Comfortable hotel located away from the city center. Just 15 minutes by S5 train and you are there…read more The hotel is a 1 minute walk as you leave the station. There is a mall with movie theater and exercise complex (pool usage included with room fee) attached. Rooms are comfortable with a little space in them. Typical European private bathroom with standup shower. Bed is very easy to fall asleep in. No USB ports in room so depend on outlets to power (adapter required for US plugs). Eight floors accessible by 2 elevators. Ate at the restaurant. Decent menu options with good service. There is also a bar onsite.

I'm not a travel expert, but I did stay at the Holiday Inn Westside in Bern during a November…read morefamily-of-3 vacation and we thought it was a comfortable hotel with a great value for the price. Our favorite aspects were the included free 3 hours at the adjacent Bernaqua indoor water park (within the Westside shopping mall, actually a wonderful way to relax after a long day of sightseeing), the train station directly across the street (with only an 8 minute ride into Old Bern), the deep bathtub (this may only be available in the executive rooms, not certain), the in-room Nespresso machine and packets of delicious Caotina, free high-speed internet, and the electric blackout shades on the window. Everything inside was new, clean, and modern, with the property having been built in 2008 and remodeled in 2017. FYI, this hotel & entertainment hub is about 1.5 hrs train ride from Lausanne or Basil or Zurich. As a home base for a family vacation spending a couple of days exploring Bern, this 8-story, 144-room hotel more than met our needs. Our 11 year old LOVED the water park (he thinks we need to go back to Switzerland just to visit Bernaqua http://www.westside.ch/en-GB/bernaqua again) and it was so convenient to have the indoor mall restaurants & grocery store available when we got in late on the first night. The train station and free shuttle service for the mall had cars leaving for downtown Bern just about every 2 minutes, so it was no problem at all to quickly get into the heart of Bern for all the site-seeing we wanted to do. Let me get the caveats out of the way: - We got a particularly great rate on a 7th floor King Executive Deluxe room with a view via my employer's corporate rate available for personal travel. Even if you don't regularly travel for work, it's worth checking your organization's travel portal to see if you can access something similar. Holiday Inn is part of the IHG network, so you may be able to work a credit card and/or other travel point system to get a good rate, too. - We didn't eat in the on-site Brasserie Bits&Bites restaurant https://www.brasseriebitsandbites.ch/english/bern or spend many hours in the hotel itself. We mainly used the space for sleeping & bathing (both of which were very comfortable). - We had the Swiss Pass for all our transportation needs during our trip, so we didn't use the free Bern Ticket travel pass https://www.bern.com/en/detail/bern-ticket-free-on-public-transport offered by the hotel. - Our room faced south toward the Bern Brünnen Westside train station and subsequent farmland, and I sleep with earplugs always, so we had no problem with noise. I've read reviews from others complaining about street noise in rooms on the north (A1 highway) side. Our only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that the electricity for the room turns off each time you leave the room (yay for being green and conserving energy). This makes difficult the charging of your electronic devices or reserve batteries while you're out (which you may need to do in preparation for your next day of travel). We probably could have inquired with the front desk about a solution for this (perhaps there's a dedicated outlet that doesn't shut off?), but it wasn't a big enough deal for us to complain. The hotel is situated near an agricultural area and we sometimes noticed the odor of fertilizer when we were outdoors, but there was nothing noticable inside our room. I'm known for having a bit of a hounddog's olfactory system, so your experience may vary. If you are unfamiliar with how to use a Nespresso machine with discs (as I was before staying in this hotel), here's a helpful reference: https://www.nespresso.com/pro/uk/en/pages/zenius-new#assistance (click on "Directions of Use") Interesting history of the Westside development and its design, plus maps & more info, at the following links: https://www.archdaily.com/101991/westside-bruennen-daniel-libeskind http://www.westside.ch/en-GB/home.aspx

First to review?!?... Okay, I can get after this.... If you search on Trip Advisor you'll find…read moresome reviews from Americans... That's how we found this joint. Although by pure swank, and amenities this was not the finest hotel we stayed at during our brief tenure in some beautiful places (The Ritz in Geneva was super swank, but I had 100,000+ Marriott points I needed to use up, so I puts them to great use: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-ritz-carlton-hotel-de-la-paix-geneva-gen%C3%A8ve?hrid=N2g-n_SVQE2gSa2coNsjMA&utm_campaign=www_review_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct) When looking back this was probably my favorite hotel we stayed at. The elevators here are amazing. Stay here for the elevators alone. When riding the elevators you don't feel a thing. It's like sitting in your chair reading this review, super smooth and crisp, and the next thing you know you're on the 4th floor. The elevators in America are terrible. Hurkin' and jerkin' around, you nearly get whiplash and hurt yourself. The elevators in Germany and Switzerland are the best in the world. Smooth, and fresh, and clean. A young lady's voice recording in a very soothing voice speaks to you announcing the arrival of the next floor (in German), then the doors open. The whole time you don't feel a thing that's how smooth the ride is. Aside from the elevators, they have an awesome bar / restaurant / bar, bar in the lobby. I went to the bar a few times. Once when checking in, once when my girlfriend was in the shower, once after dinner for post dinner nightcap. The restaurant for breakfast? Oh yeah, also awesome. You can get a full English breakfast (which I did)... eggs, tomato, meat, coffee... Or you can get local... pastry tea, coffee, etc... The locale of this hotel is also Prime-Time. Bern is a super walkable city. You can walk to everything. Train station, bars, shopping, restaurants, sights, rivers, bridges. The room itself was also really good. Comfortable bed, the towels were really soft. Hotel staff super nice. They gave great recommendations on where to go eat, etc. If I came back to Bern, and would love to, I would stay here. You should stay here too.

WOW, from the very moment we arrived at Hotel Schweizerhof Bern & Spa, the experience was nothing…read moreshort of exceptional. Even when we initially stopped by to drop off our bags, the attention to detail and level of care shown by the staff who assisted us immediately stood out. Every interaction felt thoughtful, professional, and genuinely welcoming. The check-in process was seamless, and the front desk lady was incredibly helpful and accommodating. Our room was absolutely spectacular!!! It was beautifully designed, elegant, and filled with high-end amenities. One evening, I wasn't feeling well :( and ended up staying in, and I truly appreciated how comfortable and luxurious the room was. Having such a stunning space, complete with a balcony overlooking the city, made all the difference and turned what could have been an unpleasant night into a restful and peaceful one. Also, one of the days, after a long stretch of exploring Bern, we decided to stay in and eat at the hotel lobby bar. We ordered their famous Wienerschnitzel, and it was outstanding (a must if you stay here). What made the experience even more special was our server, who took the time to share the history of the dish with us. You could tell how much pride the staff takes in both the food and the overall dining experience. The bartender was also wonderful and made an excellent Old Fashioned (Adam approved) everything felt intentional, polished, and done with care. We also ordered breakfast via room service one morning, and it arrived perfectly!! It was on time, beautifully presented, and absolutely delicious. Overall, Hotel Schweizerhof Bern & Spa is one of the most incredible hotels I have ever stayed in. It is easy to see why it is a five-star property (really) from the service to the accommodations to the dining, every detail is impeccable. This hotel has truly set the bar for us. We weren't aware they had other locations before this stay, but after experiencing the Bern property, we wouldn't consider staying anywhere else when visiting Switzerland again!!!

The staff was so nice. Rooms are big. Walking distance to the train station. Their food was great…read morewish we weren't expecting. Loved the views

Friendly staff allowed me to check in early at 11a, and as a guest of my friend who was still at…read morework. That alone deserved 5 stars! Room is clean and spacious but more important that it's well-ventilated with cool air in this unusually hot weather in Switzerland in late September! No skiing during this visit... Hotel is a couple minutes from the train station, which I took from Zurich as my hubby flew back solo to the U.S. I decided to stay over the weekend to meet up with a friend in Bern and she and I will meet up with my college friend tomorrow... Bed was a king but could be separated into two twins which we need and got. bathroom was clean and has nice aesthetics! Room has a small beverage fridge, coffee pot, and hotel sleepers, yay! Great option while in Bern! Lots of restaurants and shops surrounding the area as well made this hotel the most convenient, and welcoming staff was bonus! 4.5 rounding to 5 for great customer service and special accommodations!!!

This hotel was so centrally located--we couldn't have picked a better spot for our 1.5 days in…read moreBern. The friendly staff helped in so many ways--they gave us a great tourist map, stowed away our luggage after check out so that we could see the city unhindered. Gave us advice on tourist spots to go to. Best of all--the hotel is literally 1.5 blocks from the train station. You literally walk down a pedestrian only street and take an escalator down one floor to the indoor train station (Bern's mall-like gathering spot with restaurants and stores). What could be more convenient than that? Truly an awesome place to stay!

Hotel Kreuz Bern really gets it right. The room was clean and modern in all the right ways,…read moreespecially the bathroom and bed, but still had that cozy European charm that makes a stay feel special. The location is incredible. You walk out and you're right in the middle of everything, close to all the sights but still quiet enough to actually relax. The staff were genuinely lovely. Friendly, helpful, and made the whole experience feel even more welcoming. Only reason it's not a full five stars is the price. It's definitely a bit steep for the size, but you're getting quality and unbeatable convenience. Would definitely stay again.

Our group of 7, stayed here, in early June. The checking process was quick. The front desk staff…read morewere very helpful. It is an older hotel, but well kept, clean, and a little quirky, which made it fun! On every floor there was some little nook that was special, a tea room, a play room, a rooftop terrace! We enjoyed a sunset looking over the city! Once you close the windows, the room is utterly quiet! The shower had perfect temperature and pressure. The breakfast was an amazing assortment of goods! I highly recommend this hotel!

The people who work at the desk are very kind and outgoing. The hotel is in a great location in Old…read moreTown, easy to walk across the bridge to see the bears in their bear pit, free to the public. We saw 3 bears, which was pretty ccol. The river is beautiful. But also from the hotel you can walk to the old clock tower and lots of restaurants. We loved Bern. Two things about the hotel that we wish were better were that there was no A/C, and that there was a layer of dust on the surfaces. (Maybe no one was in our room for awhile?) It was actually cool at night but you couldn't open the windows because there was so much noise from the street trams. So that was a little tough. But we did like the place for all of it's character and the location.

This review is for the restaurant only. After our monster of a day going from Zurich to Luzerne to…read moreInterlaken to Bern, we were tired and famished! After walking around for a couple of hours in Bern with our eye on what looked good to eat, we decided on the Belle Epoque restaurant for its diverse menu, beautiful decor, and competitive prices. Inside is indeed very fin-de-siecle French, with beautiful black metal flora-inspired light fixtures and antique furniture and art. The staff was welcoming and used to dealing with tourists--their English was great (as was mostly the case all over Switzerland). We started out with a couple of glasses of red wine while we perused the menu. We thought it'd be mostly French and Italian stuff but they had Thai and Indian dishes on there, too, which was intriguing. It's not a huge menu, but quite diverse. Anyway, I opted for escargots and the mushroom ravioli and my friend decided on the smoked trout fillets and spinach quiche. Well wouldn't you know it, they were out of the mushroom ravioli, so I decided to go for the quiche lorraine. Our appetizers were excellent, and I very much enjoyed my lovely snails drenched in butter, garlic and parsley, accompanied by a basket of white bread toast slices with butter. My friend liked her smoked trout fillets very much also. So far, so good. When our quiches came out I was surprised to see two little round quiches instead of one larger piece, but it wasn't a big deal. When we dug in we found them to be utterly delicious. And then...as we near the centers of the quiches we discover that they are quite cool and then eventually downright cold! I think they must've been frozen and then reheated because the centers were cooked, just cold. I don't have a problem with previous frozen foods and all, but it'd be nice if they check to see if the darn things are hot all the way through at least. So I inform the waitress and she is very apologetic, and the offending quiches are whisked back to the kitchen to get warmed up. When they came back out they were fine and I finished them. The waitress then asked if she could offer us a dessert or coffee but I declined, as I was quite full. I was hoping she'd take something off our bill, but alas, she didn't. I supposed I could've asked, but it didn't seem worth the effort. She was sort of the manager-lady, I think, and our regular waitress totally didn't apologize or even acknowledge what had happened. This sort of apathy kind of bummed me out and dimmed my view of the place as a result. Overall it was a pleasant-enough place and I don't regret coming here, but would I be eager to come back again? Not sure...