HIGHLY RATED HOTELS

There have always been historically magnificent hotelsin Bilbao: the Hotel Carlton was the seat of the firstBasque Government for a period in 1936 during the

Spanish Civil War (1936-39). The Lopez de Haro Hotelowes its name to the founder of Bilbao and the Hotel NHVilla de Bilbao looks over the Gran Via, the city's mainstreet, with the approval of the statue of the Sacred Heart.However, the birth of the new Bilbao has required morehotels to be built, whose architecture all features the traits

of quality and excellence.

Radically different, the Silken Gran Hotel Domine Bilbao,the Meliá Bilbao or the Hotel Hesperia Bilbao, bring to

Bilbao not only hotel accommodation, but alsodesign and progress.

SILKEN GRAN HOTEL DOMINE BILBAO

This is the only hotel in Bilbao whollydesigned by a Spanish designer: JavierMARISCAL. An unmistakable hallmark ofthis cutting-edge hotel is the glass mirrorfaçade reflecting the Guggenheim Museum.At the rear of the building, the Domine alsocombines with the orderly Neoclassicalarchitecture of the Ensanche buildings.

The Gran Hotel Domine Bilbao isluxurious, as can be seen in the tables,the sheets, the colours of the carpets,etc. Assisted by interior designerFernando SALAS, everything hasMARISCAL's stamp on it, whilearchitect Iñaki AURREKOETXEAmade his particular contribution byoverseeing the initial, and later asproject manager.

The result of the work of these two

men was a luxurious building which

has won prizes ever since it was

opened. The first visual impact one

has is the Ciprés Fosil (Fossil

Cypress) in the inner courtyard, a

towering 26 m. high sculpture of

stones encrusted in a metal mesh, by

Pere CASANOVAS.

The interiors of the bedrooms hold innumerablesurprises for guests: the baths, the tap fixtures,the Egyptian cotton sheets, among others. Andwe should not forget the areas open to thepublic: Metropol Le Café, a café, testimonial tothe Bauhaus; Splash&Crash, a 60s style loungebar; and Beltz the Black Restaurant, built ofstone and oak. In 2003, the Domine receiveda prize for the Best Hotel in Spain, awarded byIniciativa Hotelera.

HOTEL MELIÁ BILBAO(the former Sheraton)

The hand of Mexican architectRicardo Legorreta is apparent inevery detail of this hotel inAbandoibarra.

The interiors create amplespaces and the receptionarea is dominated by a pillarweighing a tonne. Made of onyx,a cryptocrystalline form of quartzfrom Mexico, and sculpted inItaly, this column is a lamp.This combination of rusticityand technology found here isrepeated in each of the hotel'swall lamps. The building's sizeand the red stucco exterior causean overwhelming impression.

Mr LEGORRETA was assisted by the Basquearchitects Eduardo AURTENETXEA andCristina PEREZ, who were involved inimplementing the original idea.

Special foundations with slurry walls had tobe laid. Excavations were carried out in muddyground further complicated by the presenceof the many foundations of the formershipyard. In homage to Iron, 1,200 tonnes ofsteel were used for the whole structure of the55 m. high building.

Special importance was placed on the useof natural materials of fine quality, and hardly,if at all, any processed materials. For thisreason Mr LEGORRETA chose Braziliancedar, an aromatic and long lasting wood,together with sucupira, which owing to itshigh mineral content, is a particularly hardtropical wood.

The Hotel Meliá Bilbao is a box of surprises,like the restaurant, a reproduction of a cigarbox interior, and the tall lighthouse towerstands prominently in Bilbao’s skyline.

HOTEL HESPERIA BILBAO

The colours of the windows and thebalconies of the rooms make theHesperia Bilbao a cheerful hotel,shining on the banks of the river.

The architectural studio ofIñaki Aurrekoetxea etaBazkideak took the bolddecision to use colouredglass on the main façade,surrounded by classicalstyle buildings.

The colours alternatehaphazardly, as architectIñaki AURREKOETXEAexplains: “Our choice wasbased on six colours whichnecessarily included theprimary colours, red, yellowand blue, and some of thecomplementary colours,green, violet and orange.”