 When the Frank Gehry–designed
Guggenheim Museum opened in Bilbao in 1997, this industrial hub in northern
Spain suddenly became an international tourist destination. The Basque city’s
undulated, titanium-and-steel landmark also helped lure other renowned
architects from around the world: Japan’s Arata Isozaki designed the gate to
Bilbao; Spaniard Santiago Calatrava built the airport and a bridge over the
Nervión River; England’s Sir Norman Foster designed the subway system; and
Argentine architect César Pelli created a waterfront park. Spain’s Javier
Mariscal, however, faced what was perhaps the city’s most daunting architectural
task when he was commissioned to build a hotel directly across from the
Guggenheim.
 The site for Mariscal’s Gran Hotel Domine Bilbao is both a
blessing and a curse. No location in the city offers a better view, and yet no
neighbor casts a more intimidating shadow. With its asymmetrical forms and
nontraditional materials, Gehry’s silvery structure is so bold that it is
sometimes criticized for overpowering the artworks displayed on its walls.
Mariscal, therefore, did not attempt to compete with the museum, but instead
utilized it to his advantage.
On the facade of the hotel facing the Guggenheim, Mariscal
stacked and angled window panels to act as mirrors that reflect images of the
museum. A more modest entrance on the opposite side blends with the adjacent
neoclassic buildings, but regardless of which way you enter the Domine Bilbao,
you pass through its six-story atrium. At the center of the atrium rests
Cypress Fossil, an 85-foot-tall, 90-ton, cylindrical sculpture of stones
wrapped in mesh.
 Mariscal exercised more restraint in the Domine Bilbao’s guest
rooms, where glass, limestone, and steel appear to be a continuation of the
Guggenheim’s exterior. The architect designed several of the rooms’ furnishings,
including the lamps, the beds, and even the wool and cashmere bedspreads. The
bathrooms, which are partitioned from the bedrooms with large glass walls,
include faucets designed by Arne Jacobson, stools by Alvar Aalto, and, in rooms
facing the Guggenheim, Philippe Starck bathtubs positioned so that you can soak
while staring at the museum. (Photograph by Rafael Vargas)
LOCATION
Across the street from the Guggenheim Museum on Alameda
de Mazarredo. ACCOMMODATIONS
The six-story structure houses 131 guest rooms and
14 suites, which afford views of either the museum, the city, or the hotel’s
atrium. FACILITIES
The library, business center, and lounges contain
furnishings by mid-20th-century designers Alvar Aalto, Charles Eames, and Isamu
Noguchi.  DINING
Beltz the Black features contemporary Basque cuisine
from chef Ramón Berriozabal. The decor in the casual Splash & Crash cocktail
lounge draws from the swinging ’60s, and the hotel’s street-level cafeteria sits
directly across from the Guggenheim’s entrance.
CONCIERGE RECOMMENDS
After a day at the Guggenheim, browse the
works of Eduardo Chillida, El Greco, and Francisco de Goya at the Bilbao Fine
Arts Museum, or peruse cultural artifacts at the Basque Museum of Bilbao, which
occupies a 16th-century church. RATES
From $165 to $1,395.
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