Swiss Hotels - 5 star or value for money?
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When I was asked to write about Swiss Hotels I decided to compare and contrast what was in offer in historic, five star hotels and value for money three star hotels in two different Swiss cities Geneva and Zurich based on a stay for two guests in a double room during the last weekend in October 2007.
I’ve often wondered if travellers are willing to pay a premium for the exclusivity of a five star establishment in the hope that the high prices will exclude the riffraff or is the standard of rooms and service really far superior and worth the extra expense?
In Geneva the five star Swissotel Geneve Metropole is a grand hotel built in the mid 19th century with the original facade maintained. The hotel sits on the quayside of Lake Geneva. The price quoted was 468 Swiss Francs (£194) not including breakfast. The search result did not specify the type of room e.g. if it was a lakeview room. I’d want to know full details of what I was booking.
I found the three star Eden hotel, located opposite a park, a few minutes from the lake for 185 Swiss Francs (£77) including breakfast. Would you be prepared to pay two and half times more for the five star option?
In Zurich the lake shore five star Hotel Baur au Lac is a Swiss historic hotel which has been owned by the same family since it opened in 1844. A double room with a river or courtyard view cost 780 Swiss Francs (£324) not including breakfast. Now for that sort of money I would expect a lake view room.
The Hotel California a few minutes from the lake, in the old city centre, had double rooms for 180 Swiss Francs (£75) including a basic continental breakfast, with the option of paying an additional 20 Swiss Francs per person for an a la carte breakfast.. That’s a quarter of the price of the Baur an Lac. Would it be four times better at the Baur au Lac?
I though that Swiss Hotels had a good selection of all grades of hotels in both Geneva and Zurich . My criticisms are that the quality of the photos is poor and all hotels should have full room descriptions coming in in the searches. The translation of the text into English was not very good in some places.
However you should visit the Swiss Hotels site if you’re looking for a hotel in Switzerland as I did a quick check of the prices available at these four hotels on Travelsupermarket.com. The Geneve Metropole came up at £232 including breakfast on Travelsupermarket, £38 more than the price quoted by Swiss Hotels but their price didn’t include breakfast, so I reckon that the prices are broadly similar. The Eden was £86 with Travelsupermarket, £9 more than Swiss Hotels. The cheapest price for the Baur au Lac for £324, that’s £18 more than with Swiss Hotels. Travelsupermarket didn’t find a quote for the Hotel California.
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October 7th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
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October 7th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
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