Thanks to Maribel and others our July trip to the Basque is all set and as luck would have it I was able to change our return flight to fly out of Bilbao instead of driving north to Toulouse. Now I am need of a recommendation for a hotel near the Bilbao airport. As our flight is at 7:00 am, the closest thing to the aiport the better.
Thanks for the help
AmyH

Amy,

Your best bet appears to be the Tryp Sondika.

http://www.trypsondika.solmelia.com/

Tel: +34 94 453 80 52
Fax: +34 94 452 86 20

Hope this helps,
Andre

Hi Amy,
a couple of options :
- Hotel Andrea in Derio (a former seminary, now converted into a hotel and a business school, bookable through Sercotel).
- Hotel Tryp Sondika (belonging to the Sol Melia chain, good prices).
- Hotel Torrebillela in Mungia.
There are a couple of small and interesting places in the technological park nearby, but I don't remember the names right now.

But ... and this is my very personal opinion. None of these places has a shuttle to the airport, and you will have to call a taxi anyway. With the new tunnel, you will be saving maybe 10, 15 minutes, nothing more. I would really stay in town, much livelier, even if you have to go to bed early.
Check into the Petit Hotel Arana Palace. I have had a few friends staying there. It opened last summer, the location is good, quite modern (own Pc with internet connection in many of the rooms), nice people... If you are not lucky, check one of the Barcelo hotels, Avenida or Nervion.

Good luck with your search, and if you need any recommendation ...

Cova

Hi Amy,
some useful websites
http://www.venere.com
http://www.hthoteles.com
http://www.geocities.com/falconb1/spain.html
http://www.solmelia.com
http://web.bizkaia.net/lehendakaritz...otel_datos.pdf
http://www.discount25.com/?pg=ficha_...p;C_Hotel=1476
http://www.bancotel.com
http://www.bchoteles.com

Good luck, again, Cova

Cova,

I didn't realize that the new tunnel was finished. Then, indeed I would stay in town.

Andre

Thanks Cova and Andre. With the new tunnel, how far is it from downtown to the airport? We will have a rental car to drop off anyway, so it sounds like the way to go is sta downtown, enjoy our evening and just get up early and head to the airport.

Hi Amy,
I would say (specially given the early hours ...) that it would take you around 15 minutes.
It is a toll tunnel, but it wonyt cost you more than 1 Euro (the prices change depending on the hour).

If you are staying with your car in town, I would look for a hotel with its own parking. The Arana is lovely, but your parking option is a public parking under the Plaza Nueva. Not far away from the hotel, and not very expensive, but I think that it can be a bit difficult early in the morning.

Kind regards,

Cova

Ps. you can write me at [email protected]