Switzerland IS expensive. We stayed at the Montana on top of the hill looking out over the lake. It had parking and was a residential area - so quiet at night. Out room had a balcony looking out over the lake. It was reasonable then, not sure of rates now.

We stayed at a hotel last September that is right on the bus path and seemed like it was in a pretty quiet area. It faced the lake. The hotel was called Hotel Balm and was in a suburb called Meggen. They had a parking lot so it would be easy for you to park and then take public transportation around town.

We visited the hotel restaurant one evening and it was delicious.

Switzerland is expensive as NYTraveler already told you, but I would recommend it. It's beautiful and especially lovely if you enjoy hiking.

I will definitely check out Meggen. I'm thinking it might not be that important to stay IN town.

Thanks!
Alice

FYI, I ended up booking at the Hotel Bellevue and am pretty happy with that choice. I also booked the Hotel Staubbach in Lauterbrunnen, so I'm all set for the Switzerland leg of our trip. Now on to research the Austria part - Salzburg and Vienna.

Alice

Alice9, I'm also a light sleeper. I posted similar questions about trying to find a quiet room in Lucerne! My advice is to accept that Lucerne is expensive and NOT very quiet. However it's a lovely city with many gorgeous day-trips nearby. I finally settle on a quiet enough and very expensive room in the Romantik Hotel Wilden Mann, and they do have air conditioning in some of their more deluxe rooms...ask them for the most quiet room for sleeping at night. It was the most expensive room on our trip. By using the air conditioner at night I was able to block out most of the noise. Don't stay on the whole line of hotels on the river...so so noisy...hotels & restaurants line the river...

If you really want it quiet, head up to Murren, a little car-free village in the Berner Oberland region of Switzerland in the Alps. Book a room in the HOtel Bellevue in Murren...(make sure it's the HOtel Bellevue in Murren because there are lots of other hotels in other towns with the same name, confusingly.) Ask them for a quiet room...they can give you a truly quiet room, with a view of the Alps, for a great price, a much better deal than you can find in Lucerne.

In Switzerland, the small towns can be a good price, whereas the cities like Lucerne and Zurich can be very expensive.

Have fun! Well, I notice you have probably already booked your hotels, but maybe my answer will help someone else.