Basel hotel

There are three different places in Basel cruise ships dock at: St Johann, Klybeck and Dreiländereck. There are no hotels at these locations. Public transport is possible from St Johann, the other two are in the docks and require a 10 minute walk to the nearest tram stop. The best option is to get a taxi to your hotel. This will cost CHF 20-30 depending on location.

The best way to choose a hotel is at the official Basel tourist site: https://www.basel.com/en
Any hotel in Basel city will give you a free transport pass for the duration of your stay when you book in. This ticket also covers your trip out to the airport when you leave. The transport system (trams and buses) are such that you can get from any hotel to anywhere else in Basel easily.

The first bus to the airport departs from Basel SBB (main station) at 04:35 (timetable here: https://www.bvb.ch/wp-content/bvb/Dokumente/Fahrplaene/Haltestellen/2018/Linie%2050.pdf see first page). But the rest of the tram and bus system doesn't start until around 05:30. If you have a very early flight that would be a reason to stay at one of the hotels at Basel SBB station, so you can catch the bus directly.

P.S. there is a lot more to see in Basel than Grandfather's house!

Hi EKG, we stayed overnight in Basel in Oct 2017 prior to boarding a river cruise. We stayed at the Hotel Restaurant Resslirytti, Theodorsgraben 42, CH–4058 Basel and would recommend it. We walked along the river to see where the boats were docked (we left from Dreiländereck) . It's not far but we decided it would be easier to take a taxi with our luggage. FYI - There is a bus stop right in front of the hotel that goes to and from the airport but I don't know about the hours of operation.

Donna, Yes the Resslirytti, is a nice little hotel, located on Wettsteinplatz (website: http://www.resslirytti.ch/ ). And it has a good Italian restaurant on the ground floor.
But I must correct your memory, there is no direct bus to the airport from Wettsteinplatz. You need to get a No. 1 or 2 tram to "Bahnhof SBB" (the main station), then get the No. 50 bus to the station. The first departure in the morning to the station is 05:01, which gets you to the airport at 05:24.

Hi Chris, I’m sure you’re correct about the bus. I remember that we got off the bus right in front of the hotel. We must have made a transfer to get to that bus. I know it was very straight-forward and easy to do.

Thanks for all your help with our Switzerland trip last fall. I wrote in asking about the Hotel Resslirytti and your comments helped us decide. The hotel was very nice, clean, and in a good location. We enjoyed dinner at the Italian restaurant attached to the hotel. I also appreciate the time you spent answering my questions about trains and transportation passes. We had a wonderful vacation!

Chris . I am intrigued by your comment about Basel , and am considering a sojourn there . I would appreciate some of your thoughts , Many Thanks , Steve

Steve, I find Basel a lovely city to walk around, with plenty to see.
It has a lovely intact old town, full of squares and narrow alleys. You can just wander around, and think "WTF century am I in?".

For example, 360° panorama of Münsterplatz (cathedral square): https://v8a-moving-pictures.com/basel_tourismus/index.html?nav_id=3311-30721
More 360° panoramas here: https://www.basel.com/en/360

Walking along the river is pretty (view of the Münster from across the river): https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Rhine_Rhein_Basel_2006_871.JPG/1280px-Rhine_Rhein_Basel_2006_871.JPG
See the small ferry in the middle of the river. That is a fun trip.

It also has a lot of museums. For art, there is the Kunstmuseum and for modern art (Picasso's etc.) the Fondation Beyeler.
See here: https://www.basel.com/en/Art-Culture/Top-10-Museen

And it is dead easy to get around as there are trams (and buses) everywhere).

For lots more info see the official website: https://www.basel.com/en

We spent a couple days in Basel and stayed at https://www.motel-one.com/en/hotels/basel/hotel-basel/ It was inexpensive, recently remodeled, air conditioned and clean. It was very close to the river and the munster and in a transportation hub. As I researched, I got the impression that Basel was not high on people's travel bucket lists. I found it charming for a couple days. We did a lot of walking and it was very colorful. Absolutely see the Rathaus/Marketplatz and go behind the Munster for the river views. We crossed the river and walked the river down to the next bridge.