miffy

Hello all,
It's gonna be my first trip to Lucerne in Nov. I'm planning to visit the following places:
(1) Chapel Bridge
(2) Water Tower
(3) Lion Monument
(4) Swiss watch stores
Could you please recommend a few hotels that are within walking distance to these places, or within bus/metro network. I'm looking for 3-4 stars, clean, modern hotel, $100-$150 US per night.
THANKS.....

Curious

miffy,

Just about every hotel in Lucerne has been reviewed on this board in the past few months. At the top of the page in Fodors Search, just type in your request.

No need to rehash everything again. Lucerne is a small city. There are many hotels that meet your requirements.

Curious

Travelnut

Miffy, Lucerne hotels are expensive, in my opinion. We stayed at a plain-but-clean hotel about 1 block behind the Jesuit Church (see a map) and near the other wooden bridge (close to the Musegg Wall). Our twin/dbl was about $90, including some breakfast. It is across from a small church whose bells ring quite a bit. My husband thought it bothered him, but now he says he'd go back to same hotel should we revisit.
We walked to the hotel from the train station - it's about 800 meters or 1/2 a mile.

http://www.goldener-stern.ch/hotel_e.htm

nytraveler

Lucerne is actually very small (not including the residential suburbs) and you can walk anywhere in less then 20minutes or so. And center city hotel will be good for your desired locations.

DavidD

miffy,

Travelnut is correct in suggesting Lucerne's hotels are relatively expensive. Indeed, they don't at all represent good value for money.

Despite this, Lucerne has its charms; both the waterfront and the city's environs, such as Mt. Pilatus, make it a worthwhile destination.

As for lodging, the centrally located Hotel Des Alpes has much going for it. It's centrally located, overlooking the famed covered bridge, and it features outdoor dining (there's an open-air potch for breakfast, too). Also, there's a handy lift to whisk you up to the upper floors. Our room was nice enough, but there appeared to be a kind of spider convention taking place in our room. You might want to pass on the Des Alpes if you have a touch of arachnaphobia.

Best of luck.

Patrick

Here's another recommendation for Hotel Des Alpes which should be in your price range. Actually most of the recent threads on Luzern hotels have been for much higher prices or luxury hotels, which is why I've passed over mentioning Des Alpes on those. We've stayed twice and requested and gotten the top floor room with the largest balcony -- great views. Gee, I've never seen any spiders there at all, but I couldn't say a whole lot for the somewhat dated decor. On the other hand a more recent post suggested that it has been redecorated.

JennaJ

I stayed at a chateau in a town called Bey, only minutes from Lucerne. We stopped in Lucerne and took a small trolley like train to the town of Bey. It was the most remarkable town! I highly recommend checking out Bey to find a place in your price range! Enjoy!

Surfergirl

It's been a while since we've been to Luzern (10 years), but we stayed at Des Alpes and loved it. Especially the location. The other bridge mentioned by Travelnut is still intact, so ultimately more interesting (imo), and shouldn't be missed. Chapel Bridge was partially destroyed by fire in the early 90's but was restored.

The lion monument is a short tram ride away and one of the more moving and wonderous things I've seen.

vinolover

Based on recommendations from this board we also chose the Des Alpes. We were just there one night ago for a two night stay. I don't know what the rooms looked like previously but based on other posts our room did seem to be renovated. It was modern and very nice with probably the most comfortable bed we had during our two week trip and a very nice sleek bathroom. The hallways on the 3rd and 4th floors had newish looking doors to the rooms compared to the 1st and 2nd floors (didn't check out the 5th floor).

We were in room 458 on the 4th floor with a small balcony with a great view of the river, bridge and lake. Our cost (still summer rates in September) was 235 CHF (about $185) and including a good breakfast. We are budget travelers and there are definitely less expensive nice hotels in the old town area but for our first trip to Luzern the balcony view from our room was worth the price for us.

I will post more when I put together a trip report (I also have photos of our room and view). The time change on our return trip home had me up at 4:30 this morning so I'm not fully awake yet to download my photos!

jmw44

Hi all. Bey! a place I've not heard of! Details, please, Jenna? Thanks, J.

kybourbon

I stayed at the Hotel Schiller several years ago. It's 1 1/2 blocks from the train station and 1 block from the Kapplebrucke(Chapel Bridge). They should be in your price range but their prices are listed in Swiss francs. www.schiller-luzern.ch

They have a very popular Tex-Mex restaurant that is packed with locals everynight and can be noisy.