Hotel Vincci Consulado de Bilbao

The Vincci is built into the curve of the street as part of the Museoalde building, and takes the form of a sailboat riding across the Estuary of Bilbao, according to them at least. I couldn’t really see it, but that might have been due to the fact that my glasses were somehow both dripping wet and fogged up.

The wonderful lady at the front desk acknowledged our existence while I tried to recover my vision, and had us checked in as quickly as possible. Thankfully our room was ready, although I would have been equally surprised had it not been since there couldn’t possibly be that much of a turnaround, all things considered.

The upper floors were a whole mood. Not one I necessarily wanted to be in.

Our window looked straight out onto the estuary, and although we couldn’t see the Guggenheim, this was already more than we were expecting. Yay upgrades! 

My only issue with the bathroom was how the door got awkwardly close to the shower, pushing the bath mat into a wet lump in the corner.

Of course, the two single beds we requested would be smushed together. I forgot how differently hotel rooms are laid out here. 

I called dibs on the bed next to the window, which let out a hilarious squeak after I plopped myself on it. The single pillow was just fluffy enough to compensate for the lack of an extra one, and the mismatched chairs made the room feel less stuffy.

As a whole, I feel the hotel toes the line between clean and modern, and warm and inviting. The exceptional service, from all of the staff, pushes it towards the latter. 

Our room rate didn’t include breakfast and thank heavens for that because we only would have eaten here one day anyways.

I don’t consider myself a picky person, but I’ve only been truly impressed by hotel breakfast buffets three times in my life: Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge in Orlando, the Libertel Gare de L’Est in Paris, and El Eskondite at the One Shot Tabakalera House in San Sebastián.

Besides your usual fare of cereals, fruit, and a hot bar, there was a wide array of pastries, sandwiches, tortilla española, meats and cheeses, six different types of milk, and even churros. Plus yogurts, teas, juices, and coffee. 

For round 1, I had some orange juice, a churro, a waffle, chorizo, salami, jamón serrano, Brie, Idiazabal, queso fresco, membrillo, tortilla de queso, and a mini pain au chocolate. Basics, really.

Round 2 is milk, cheesecake, pan con tomate, melon, grapefruit, more Brie, and a chocolate donut.

It’s a good thing we’d be walking it all off.

There was also a terrace, namely the star of the hotel, which the rain had prevented us from enjoying. Maybe next time?

The Hotel Vincci Bilbao is located on Calle Alameda Mazarredo 22, Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain. Nightly rates for 2 adults from 75 USD.