Absolutely gorgeous apartment and the location couldn’t be better but unfortunately the communication with the renting company and the check-in were a nightmare. Be aware that the photos you see on Airbnb are from different apartments, so you DON’T book what you see. For example, I thought I was booking a place with a beautiful king size bed overlooking the museum, but instead I got a bedroom with two single beds all the way in the back of the apartment, without any windows at all. The check in was an absolute nightmare. We were arriving to Bilbao by train with my 6yo at 1pm, so I asked if I could leave the luggage at the apartment for 1,4h left until the offices checkin but was given a hard no “because the cleaning ladies need time to do the job”. Later on I learnt that it had nothing to do with cleaning, which is all done in the morning - the apartments are managed by a company not even located in Bilbao, so for them it’s inconvenient to arrange any special requests for their guests. So my son and I needed to walk around the town with two suitcases and two backpacks. At 3pm we were at the door to the building, but no checkin instructions were sent by Aitor, despite multiple messages I sent in advance. I called the number provided in Airbnb details but it was not a working one. I buzzed the entrance door and someone let me inside the building. After that I got a call explaining that I should have received a code to enter both the building and the apartment. After much back and forth, and two International calls we managed to get in to the apartment.
The apartment was in order except for the fridge that was not working properly (the freeze was off, it was leaking water). I complained about the bedding, different layout of the apartment and the fridge to the managing company. All complains were brushed off but they did promise to fix the fridge. It was somewhat fixed (aka cleaned) on our last night at the apartment, after 4 days there. They also changed the bedding from 2 single beds to one king size on the same night, to my big surprise since I was not notified about a cleaning person coming in.
All in all, we had a good stay, and the apartment is truly beautiful, and all the things you want to see in Bilbao are in walking distance. Just wish the booking process and communication with the managing company was easier and more efficient.