GROW WITH SARAH GRACE

A couple of weeks ago, my friend and I took a short, one-night trip to Switzerland. We planned the trip fairly last minute (five days before departure last minute) and found a cheaper, 4-star hotel that would suit us just fine. After staying for only one night at Hotel De La Paix, I am confidently giving you a truthful review about the nitty-gritty of location, rooms, staff, and all the things in between. 

LOCATION: 7/10

Hotel De La Paix was conveniently only a 10-minute bus ride or 20-minute walk from the train station. Although it was fairly easy to get to, it isn’t the best location in regards to all the action in town. We were trying to find a place to eat before we checked in and couldn’t find much around us and the only places coming up on maps was a 15 or so walk toward the train station area. Once we decided to go closer to town, it wasn’t a horrible walk, however. 

The hotel is just a block away from the lakefront and if you follow the lakefront, you will magically run into the main center of the town within 15+ minutes. It might be a “longer” walk but it is quite an enjoyable walk and is perfect to enjoy the nice weather and lake views. For all the ladies out there, it is completely safe to walk along the lakefront back to the hotel at night as it is well lit and still has people walking in the area. 

Hotel De La Paix might be a little farther from the main town in comparison to other hotels but it is conveniently close to one of my friend and I’s favorite activities in Lugano: the Funicolare Monte San Salvatore. This is a tram car that goes up the mountainside to get you to the top of a mountain that has the best views in town. From Hotel De La Paix, the station where you start your journey up the mountain is only a short 3-5 minutes from the hotel and the staff at Hotel De La Paix can help get you a voucher for a discounted ticket.

PRICE: 7/10

To be fair, I can’t give a completely honest rating for the price because we did book the room last minute and of course, the cost was increased due to this. I will say, however, that even though we booked a double room with a balcony and lake view just five days before we were arriving, we paid around $189 for one night. I booked the hotel through booking.com and found that it was the easier and slightly cheaper option. I noticed once I was there that Switzerland, in general, can be a pricier country to visit so I suppose the price we paid was fairly cheaper than other options. Of course, my friend and I split the cost so it wasn’t too bad of a hit on the wallet. 

STAFF: 10/10

I can’t speak more highly about the staff at Hotel De La Paix. From check-in to check-out, every member of the staff we encountered was kind and very helpful. Checking in, we found it comforting to find that they all spoke English but also, from what I could hear around me, they also knew Italian, Dutch and German (to name a few) so they are fully equipped and educated for a successful business. In addition to the receptionists, the guest relations helped us find a good discount for tickets and made sure we had all we needed before we did activities. Overall, the staff at this hotel was welcoming and willing to help with a huge smile on their face. They even gave us a free Toblerone bar that was only meant for birthdays.

ROOMS: 8/10

Our room was exactly as booking.com advertised and we had a lake view, balcony and double bed. It was a very clean room and the bathroom was stocked with all the travel-size goodies two girls need. We didn’t spend much time in the room, as most people do when exploring new places but when we were in the room, it was nice. The space isn’t confined and is quite roomy. Every room can look different, of course, but our room had a desk, two closets, a TV, a full bathroom, two side tables, a mini-fridge and an adamant at the end of our bed. The view was also as promised and was a great view to wake up to.

FOOD: 9/10

We didn’t eat at the restaurant but we did eat breakfast. The hours for breakfast are reasonable at 7-11 on weekends and 6:30-10:30 on weekdays. We walked into the dining room and found a buffet of a variety of foods. The usual pastries and jams were present of course but there was also toast, scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon and much more. There were plenty of options and it was all tasty. As soon as we sat down with our food, we were approached by a server who asked for coffee orders and we enjoyed our meal while looking out onto the pool.

If I had to rate the entire hotel, I would proudly say it’s an 8/10. I wish it had a slightly better location but since it’s so close to the Funicolare, I can’t complain completely. Everything was absolutely divine and I loved every second. It was the perfect place to stay for our short trip to Switzerland. I found out after staying there that it is a chain hotel and has a location in other countries as well like Paris, France so feel free to enjoy their service for all your travels.