Lodging in Lucerne
 

I need help in where to stay in Lucerne. We are going on a river cruise and will be doing a pre cruise on our own in Lucerne May 24-May 29, 2021. Where is a good place to stay? Old Town, city center etc.? We would like a reasonable hotel with breakfast included or an apartment. We are two couples and want two rooms! Also we will fly into Zurich and we were told there isn't much to do in Zurich so we decided to spend the five nights in Lucerne and we can take the train to Zurich for day trips.

Thanks in advance for your help.

There's actually a lot to do in Zurich depending upon your interests but I am not surprised about what you "heard" especially if you heard it HERE.

Luzern..Old Town is fine and an easy walk across the bridge to the not-so-old town and the train station. Depending on your budget you could consider the Des Balances one of many places to stay.

Lucerne isn't that big that you probably would be thinking of a lot of different areas to stay. I stayed fairly near the train station, which was convenient for me as I was arriving and leaving that way and I could just walk form it to the hotel. That area isn't grotty like it is in some cities. And it was walkable across to the main old town area, also. I rarely even eat breakfast so would never choose a hotel that way, so can't help you on that one. I stayed at the Renaissance Lucerne (used to be something else) and that location is good, anyway, even though the hotel isn't like what you are looking for. Apartments are going to be another story. I think the location of the Balances hotel is a bit hectic for my taste, but that's up to you.

Here is a hotel in the same general area I stayed that does have breakfast in the rates. It's a good location, and being near the train station would actually be a good idea for you if you intend to do day trips that way.
https://www.hotel-restaurant-anker.ch/en/

and another
https://www.hotel-central-luzern.com/en/Home

that may be more than you want to spend, it's about 250 CHF per night in May for a superior room

For Lucerne, I'm glad I stayed in Old Town with a view of the river. The Hotel des Alpes suited me, but your needs, budget, and preferences could be quite different. Check booking.com

I agree wtih Dukey1 -- I found a lot to do in Zurich, which I consider seriously underrated. I would encourage you to consult a good guidebook or two (perhaps the Rough Guide or Michelin Green Guide) before deciding it isn't worth your time.

I like Zurich too, but with 5 nights/4 days I would stay in Luzern.

We've stayed in the Hotel Wilden-Mann a couple of times...

https://www.wilden-mann.ch/en

Thank you everyone for your replies! We do want to do a day trip to Zurich as well! I have lots of research to do! Thank you also for the hotel recommendations! Just need to decide price and area.

We stayed in the Altstadt Hotel Le Stelle the last time we were in Luzern.

https://www.booking.com/hotel/ch/alt...luzern.it.html

It's a simple hotel, but comfortable and very central, in an attractive part of the old town, near the river. The train station was on the other side of the river, within walking distance of the hotel.

The breakfast was served in their nearby sister hotel, whose name I don't remember. They do have at least one two-bedroom apartment. We paid about €150 a night, but that was for a double room, not the apartment.

Thank you bvlenci! I had looked at that hotel before! Old Town seems to be the place to stay!

I have done more research on hotels in Lucerne and I think I have narrowed it down to:

Hotel Waldstatterhof which is across from the train station;
Hotel Central Luzern which is near the train station;
Hotel Schlussel since 1545; or
Hotel Des Alpes

Have any of you stayed in any of those and do you recommend staying at any of them? We will be taking day trips so I'm wondering if it's better to stay in the vicinity of the train station.

Thank you in advance for all your help. It is appreciated!!

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...44064eac5b.jpg
This was the view from our room at Hotel des Alpes. Your money doesn't go very far in Switzerland, but this is a pretty good, affordable hotel, for what it has to offer. From a budget standpoint, making daytrips to Zurich may make sense--I found Zurich hotel rates to be insanely expensive if you want a decent hotel in the center city. But, it might be worth sucking it up for a night or two if you have five nights pre-cruise.

The Hotel Des Alpes suited my needs! See post #4, above.

Thank you twk and kja. Hotel des Alpes gave me a price for a room facing city (alley) and apparently they don't have the rooms for river view available yet. KJA did you have a river room view as well? One concern I had was that some of the reviews mentioned that the rooms were "tired" and elevator very small. Did you find that true?

Thanks.

Hotel des Alpes could probably stand some freshening up, but it was perfectly fine by European standards when we went in 2016. To get something better in Luzern, you will have to spend a lot more. The room with the view was a plus, but the location is excellent even if you don't get the river view.

Thank you twk. Another hotel that we are looking at is Ameron Hotel Flora Lucerne since it's near the train station and has air conditioning but they don't have their 2021 rates yet. Has anyone stayed there and if so, would you recommend it?

Thanks.

I stayed at the Ameron Flora a few years ago.
Overall, mixed reviews. Location is convenient to train station. Room was large, as was bathroom.
I was upgraded to a room with balcony, which was small, but nice views of the ringing mountains, and nice to get some fresh air while writing in travel diary.
However, first evening, the desk with coffeemaker was swarmed with ants!
Front desk sent staff who vacuumed them up, but weren't allowed to spray. I had a sleepless night wondering if ants would swarm the floor. And I didn't dare trust the coffeemaker for use during my stay!
The front desk offered little in the way of apology or recompense.
The hotel is used by many tour groups, so breakfast can be swamped.

If interested, you can view my TR "Northwestern Switz" for more Luzern info at the END of that report!

mokka4 thank you for your response. OMG that's terrible about the ants and I have read reviews mentioning that tour groups stay there so will have to take that into consideration.

Have you heard anything about Hotel Schlussel since 1545? That was another choice of ours.

Thank you.

I don't know Hotel Schluessel personally, but it certainly gets great reviews on Booking.com.
It is in a decent location. IF they have rooms with a river view, ask for that. Otherwise, I think the opposite side faces a somewhat pedestrian-looking street. It should be relatively quiet, EXCEPT for possible church chimes on the quarter hour (take ear plugs if you are a light sleeper).

My first choice would also have been Hotel des Alpes, BUT there are MANY eateries just below, so late night diners could present a noise issue on the river side THERE. The other side of the des Alpes has views of ...blecch, dark alleyway (ie, wouldn't stay there if not in a river view room).

mokka4 thanks. The size of the rooms at Hotel Schlussel are large too - 323 sq ft. Hotel des Alpes was one of the ones we liked but when I wrote to them they offered a room on the alley side and the river view side were pricey. The other couple we are going with were also concerned about the noise facing the river.

Also know that area buses are free to get to your hotel if you have your hotel reservation ready to show (no one ever asked us). The bus lines are right outside of the train station and posted departures are easy to use. This opens up a larger area for hotels. We stayed in 2018 at Hotel Ambassador at Loewenplatz (near the sleeping Lion Monument). Not swanky, but still very nice.
Just 5 mins walk to old town.