Swissotel Basel

Basel is an interesting city. Although the heart of the European pharmaceutical trade (with both Novartis and Roche headquartered here) and a host of other important industries in the city, there are few good hotels. The one luxury hotel, Les Trois Rois is in a great location but very expensive by European standards (around $550/night for a standard room). On this stay, we were looking for something less special, so settled on the Swissotel, which is also considered 5*. Travelling from the train station was easy with a short tram journey direct to outside the hotel. Note that the Swissotel is located in the Messe (congress area) and, as is common in these locales, is on the edge of the red light district around Claramatte. We didn't have any problems during our stay, but worth thinking about if you are a single female arriving at night. 

Our check-in was quick and the agent friendly. We were informed that WIFI was free throughout the hotel (a big plus) and provided with complimentary public transport passes, as is customary in Basel.

Classic Room

As this was a short one night stay, we booked a simple standard room. This was pretty standard for a business hotel, although the pillow menu was a welcome touch. Complimentary water (as all hotels should provide) was on the bedside tables and a reasonable selection of toiletries were in the bathroom. As our room was on the back of the hotel, we experienced no street noise and slept well.

Our general comment about the hotel is that it feels tired. In a city with few other options (the Hilton is very old and not recommended) perhaps renovations just aren't required to meet room rate and occupancy targets. We liked the common area outside the lift offering Nespresso coffee - a nice amenity if travelling with colleagues. However, for short business stays, we would recommend staying in the newly refurbished Pullman - it's not a luxury option but it feels fresher, the bathrooms offer stand-alone showers and there are a number of amenities provided for Le Club status members.