Best hotels in Lucerne, Switzerland

Check train schedules at the Swiss Rail site: http://rail.ch. There are direct trains every 30 minutes or so, journey time is 1 hour.

Basel to Luzern is very easy on the train. See www.rail.ch for the schedules. There are lots of nice hotels in Luzern, but they are expensive. Art Deco Hotel Montana may be the best, but it is a bit out of the center (nice spot on the lake). To be right in the center, I would suggest Hotel des Balances or Hotel desAalpes in the oldtown, just across the Kapellbrücke, or the Waldstaetterhof, which is close to the train station.

Hi Mike, I liked it here: http://www.alpina-luzern.ch/index.php?nav=52,2&lang=en

Mike, I stayed at www.goldener-stern.ch/ on my last visit to Lucerne. Unfortunately, they appear to have revised their website and it seems less "user friendly" now. I couldn't find a tab for "English" on the new website, but if you do a Google search and then click "Translate This Page", it will display in English. Some of the translation is not perfect, but it's close enough. The Hotel is in a quiet neighborhood (especially as there's a Police station nearby) and it's an easy walk to the river and Chapel Bridge. Happy travels!

Hi, Mike. Not sure how helpful my information will be since I have not been to Luzern since 1985, but I did live there for 4 months in the 70s so I know it pretty well. Disappointingly, Switzerland has become very expensive. You asked for "nice" hotels of which there are several, but even the Hotel des Alpes which someone mentioned is running about $300/nt according to hotels.com. If you are looking for something a bit less expensive (they charge for the number of people staying, but I saw $200/nt for 2), try Hotel Falken. This is where I lived and also stayed in 1985. I would say that it is comparable to Des Alpes (which was also there in the 70s), but the locations probably account for the difference in price since Des Alpes is located right on the river. Falken's location is also very good (IMO) but it is a few blocks away and more "inside" the town. There are nice restaurants, shops and groceries located nearby, but as you say this is a little town, so most things are closeby wherever you choose. You will enjoy wherever you stay. I love Luzern! Sadly, I don't go back due to the expense.

I too have stayed at Hotel Goldener Stern in Lucerne (in 2009) and would have no problem recommending it, or staying there again

I was just in Lucerne last September/October 2011. We stayed at the Hotel Seeburg, which is located on the lake outside the old city of Lucerne. It is about a 25 minute walk along the lake from the train station to the hotelreally a beautiful stroll along the lake. However, there is also a bus that s you off right in front of the hotel that runs multiple times an hour all dayits about a 5 minute trip from the train station to the hotel via bus. We took the bus back and forth from the hotel to the city center multiple times each day. I cannot recommend this hotel moreit was by far the best place we stayed on our tour of germany/austria/switzerland. We had a room with patio that faced the lake and the beautiful alps that surround it. Being outside of "downtown" Lucerne, it was tranquil and quiet. Plus, it was only about 120 francs/night, an on heard of price for a Lake Lucerne lakefront room. When booking make sure to get a room in the "chateau" with lakefront view. There is a very nice breakfast buffet each morning. The bathroom was quite large with luxurious towels and robes, and a nice large bed. Ah, just thinking about it makes me want to book a reservation and go back!! http://www.hotelseeburg.ch/

We also stayed at the Seeburg a few yrs ago. We had a room with a balcony overlooking the lake. Unfortunately we wanted to sleep with the balcony doors open, and the road in front of the hotel has a LOT of traffic all night long! On a positive note, the room was beautiful and the included breakfast was very nice in a lovely room.
also easy to get totown on the bus. Just remember that you only have to pay once a day for the bus.

My husband and I stayed at the Radisson three years ago. We just waked from the train station to the hotel; it was a short walk. It is right next to the lake.