conditioning because for us, they’re two crucial factors for any stay.The bed was very hard. Had we only been staying a couple of nights it wouldn’t have been as much of an issue but we were staying 7 nights so 3 nights in, we asked at reception if a mattress topper could be put on top of the mattress because both our backs were sore. The hotel boasts a pillow menu (realistically they’re cushion-sized, not pillow-sized) so we assumed, as a 5 star hotel, the Radisson Collection Bilbao might actually want its guests to be comfortable. The two receptionists we spoke to said they didn’t have any toppers but they would arrange for blankets to be put down on top of the mattress to make it softer but two days later, nothing had been done. We had already complained about the air conditioning three times and at that stage we only had to suffer another two nights so we felt uncomfortable having to raise the issue with the bed again.The air conditioning is simply unsatisfactory. We set the thermostat to 19 degrees celsius to cool the room down quickly (the controls were locked so 19 was the lowest, although we did begin to wonder if it was at all times centrally controlled at reception) and we set the fan to high as opposed to automatic but the room never cooled down to a comfortable temperature. We tried leaving our second key card in the controls beside the door to allow the room to cool down and to charge our electronic devices whilst we were out of the room but each and every time the maids cleaned our room, they took the second key card with them and the room had heated back up again. When we say it heated back up, it was extremely slow to cool down in the first place, even when left on overnight - perhaps a degree or two at most.

Exceptional

Pleasant

Amazing location but completely overrated

Liked: Amazing location and friendly staff
Disliked: No pool included (separate company, passes need to be bought separately (20€ per person/per hour), very expensive for such a low level of service, the rooftop is nice but lacking a view. We've rejected having breakfast for this price due to a lack of quality (buffet food was cold and a la carte was low in variety). No support offered for airport pickup or any other services

Not worth it.

Liked: Location close to Calle Ledesma. Room was good.
Disliked: Simply not a 5 stars experience. No car park and the nearest one is easily 10 minutes away. Room had ants. Breakfast was disastrous: no one to sit guests, suddenly someone appears who looked like they didn’t even work there, tables not ready, everything took ages, etc. Very disappointing.

Exceptional

This was a great hotel...

Liked: Clean and stylish. Central location. Good air conditioning. Helpful staff. Good location for airport access.
Disliked: Shower water temperatures were highly variable and uncomfortable.