The Hotel (Editors Choice)
The hotel in Lucerne is The Hotel. Across from a park in a quasi residential/commercial neighborhood, not far from the rail station, this sleek marvel of glass, steel and hardwood is without doubt the most stunningly designed hotel weve seen. It is a creation of famed Paris architect, Jean Nouvel, winner of this years Royal Gold Medal for Architecture, whose credits include Lucernes new lakeside congress center, Berlins Galeries Lafayette, and the acclaimed Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris.

Here there are no "singles" or "doubles," only deluxe studios, junior suites, and garden and park deluxe suites. Stepping into one from the unremarkable, industrial hallways serves only to enhance the experience of being in these extraordinary guestrooms. All feature giant, single-pane windows; pivoting matte stainless steel cabinets for storage and entertainment components; minimalist furnishings designed especially for The Hotel by Nouvel; Brazilian cherrywood table surfaces; deeply-polished floor planks; and, on the ceiling of each room, in soothing, muted colors, a scene from one of 25 films. At night, wall sconces illuminate these guestroom ceilings, creating an extraordinary exterior view for passersby.

The Hotels stylish Restaurant Bam Bou features Asian/French dishes prepared by a California chef, Andrew Clayton. Choose from such starters as Crab Cakes with Saffron Chilli Hollandaise (18.50 Sfr.), Five Spice Foie Gras Terrine (24 Sfr.) or Thom Kha Curry (17 Sfr). Main dishes are in the 38 to 44 Sfr.  range and include Rack of Lamb Tandoori, Indonesian Marinated Duck Breast, and Wok-Fried Tagliatelle with Squid & King Prawns. The imaginative desserts are all 13 Sfr. 

Though Bam Bou is below street level it uses a clever arrangement of canted windows and mirrors to essentially "pipe" daylight into the black-walled room. In addition, the system allows pedestrians to see down into the restaurant for a glimpse of the kitchens carefully prepared and arranged dishes.

Our sole reservation about the five-star The Hotel other than its pretentious name is that comfort may have been compromised in guestrooms in order to accommodate design. There are no couches, only one pleasing-to-the-eye but rather severe leather easy chair. If there are two people in the room, someone has to sit in a straight-backed chair or on the bed.

The Hotel is currently offering discounts of 10% to 20% at its website, making the deluxe studio at about $180 per night an excellent value in a city with Zürich-like prices.

• Daily Rates: Deluxe studio CHF 390, junior suite CHF 460, deluxe suite CHF 510
  
• Contact: The Hotel, Sempacherstrasse 14, CH 6002 Luzern, tel. +41/041/226 86 86, Fax 226 86 90, email: info@the-hotel.ch, web: www.the-hotel.ch/
• Rating: Quality 18/20, Value 14/20

Art Deco Hotel Montana
There are few better places to appreciate Lucerne's splendid setting than from the balcony of your lakeview room at this four-star hillside hotel. Built in 1910 after the completion of the Gotthard tunnel which spurred tourism in the region, the Montana has the open features high ceilings, wide hallways, large windows that characterize hotels constructed during that period.

Spacious guestrooms, most with lake views, are decorated in shades of rose and light pink, and have marble baths.

The funicular which carried guests to the hotel from the main street at lake level has now been replaced by an automatic elevator-like cable car. Very handy.

The hotels classic Louie-Bar, with its splendid views, frequently offers live music; accomplished jazz and blues groups.

This is a pleasant, lively hotel. We wish, however, it was a little less expensive.

• Daily Rates: Singles CHF 150-230, doubles CHF 260-395
  
• Contact: Hotel Montana, Adigenswilerstrasse 11, CH-6002 Luzern, tel. 041/516565, fax 516676, email: info@hotel-montana.ch, web: www.hotel-montana.ch/
• Rating: Quality 14/20, Value 9/20

Hotel Schweizerhof
This palatial but sterile hotel on the lake has long been considered Lucerne's premiere stop. Ownership has been in the same family since 1861 and guests have included Mark Twain, Leo Tolstoy, Richard Wagner, Napoleon III and Kaiser Wilhelm.

However, its imposing marble columns and pilasters, crystal chandeliers, mirrored ceilings, huge paintings and overstuffed, flower-patterned furniture failed to inspire us. When compared to The Hotel, the Schweizerhof seems dowdy and stuffy. Perhaps the venomous way in which a senior woman employee publicly chastised a much younger female clerk at the reception desk soured us on this Grand Dame.

• Daily Rates: Singles CHF 240 to 280, doubles CHF 290 to 495. Breakfast not included.
• Contact: Schweizerhof Luzern, Schweizerhofquai 3, CH-6003 Luzern, tel. +41/041/4100410, fax: 4102971, email: info@schweizerhof-luzern.ch, web: www.schweizerhof-luzern.ch.
• Rating: Quality 15/20, Value 8/20

Hotel Wilden Mann (Editors Choice)
Cozy, well-run hotel in the center of Lucernes shopping district, five minutes walk from the train station. The building was a staging post for travelers crossing the St. Gotthard pass over the Alps in 1517, centuries before the tunnel was built.

Everything here is fresh and clean and there is a relaxed atmosphere in the small, comfortable lobby and dining rooms. The lounge has a wood-burning fireplace. Most of the 50 guestrooms are larger than average, all are individually decorated, and some are reserved for nonsmokers. The best are the newer "romantic" rooms such as Numbers 209 and 217, the latter with beam ceiling.

A warm welcome, comfortable accommodations and a considerable amount of old-world charm give this hotel "Editors Choice" status.

See our review of the hotels Burgerstube restaurant later in this story.

• Daily Rates: Singles CHF 165-195, doubles CHF 260-360
  
• Contact: Hotel Wilden Mann, Bahnhofstrasse 30, CH-6000 Luzern, tel. +41/041/2101666, fax 2101629, email: mail@wilden-mann.ch, web: www.wilden-mann.ch
• Rating: Quality 15/20, Value 15/20

Hotel Rebstock/ Hotel Hofgarten
The well-located Hofgarten and Rebstock are under the same management and both are housed in separate 12th century buildings near the main cathedral (early morning bells) and the Lion Monument.

Both are attractively decorated and liberally endowed with modern pictures and sculptures, though the Rebstocks Art Nouveau-style guestrooms, with their unconventional color schemes, are more imaginative. Number 122 is a spacious double with a notable antique door to the bathroom. At the Hofgarten our choice would be cozy Number 226 under the eaves.

The hotels are under the benevolent and capable rule of owner Claudia Moser, who is responsible for choosing the art that is the hallmark of both establishments.

• Rebstock Daily Rates: Singles CHF 160 to CHF 180, doubles CHF 260 to CHF 280
  
• Contact: Hotel Restaurant Rebstock, St. Leodegar-Strasse 3, CH -6006 Luzern, tel. +41/041/410 35 81, fax 410 39 17, email: rebstock@hereweare.ch, web: www.hereweare.ch
• Rating: Quality 14/20, Value 14/20
• Hofgarten Daily Rates: Singles CHF 160 to CHF 195, doubles CHF 260 to CHF 295
  
• Contact: Hofgarten Hotel, Stadhofstrasse 14, 6006 Luzern, tel. +41/041/528888, fax 528333, email: hotel@hofgarten.ch, web: www.hofgarten.ch/
• Rating: Quality 13/20, Value 13/20

Hotel Cascada (Editors Choice)
Easily the best value we found in Lucerne and completely renovated earlier this year. Though the clientele of this traditionally modern hotel is primarily business, the well-furnished, sparkling new guestrooms; convenient location next to the railway station; efficient, friendly, management; and low prices, are powerful pluses.

To those who book via the Internet, the hotel offers complimentary parking, no access fee for phone calls, a free fruit plate upon arrival, and a free room upgrade (if available).

Rooms available for nonsmoking and disabled travelers.

• Daily Rates: Singles CHF 105 to CHF 170, doubles CHF 160 to CHF 250
  
• Contact: Hotel Cascada, Bundesplatz 18, CH-6003 Lucerne, tel: + 41/041/226 80 88, fax 226 80 00, Email: info@cascada.ch, web: www.tophotels.ch/cascada/index.asp
• Rating: Quality 14/20, Value 16/20

Hotel Löwengraben
This onetime prison, last used in 1998 but now converted to a hotel with restaurant, gallery and performing arts venue, offers the most unusual sleeping accommodations ever reviewed in these pages. Virtually all guestrooms are in former inmate cells and, though such necessary amenities as a private toilet and shower have been added, most remain in the jail house configuration: one small, barred window high on the wall; the original reinforced door with only a peephole, and two basic cots. The beautifully refinished hardwood floors, too, are original.

Some rooms are larger and several have unusual décor. The Library Suite (CHF 222), for example, still has the shelves and books that were in the original prisoners reading room. In the Barabas Suite is a mural painted by an inmate, Barabas, while incarcerated in that very room. He was released only a few years ago and is now a well-known Lucerne artist and customer of the Lwengrabens restaurant.

In fact, not only are several former inmates customers of the hotel and restaurant, they hold regular reunions there.

Löwengraben is not for everyone, most rooms are a bit claustrophobic. Even the more adventurous will probably find one overnight is enough to satisfy any curiosity about jailhouse life. The hotel offers five levels of accommodations and the least expensive "Budget" rooms are not recommended. "Upgrade" rooms have private toilet facilities but are still quite small. The "Up-couple" and "Unplugged" rooms are better but most comfortable will be one of the four suites. Dont misunderstand, the rooms are immaculate and were redone using good fixtures and furnishings. It's just they are so very small and basic.

For those who can't envision even one night in a jail cell, there are guided tours daily at 5:30pm (CHF 3.5).

• Daily Rates: Singles CHF 55 to 222, doubles CHF 80 to 222. Breakfast is included only in the "Up-couple," "Unplugged" and "Suite" categories, everyone else pays CHF 9
  
• Contact: Hotel Lwengraben, Lwengraben 18, CH-6004 Luzern, tel. +41/041/417-1212, fax 417-1211, email: hotel@loewengraben.ch, web: www.loewengraben.ch.
• Rating: Quality 10/20, Value 14/20