Hotel National Bern Review

We needed an hotel that was near the railway station, had free wi-fi and was good value. Happily, the Hotel National met all three of these conditions. In Switzerland, extras are expensive, so avoiding taxi fares and wi-fi charges is an important selection criteria.

The National Hotel has 46 rooms and, being an old, traditional hotel, each is different. The grand lift with doors that you close by hand looks very unsafe, but we’re sure it is 100% Swiss engineered and tested.

The ground floor houses an established restaurant that specialises in “slow food”. It utilises local foods, so a very seasonal menu is offered. Breakfast is served in the main restaurant and is a fairly typical Swiss affair with bread, cheese, ham and strong coffee.

Restaurant at National Hotel Bern

Next door is the National Theatre Hall, which actually forms part of the hotel. Also attached is the Shakria Disco-Bar that has a reputation for South American music and culture.

Family owned and managed since 1908, it all seems to work well. Staff were very friendly and the service was good. Rooms were clean and well-presented and the one we tested looked out over the square and had a small balcony.

Bern is an easy city to walk around and, in only a few minutes, you can be at the Parliament and walk into the Old City.

The  Hotel National is located at Hirschengraben 24, CH-3011, Bern

A few images of the Hotel National.