Despite its size and industrial importance, the port city of Bilbao in northern Spain was never visited by many tourists—until 1998, when the opening of the magnificent Guggenheim Museum Bilbao changed everything: more than 1.3 billion visitors have flooded into the city since then, and more than a million each year.
Naturally, many new hotels have had to be built in order to accommodate these visitors. However, the one we can heartily recommend has actually been around for more than half a century: Hotel Ercilla de Bilbao, or simply La Ercilla, as it is known affectionately by locals. In 2020, the venerable Ercilla – for many years, the largest hotel in all of Spain – became a member of the Autograph Collection family of hotels affiliated with Marriott Bonvoy.
“La Ercilla is an institution in both the city and country,” says General Manager Inaki Etxeguren, who has been with the hotel for even longer than 26 years since the Guggenheim transformed Bilbao.
“It is known both for its accommodations and as the home of the [formerly] renowned gourmet restaurant Bermeo,” he reflects, adding that the hotel’s contemporary reiteration of the legendary restaurant was recently nominated as a finalist for one of the best breakfasts in Spain, for its à la carte brunch menu.
According to Etxeguren, the hotel attracts a respectable mixture of both domestic and foreign tourists. “About 70% of our guests hail from Spain,” he says, “while some 30% come from all over the world.”
Location, location, location
Situated in the heart of the city, Hotel Ercilla de Bilbao is within easy walking distance from the combined train and bus station (and main tourist information office); to architect Frank Gehry’s iconic Guggenheim Museum Bilbao; and the best pintxos (tapas) eateries in town, in the Diputacion area. It is also close to a Metro station, part of the municipality’s efficient public transportation network.
In addition, there is plenty more to discover while strolling leisurely through the town, especially along the river. Particularly impressive is the leaning pylon “string” bridge by renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, which pedestrians may traverse on their way to Bilbao’s casco viejo (old city), home to the refurbished marketplace, another worthwhile gastronomic experience. Art lovers will also want to visit the Museum of Fine Arts, which displays some paintings by Francisco Goya.
Bilbao itself is the largest city in Spain’s Basque Country, a trans-border ethnic region that has maintained its own unique traditions and distinctive cuisine for centuries. It is also in the center of Green Spain, the incredibly lush and scenic strip of northern Spain that extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pyrenees Mountains.
Plentiful and comfortable accommodations
La Ercilla has seen some changes since it was accepted into the Autograph Collection, paring its capacity from a super-sized 345 rooms to a more manageable 272. Its interiors have also been refurbished since joining Marriott Bonvoy.
The guest units, including seven suites, are largely broken down into two main categories, Stylish and Vintage. Even the smallest standard room in Hotel Ercilla de Bilbao still measures a rather spacious 235+ square feet, complete with living/sitting area.
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All rooms and suites are furnished with virtually every amenity that one expects in an Autograph Collection property: comfortable beds, user-friendly climate control, large flat screen television with multi-channel and multi-lingual programming, laptop-sized electronic safe for valuables, and refreshment corner with complimentary mineral water, mini-refrigerator and electric kettle for making coffee and tea. Free WiFi extends to all guest rooms, as well as public spaces.
Bathrooms are fastidiously clean, with spacious shower stalls equipped with dual shower heads: the square-shaped raindrop shower head embedded in the ceiling is particularly large. The pampering toiletries, packaged in environmentally friendly dispensers, are perfumed with the hotel’s proprietary, pleasant fragrance. Bathrobes and slippers complement the thirsty bath towels.
Drinking and Dining at La Ercilla
The hotel’s dining options comprise the Bar Americano in the lobby and La Terraza, the rooftop bar. The name Bar Americano does not do the venue justice since it is where the aforementioned daily à la carte breakfast/brunch, as well as lunch and dinner, are served. In addition, during dedicated afternoon and evening hours, Bar Americano pays homage to the hotel’s previous award-winning Bermeo Restaurant by offering a special Gastronomic Menu featuring revivals of the famed restaurant’s traditional dishes.
As is the case with most luxury hotels in Spain, La Ercilla offers a daily – and lavish – breakfast buffet, with such nice touches as local cheese specialities and even, amazingly, breadsticks monogrammed with the hotel’s distinctive logo! Unfortunately, the buffet comes with two drawbacks: there is no accessible access to the buffet area, and there is an extra charge: €25, climbing to €26 in 2025. (Note: The hotel does offer five accessible guest rooms, and the lobby’s à la carte breakfast is accessible.)
La Terraza, meanwhile, is the rooftop bar, popular with both hotel guests and residents of Bilbao, thanks to its amazing views and signature cocktails. I can recommend trying the regional sparkling white wine, txakoli, as well as the house cocktail: El Nacional, a.k.a. Basque Sour.
Moreover, La Terraza, which also serves food, is the one place where guests may smoke, since the rest of the property is smoke-free. The hotel is also pet friendly (an extra charge applies); similarly, there is on-site parking, also for a fee. Use of the fitness room is free; there is no pool, sauna or whirlpool bath on the premises.
Rates at Hotel Ercilla de Bilbao begin at approximately $120 per night for a double room in low season (late fall and winter) and are adjusted upward in the spring and summer. There are discounts for Marriott Bonvoy members and/or for non-refundable prepayment.
Check the latest rates for the Hotel Ercilla de Bilbao online at Expedia, Hotels.com, or Booking.com.
Text and photos by Buzzy Gordon, who was a guest of the Bilbao Bizkaia Tourism Bureau at La Ercilla. Lobby photo credit: Diana Shahar. Photo of the Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao courtesy of Bilbao Turismo.
