Calling Hotel des Balances Home // Lucerne, Switzerland
Dropping my bags, I initially grabbed at thoughts of curiosity as I nosed around my hotel room. Opening the windows overlooking one of the many picturesque squares in Lucerne’s alstadt (“old town”), I was hit by a wave of excitement. After half-heartedly unpacking my weekend bag while waiting for my phone to charge, I wandered quietly through the lobby of Hotel des Balances. I knew that the property was positioned along the river Ruess but hadn’t seen it yet since arriving to the city. Approaching a wall of curtained windows my dreams of Lucerne were realized.
Sigh! Lucerne was just a picture perfect and I had remembered from my post-grad visit way back in 2008. (A high-speed 3 week tour of Europe in which we often ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in different cities!) With my solo weekend my own to create, it quickly became clear that this hotel would be ideal base camp and a destination in itself.
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Positioned perfectly within the pedestrian-only old town and along the crystal clear Reuss river, I took my gourmet breakfasts on the river-side terrace and admit to spending so much time taking pictures of idyllic setting that my coffee was lukewarm by the time I took a sip.
To my blogger buddies out there, I know you can’t blame me!
Curious for a peek at the views from one of their riverfront rooms, the front desk kindly lent me the keys for a few hours so I could grab some shots and film a little vlog (coming soon!). The views from one of the top floor suites? Killer. I had one of those cliche, jaw-dropped, mumbled “Oh wow!” responses. Looking down on the city from above was beyond beautiful.
Don’t agree? I think you will in 3, 2…
Wait for it!
1!
I know. I know! The view is absolutely wild, especially with the Alps rising in the background.
Strolling the alstadt around the hotel was a bit of a dream in itself too. On my last morning I spent an hour quietly walking the cobbled streets, passing Swiss flags and traditional chocolate and watch shops.
If a riverfront room isn’t in the cards, I’d definitely recommend at least stopping in their acclaimed restaurant for a white tablecloth lunch on the terrace. If you ask me, a tasty lunch and stunning scene would definitely make for a perfect Lucerne afternoon.
My room overlooking the quiet courtyard wasn’t disappointing either. Not much tops quintessential Europe, complete with church bells and cobbled stone, on the either side of your window.
All and all, the hotel was everything I’d ever hoped for and definitely one of my favorites in all of Europe. My weekend in Lucerne was magic and there’s no question that Hotel des Balances sealed the deal.
For good measure, I’ll just go ahead and throw in another picture of the view from the hotel. Swiss perfect. That’s what it is.
