​If you are planning on visiting Bilbao anytime soon for a short weekend away, instead of staying in the centre of the city, why not venture just a short metro ride out of the city to a lovely little hotel that looks like a miniture castle. The Hotel URH Palacio de Oriol is located in a place called Santurtzi that is opposite thearea of Las Arenas.

The Hotel URH Palacio de Oriol is a four star hotel which has wood furnished rooms and suites that is a short distance away from the metro station. As well as having hotel rooms it also has a restaurant, cafe, bar and a terrace. The outside to the hotel really is a beautiful picture and is a great site to see as its a really pretty building. The hotel is a short walk away from a local supermarket and if you are looking for more shops there are some either over the other side of the water which you can reach with a portable bridge or you can walk up and you will eventually reach the main road.

Now I should probably mention here that the hotel is perched on a big hill, so be prepared to walk up it every time you go back to base. However, a short distance away at the bottom of the hill there is a beautiful park that you can walk through to get part way up the hill which is a delight to anyone that visits it.

I really enjoyed staying in this hotel even for the short time that we did – all of the staff was very friendly and its off the beaten track so you don’t get the average tourist staying in it. Even though it is nearish a main road, the rooms were pretty quiet as well.