The Hotel Carlton in Bilbao offers twelve meeting rooms on three floors, for working sessions of 8 to 180 people and cocktail receptions of up to 300. It stands on Plaza Elíptica in the center of the city and has 140 bedrooms, so a seminar can be run, housed and fed in one building. Weddings are also held here, with a different room for each stage of the day.
Seminars and company events
The largest room for a conference is the Salón Azul on the ground floor. It takes 180 people in theater layout, 90 in classroom, 40 around a boardroom table and 35 in a U shape, and it has its own access from the garage. The Salón Arias takes 120 in theater layout, 100 in classroom and 48 around a boardroom table. The Salón Imperial, on the main floor, seats 130 in classroom layout.
For smaller groups the Begoña and Elcano rooms each take 70 in theater layout, 45 in classroom or 28 around a table. The Salón Bilbao takes 40 in theater layout, 25 in classroom or 20 around a table. The hotel gives no floor areas for any room.
Every room has free wifi, a flipchart and a screen of 1.80 by 1.80 m. The hotel describes its audiovisual equipment as modern without listing it. Water is supplied at one bottle per person for a half day and two for a full day.
Weddings and receptions
The hotel organizes a wedding room by room. The civil ceremony takes place in the Salón Arias, the welcome cocktail in La Cristalera, the banquet in the Salón Imperial and the dancing in the Salón Azul. A wedding planner, a signature book and a candy bar are offered as extras. Wedding menus vary and can be adapted to the couple's tastes. The hotel does not publish a capacity for each wedding room.
Rooms and capacities
La Cristalera, on the main floor, is the room for standing events and holds 300 people at a cocktail. It is also used for coffee breaks, press conferences and product presentations. El Bunker, on the ground floor, takes 35 at a cocktail and is used for the same purposes on a smaller scale.
The remaining rooms suit board meetings and committees. The Aránzazu room, on the main floor, seats 45 at banquet tables or 24 around a boardroom table. The Luis García Campos room, on the first floor, takes 28 around a table and has a terrace. The Recalde room seats 14. The Algorta room, on the first floor, seats 8 at a round table and can be booked together with the adjacent room.
Accommodation
The hotel has 140 bedrooms spread over six floors, in standard, superior, demi suite and suite categories. The Suite Imperial is described by the hotel as the largest suite in northern Spain.
Catering
The hotel supplies coffee breaks, cocktails, working breakfasts, working lunches and celebration menus. Menus are not published on the hotel's pages.
History and setting
The Carlton was designed in 1926 and the hotel is marking a hundred years of history. The architect was Manuel María Smith, and the building follows the Second Empire style. The Basque government lists it as a heritage site, and during the Civil War it housed the Basque government.
Getting there
The address is Plaza Elíptica 2, 48009 Bilbao, in the city center and inside the low emission zone. The hotel has private parking. The Bilbao-Abando railway station is the main station in the center, and Bilbao Airport serves the region.
