Honest Swiss hotel reviews that you can trust

February 27, 2021, 2 Comments

Reviews, reviews everywhere but which ones can you believe? The ones that only say good things or ones that complain? The ones that people are paid to write or ones where the room is free? It’s hard to know who to trust these days. So trust me.

I’ve been a travel writer for 25 years and in that time I’ve stayed in every type of hotel possible, from cosy B&Bs and fancy palaces to crummy motels and basic cabins. And for eight of those years, I was actually a hotel inspector, staying incognito and assessing everything.

I stay in hotels a lot and, like you, I read reviews before I book: Tripadvisor, Google, booking sites, the hotel’s own website or even old-fashioned guidebooks. But I take them all with a pinch of salt because I know how the system works and is played by almost everyone.

Swiss hotels are generally good but I still think there’s a need for honest reviews from a trustworthy source, with real photos and judgements based on years of experience. So I’ve decided to start reviewing the Swiss hotels I stay in. I promise that I’ll:

• Always tell it how it is. No hotel is perfect so while I’ll focus on what’s great, I’ll be fair and say what could be better.
• Always use my own pics not ones from the hotel or tourist board, so no wide-angle lens or helpful cropping. You’ll see what I see.
• Always tell you how much I paid for the room. If I didn’t pay anything (I can but hope…) then I’ll be open about that but it won’t affect my review.
• Always choose from a range of hotels that might appeal to as many people as possible, not only luxury ones or cheap ones.

I score every hotel on ten separate factors, from comfort or location to service or value, so that you can easily see how they do. My first four reviews are online and the feedback I’ve had shows that people like them, trust them and have already used them to book.

• Hotel Schynige Platte: rustic mountain chic for summer
• Hotel Steinenschanze: stylish boutique hotel in Basel
• Hotel Warwick: comfortable and affordable in Geneva
• Hotel Belvedere: more than a room with a view in Locarno

Let me know what you think. Feedback is always helpful, for me and the hotels. Also don’t be shy: if there are Swiss hotels you’d like me to visit, tell me and I’ll do my best to stay there.

My reviews can help you sort the good from the merely average, and you can help me by spreading the word. The more people read and use my reviews, the better for everyone, consumer and hotelier alike.