Inexpensive places to stay in Lucern and Bern

I live not far from Bern, so I've never used any of the hotels there, but I have heard that the Hotel National in Bern is OK - cheap and cheerful is how it was described to me. Perhaps someone on the forum has actually stayed there. This hotel is very close to the old city and the train station, so it is worth checking out.

OK, second suggestion for Bern, my wife (Swiss) says that it is also worth considering the Hotel Alpenblick, again, we've not used it but heard that it is OK.

Thank you Jim for your suggestions.

A (relatively) inexpensive hotel in Lucern is The Jail Hotel. It used to be the jail and the rooms are very cell-like still, but it was clean and if you aren't planning to spend much time in your hotel room, it is okay. Good location too.

Rachele - do you know what the cost of the Jail Hotel was? I am trying to figure out what to expect for costs in Switzerland. Thanks Jim - while you have not stayed at either Hotel do you have any idea of costs at either of them?
Thanks

Tanga
My wife and I stayed at the Hotel Schlüssel in April 2011. It was CHF 180.00/night including breakfast. Super tidy and a fine breakfast; convenient for walking everywhere we went. As I recall when we were looking into accommodations, this was a "modest" rate at the time. Email is [email protected]

The Lowengraben jail Hotel in Luzern charges 300 CHF for a quad room in high season. That is a sparsely-furnished room with two sets of bunkbeds. It is a fun idea but not all that economical. I suggest you try Hotel Restaurant Goldener Stern. Their website (only in German) shows the quad room (a double bed and two singles, nice and comfortable in the Swiss way) at 279-284 CHF per night for the nights I checked in July and Aaugust. That includes breakfast. http://www.goldener-stern.ch/de I tried Hotel Schlüssel but could not find availabilty on any of the 4 dates I tried in late July/early August, so could not determine th eprice. The website says they do have one quad/family room. There are also a couple of hostels in Luzern; the Backpacker has 4-person rooms with 2 sets of bunks for 32 CHF per person, so 128 per night. Bathrooms are in the hall and the rate does not include breakfast (you make your own in the kitchen).

We managed to have an affordable vacation in Switzerland as a family of 4 by renting an apartment in the Emmental region. Not quite as touristy as Lucerne but well positioned to do day trips to Bern, Lucerne, Ballenberg etc. All within less than an hour driving. We loved the rural location of our apartment, getting woken up by cow bells was a true Swiss experience ;-) That particular location does require a car but for a group of 4 that's an affordable mode of transportation. If you don't have a car there are places in the Emmental region that are accessible by public transportation. http://www.emmental.ch/en/index.cfm lots of info about the region incl. accommodation http://www.kapfschwand.ch we stayed here for 83 CHF/night

Tanja, You might have a look at: > Bern - Hotel Continental (I stayed there in September and would certainly recommend it - the room was modern, clean and comfortable and it was in a great location - however, it appears they only have single/double/triple rooms, but not sure if they have roll-out Cots). > Luzern - Hotel Stern (I've also stayed there and it's also in a great location, with comfortable rooms and a wonderful restaurant - they have rooms with four beds listed at CHF 180). It's in a quiet area but only about a 10-15 minute walk to the station or to the river. Switzerland tends to be expensive most of the time, so unless you're prepared to stay in a Hostel, you may have to increase your budget a bit. If you want a few comments on Hostels, post another note. Cheers!

I still think that for a group of 4 a vacation apartment might be a more affordable choice than a hostel. Our apartment had a 3*** rating, 2 bedrooms, living room, kitchen and bathroom with a washer - for 21 CHF/night/person when rented by 4 people. I don't think you can beat that with a hostel. It only requires a bit of thinking outside the box.

Apartments are indeed a better deal for a family of four, but in popular vacations spots like Luzern they are difficult to find for a stay of 2 or 3 nights. I believe the Hotel Stern mentioned by ken is the same as the Goldener Stern I suggested above. (I actually first learned of it from Ken). They do list their quad rooms as starting at 180 CHF, but I checked the price for actual dates in late July/early August, and it came up at the high season price of 279 to 284 CHF. Still, that is not bad for Luzern. We generally ended up paying 330 to 36o CHF per night when traveling as a family of four.

Lola, you're right that apartments for families are hard to find in a place like Lucerne. We searched high and low for affordable family hotels/hostels or appartments and were unable to find anything appropriate. And that's why we ended up spending our entire Switzerland vacation based in a small Emmental town. The price difference more than made up for the cost of the car rental required to access the more rural location. Instead of spending 2 nights in Bern, 2 nights in Lucerne, 2 nights in Interlaken ... we spent the week in one central location and did day trips. Granted, it's a different kind of vacation if you stay overnight at a farming location and tour the Swiss cities during the day. But for us it meant we got to experience different sides of Switzerland at an affordable prize. I do want to mention this option as the OP seems concerned about the fact that Switzerland is one of the most expensive European destinations.

True. But those are all out of the way for this family. Plus, with the ages of their children (teens if I recall correctly) they are essentially paying for 4 adults, not 2 adults and 2 small children who get reduced rates in many hotels.