The first time I stayed at the Carlton it was entirely accidental. I had flown from Madrid to Bilbao with a Spanish colleague probably 10 years ago and our flight was so late that the hotel where we had bookings had given our rooms away to someone else. It was late, we were tired and grouchy and they offered to find us 2 rooms somewhere else. The Carlton - being the best (and most expensive) hotel in town - had two rooms. We rolled up in the wee small hours of the morning, paid an arm, a leg and a few other body parts and spent no more than about 6 hours in our rooms before heading off in the morning.

Circumstance of our Visit
*********************
It was March 2004. Our wedding anniversary is the 14th and so most years we try to get away for the weekend - usually to see a big modern art museum somewhere in Europe - in this case we wanted to see the Guggenheim Museum so we'd picked up really cheap flights with EasyJet and needed a hotel for the Saturday night. I had booked a cracking good deal for the Saturday night at approx £60 for a double room. Hotels in Bilbao in March can be got for very good prices so be sure to shop around.

The Carlton
************
The Carlton is located on the Plaza Frederico Moyua - conveniently between the shopping and museum districts and just a ten-minute walk to the riverside and the Guggenheim. It's about 8-9 km from the airport and, Spanish taxis still being relatively cheap, it won't break the bank to take a cab. However, if we'd known where we were going, we could have taken the airport bus, which stops on the Plaza.

The Lobby
************
High ceilings, sweeping staircases, opulent furniture, fab chandeliers, big stained glass windows - it's quite a sight. The check in desk is tucked discretely to the side and we quickly checked in. No problems with our pre-booking and we were straight up to our room.

There's a minibar, aircon, good double glazing, safe deposit box, hairdryer, bathrobes, cable TV, internet connectivity and all the things you'd expect. It was cold outside but the heating inside was more than adequate.

Our Little Bit of History
************************
As alluded to earlier, this was a really odd time to be in Bilbao. On the evening of our stay, the Plaza outside filled up with marching protestors - banging spoons on saucepans and walking slowly round and round in circles. Across the plaza was an important government building with lots of Guardia Civil standing outside, looking nervous. We watched for an hour or so from our balcony. Every now and then the crowd sat down and sang. It was amazingly atmospheric. Then, later in the evening they peacefully dispersed. The following day a shock landslide victory to Zapatero - largely brought about by his predecessor's response to the bombings and willingness to blame ETA - brought down the Spanish government and brought in a new left-wing leadership. What can I say - we were there, we felt like a part of it.