Thanks to everyone for so many helpful replies. Dax, the National is beautiful but more than we want to spend. Oh, for the good old days when we were able to stay at beautiful hotels and my husband's business picked up the tab. We were able to use some of the Marriott points he accumulated to get a nice room at the Marriott in Zurich for our last night before we fly out. And we've booked 3 nights in Lauterbrunnen, Still have Lucerne, Montreux or Vevey, and Zermatt to go. I've done lots of research - just need to make some decisions.

Just a note - Our room at the Waldstatterhof faced the side street. Perhaps that's why it wasn't noisy. But, there are also these metal blinds - they're on the outside of the building, over each window, but you control them from your room, and can close them to shut out the light and noise as well.

I returned last week from Switzerland. We spent 2 wonderful nights at the Hotel des Alpes in Lucerne. It was lovely. We had a room on the lakeside. As Irenen said,it is only a short walk from the train station. The breakfast is plentiful with a good variety of foods. I enjoyed my stay there and would highly recommend this hotel.

IrishDeb and Irenen - You convinced me! I just booked the Hotel des Alpes. Wish I could've gotten your rate, Irenen. Ours was 250 ch for a river view room. All of the hotels in Switzerland are so much more expensive than in the US. But this will likely be our only trip to Switzerland (we have so much of the world left to see!), so paying a little extra for the view seems reasonable. I requested a balcony room, if available, as this trip is a belated celebration of our 40th anniversary. Hope there's still a balcony available.

MLF611 - The Radisson Blu looks great, but it was booked for our date. Thanks for the suggestion.

drchris-I got this good rate by booking on www.booking.com. It was significantly cheaper than booking directly through the hotel. Also we passed on the river view and balcony, since we were absent from the room between 9.30am and 10 pm, except coming back to change and shower. So perhaps that's why it was cheaper. It's a pity you only have 1 night in Lucerne. It is a lovely area and there is plenty to do. If you are looking for a good lunch in air conditioning, at reasonable prices, try the buffet lunch in the Manor dept store. I know it sounds odd to be eating in a dept store but the selection there is really something above the norm. I think it is either on the 5th or 6th floor. Have a great time.

I usually stay in Des Balances which is out of your comfortable price range apparently..however I have stayed at the Flora...not certain it is the same one you listed...the Flora I stayed in was a Best Western and about as well-located for sightseeing as it gets..minutes from the river, the jesuit Church, the rail station and the old town.

No views and basically minimalist decoration but otherwise, very good.

Irenen, Thanks for the tip about a good place to eat, hopefully on the cheap! Wish we could stay in Lucerne longer, too, but we only have 10 days and want to take in as much of Switzerland as we can without being too rushed. I have devoured The Fodor's, Frommers, and Rick Steves' guides as well as online sites to try to prioritize where we spend time, and it sounded as if we could do a walk through of Lucerne in a day or two before we head to Lauterbrunnen. We have an unplanned day at the end of the trip, and if we feel we need more time in Lucerne, can return then. Thanks for all of your help!

Irenen, Forgot to say that I checked all of the hotel booking sites and the prices for the river view room were the same (or within a few dollars of) as booking with the hotel, which I have found to be true at most of the hotels. I hope it won't be a waste to have splurged on the river view room. We may be so jet lagged that we don't get to enjoy it! I tend to be willing to stay at cheaper places but my husband was spoiled by years of business travel and likes at least a few comforts.Can't say that I mind them, either!

About Flora, it has been renovated about a year ago and now it's called Ameron hotel Flora as op noted - not Best Western anymore), I heard, so if anything it could look better.

drChris, I'm with on Irenen on eating at the Manor department store. It is wonderful. A very large buffet something for everyone and in terms of Swiss food prices relatively inexpensive.

Don't forget to go for an afternoon cocktail at the Palace Hotel. You can sit outside on a patio overlooking the lake.

Thin

drchris, make sure you grab a terrace table for breakfast if staying at Hotel Des Alpes. The view of the lake is wonderful and you look down on the swans swimming by. You can certainly do a walk of the old town in about 2 hours. I would highly recommend the guided walking tour starting at the TI in the station, which leaves at 9.45 am each morning (buy your tickets a few minutes earlier in the TI office). The tour is a 2 hour tour and takes you past all the main sites, and you get a bit of history thrown in. If time is limited, I find these walking tours with a guide much more efficient than trying to cover the same ground on our own, as we tend to wander around in circles sometimes, which is lovely if time is plentiful, but not otherwise.

After the tour, you could walk to Lowenplatz ( about a 10 min walk from where the tour ends) and look at the large Lion carved into the rock, then go for lunch at Manor (it is on the way back and a 5-10 min walk from Lion). If possible, try to fit in an afternoon or sunset cruise on the Lake. There are many boats to choose from.

The very modern catamaran with white leather seats outside makes you feel like a millionaire and you can purchase something nice to drink from the bar. We took the 2 hour cruise which was free with our Swiss Pass.

You will love Lucerne. It is a delight.