The location is the first thing you notice, it's right next to the SBB, the main train station which serves Switzerland and France. The DBB station which serves Germany is on the other side of the river. I arrived on the train from Zurich airport and walked right out onto a square with trams everywhere. Immediately I saw the red and grey front of the hotel, you can't miss it! Trams 1 and 8 are the handiest for the old town, and they leave right outside. With the Basel Card that the hotel will give you, all public transport is free to you. But the city centre is about 10 to 15 minutes on foot, that's all, you can walk it too, it's a good area. If you've kids with you, the zoo is very near, and I've heard it's one of the better ones in Europe. The hotel is really almost a 4 star, just the fact that it doesn't have a restaurant makes it a 3 star. The room I was in was a suite and it was spacious to say the least. I had a huge bathroom, a real change from the usual holiday experience! Beds were comfortable, tea, coffee, milk along with kettle in room, small TV, safe, writing desk and two armchairs with a table. There is a drinks and ice room from which you have access to on the first floor, it's free. The breakfast is plentiful, as its buffet. Yoghurts, cheeses, sliced meats, croissants, rolls, local breads, juices, and tea and coffee. Other drinks such as cappuchino and coffee drinks are available on request too. The bar is reasonably priced and very comfortable, different rooms for smoking and non-smoking! Most people come here though for to redeem their free ice cream coupon, left in the room on arrival, but I made an effort and sampled the local beer too, which was refreshing. Next door there is a fairly reasonable Chinese, which you wait and order at the counter. Next to that again is another restaurant, but its more pricey but the food is great and the waitresses are really helpful. Keep on going to your left, around the corner, and you will find a handy supermarket, co-op. Anything you'd need would be in here too. I'd a really good stay at this hotel. Why the 4 stars instead of 5 then? Well, first impressions mean everything. When I checked in, the male staff member didn't seem to interested in it, which surprised me. He was a bit offhand and I'm way more forgiving than most people I think, coming from one of the rudest cities and countries in the world (Ireland) I'm used to rude customer service. Going away is an escape from all of that and I didn't quite expect it here. My interaction levels with staff tend to be minimal too, which made it worse! Being a lone traveller, that little extra kindness that most hotel staff offer goes a long way to me and it wasn't forthcoming from him. I didn't see him the other two days. Maybe he had an off day when I checked in. Other than him, the rest of the staff were really helpful and kind, especially the bar girl who did her best to make me feel at home with a smile. Don't let that put you off from booking here though, it's probably one of the best hotels in the city and for a price that is more than good too, in a relatively expensive city to eat and shop in.

Liked this place - as others have said, 2 seconds from trams into the city centre (3 stops away), and just opposite the station. Traffic noise in rooms at the front, but only to be expected. A few rooms with balconies (quite important to us disgusting but diligent smokers) - ours was room 102, which was a good size with a separate loo and bathroom. There are a few other balcony rooms; suggest you ask when booking if it's important to you. We were lucky. Take lightweight slippers - there is the increasingly-common hardwood floor in the bedroom. One little problem; for some reason they ask for your passport on check-in (we were in a party, and hardly likely to do a runner). We handed them in very reluctantly, and they managed to lose one. Fortunately the customs guy at Eurostar in Paris wasn't a jobsworth, and allowed our friend to board... Recommended

The location was great and rooms/facilities are very new. We had an exercise bike and scales in our room which was very handy. Rooms mostly very quiet (although see comment below). Free drinks (bottled water and coke, juice etc) - as much as you want and whenever you want from the drink and ice rooms on the floors. Staff very friendly and helpful and our parking out the front of the hotel was free - parking is on a first in first served basis! The room was a bit noisy (from the people above walking around and trams running all night out front of the hotel - although hotel staff warned us of the tram noise and offered us a different room before checking in). The breakfast is ok - nothing special. Nothing hot, just a few cereals and meats etc which do not get replenished very often. Again, first in first served! Had a few issues with the double bed - very small and the top sheet/blanket was not wide enough to cover the bed without any one in it... so you can imagine when someone gets underneath - that leaves the other person pretty much without any covering for the night. However, upon request we were given another blanket. You may not want to stay here if you have a bad back as the bed was very bouncy (it was a foam mattress, no inner springs) and the pillows were awfully thin. Added bonus was the free tickets they give you to use the trams and buses. Very helpful at night as from experience, it is not very safe to walk back from town to the hotel which has some strange people hanging about at night (due to train and tram station immediately out the front of the hotel). Not many dining options around the hotel - Mr Wong's is attached to the hotel and is a good option (like Wagamama perhaps) and there is a Coop and McDonald's around the corner. Otherwise, catch your free tram (number 11) to Barfusserplatz and away you go!

We didn't actually stay at this hotel.... We were scheduled to stay there for one night on December 23-24, 2007, and booked it as it looked like a great place online, and given the other very good reviews. However, our flight from London to Basel was cancelled due to weather (many of you were probably also at Heathrow and remember that day!). We had booked online via HRS with our credit card, and were unable to get to a computer in time to cancel the reservation, and so were charged for the night. However, when we emailed the hotel the next day and explained what had happened, they immediately reversed the charges! We thought that was really great, and certainly appreciated it. Thanks Schweizerhof Hotel! We will definitely stay there the next time in Basel!

The Schweizerhof is a newly renovated hotel from days gone by. The hotel is clean and perfectly located near the train station and public transportation. The staff is very helpful and knowledgeble. The breakfast buffet is typical with enough variety not to be boring. I would recommend this hotel to any traveler looking for good solid accomidations at a reasonable price