Best Western Plus Hotel Bern — Hotel in Bern

Dates of Stay: September 28, 29, 30 & October 1, 2018

The Best Western Hotel Bern is currently undergoing major renovations that affect all floors. These renovations make a stay at the hotel very unpleasant.

When the hotel guest arrives they are confronted with a tall, tower crane and support structure straddling the front entrance to the hotel.

When the hotel guest enters the lobby they see a sign that indicates the level of noise they will be exposed to each day of the week.

When the hotel guest takes the elevator up to their floor they are greeted with wires hanging down from the ceiling and exposed pipes, etc. in the hallway.

As the hotel guest walks to their room, besides the banging and riveting-like noise they will hear during the daytime, they will be exposed to dust from the renovation work.

Finally, I believe there is a serious problem with the fire escape routes. A sign in the room indicates there are two fire escape routes; a stairway near the elevator and another stairway on the opposite end of the building. The stairway by the elevator has been blocked off by a wall erected presumably because of the renovation work. If this is correct and a fire blocks the other stairway then the hotel guests would be trapped.

So, in conclusion, I’m sure the Hotel Bern is very nice under normal conditions but while it is being renovated it should be avoided, if possible. Otherwise, a guest should be ready to accept noise during the day, church bells ringing at night while trying to sleep, dusty and unsightly conditions, and possibly a fire escape safety issue. It seems to me that if the Hotel Bern truly had the satisfaction of their guests as a priority they would find another way to perform these renovations. Ideally, they would close the hotel to guests, complete the renovations and then have a grand reopening. At a minimum, they should close one floor at a time to guests and perform the renovations on that floor. I was told by the hotel manager in an e-mail that the renovations would not be completed until the end of 2019 or the beginning of 2020.

Finally, I stayed at the Hotel Bern because it was the hotel used by Collette Tours as part of their Switzerland, Austria and Bavaria land tour. Collette Tours has been advised of the unacceptable conditions of this hotel and, in fact, gave me a $300 refund because of the deplorable hotel conditions. If you are considering taking this tour in the future you should ask if this hotel will be used. If it is, I would recommend that you select another tour. You will not be happy staying at this hotel while it is being renovated.

I have pictures to document the...

Room 317 was on the smallish side with the bed (comfortable, with both large & small pillows) filling most of the room. (Note: rooms in website pictures appear bigger.) There was one upholstered chair and a small round table, but no desk/dresser and barely space to put the suitcase rack. There was a small space to hang clothes (about 6 hangers) with a single shelf, but no drawers for clothes. Lighting was adequate. There were a number of outlets, but if one needs to use an adaptor for U.S. plugs, there was only one (round) outlet in which the common European adaptor (Type C) would fit. (Other outlets were hexagonal & one may need a Type J adaptor). There was a small refrigerator and a coffee maker. Room temperature was okay. There were no adverse odors. There was no noise from other rooms or the hallway. ||In contrast to the room, the bathroom area was fairly large with the toilet and a walk-shower area with a nice rain showerhead (also a hand-held shower head) separated from the sink area. Washcloths (not common in European hotels) were provided in addition to the towels. Everything appeared clean. Housekeeping serviced the room each day. ||Since breakfast was not included in the room rate, we did not use the breakfast service and therefore cannot comment on this amenity.||WiFi was available, but neither I nor the person at the desk could get it to connect with my iPhone. (Desk clerk noted that sometimes there were problems connecting to iPhones.) TV (many channels including several in English) worked okay.||A big plus for this hotel is its location in relation to the main train station (about 5 minutes away), many popular sights, shopping, and restaurants. We were able to walk most everywhere we wanted to go within 5-15 minutes. However, the hotel also provides free passes for public transportation if one chooses not to walk.||In summary, the hotel provided a clean, adequate place to sleep and shower for a few days' stay, but the best thing is probably...

It was a pleasure staying in Best Western Plus Hotel Bern again! In August 2021 we already spent a week in Bern visited our daughter and enjoyed the hospitality at your hotel. Therefore, in November 2021 we returned and enjoyed the excellent services. The room was cozy, the housekeeping kind, and diligent. The hotel is clean and neat. We were happy to see the small bonsai tree we gave to the reception in August as our appreciation still alive. The staff at reception is well trained, and exceptionally attentive. At this time Romina Wiss and Tobias Fuhrei stood out from their wonderful colleagues. Tobias told us every week once he is watering the flowers, thanks, we are grateful. Unfortunately, we had some issues in the restaurant again. On November 27 (Saturday) we had a family dinner, and one of us ordered filet mignon steak. We asked for steak knife, but the restaurant had no steak knife, only butter knife. They told us that use the butter knife or munch it! Therefore, next day we went to buy steak knives and left at the reception, asking them to transfer to the restaurant as our gift for Christmas and Hanukkah started on Sunday, November 28. We hope the next guest will get a steak knife if will order filet mignon steak. The breakfast was the same, wide variety cool cats, scramble eggs, and breads. No side vegetables (paper, tomato, cucumbers). As a special request they served fresh green salad just for...