Radisson SAS Hotel, Basel

.../> The staff at the Radisson are wonderfully welcoming and friendly and cannot do enough to make your stay pleasant. They all speak superb English and are extremely helpful. If you are paying "rack-rate" then the prices are extortionate, but we got a great deal off the internet which worked out £150 for 3 nights bed and breakfast! A bargain anywhere, never mind in Basel!   ... more

Ok, so this is really a business hotel with not a huge deal of local character or atmosphere but we had a great pre-Christmas break here! Try and get a deal whereby the breakfast is included as it is the biggest and best breakfast you will ever see!

The breakfast is served in the hotel restaurant and really is fantastic. It's almost TOO good as my boyfriend discovered when he filled up on so many sausages on the first day he couldn't move for hours! There is the usual continental spread along with yoghurts, fruit, cereals, juices, bacon, sausages, different types of egg, fried potatoes.....the list goes on....

The hotel has a pool and leisure facilities which we didn't use, but we had aquick look and they looked very clean and modern. The rooms were well equipped and were warm and comfortable. There are hairdryers, mini bars, tvs and hot drink making facilities in the rooms and plenty of cupboard space if you need it, along with spare blankets for those cold Swiss winter nights!

The hotel is centrally located and the tram to the train station stops right outside. The immediate area isn't exactly picturesque, but turn right on leaving the main entrance, and 2 minutes later you are in the most picturesque city you can imagine. If you're going in December, the huge and gorgeous Christmas market is only 5 minutes walk from the hotel.

If you turn right on leaving the hotel you head down into the commercial heart of Basel and reach a wide choice of restaurants, cafes and pubs in about 5 minutes. A word of warning though - Swiss prices really are as high as you may have heard! We were horrified at the prices over and over again! We were paying the equivalent of 4GBP for a small beer in some places. There isn't a great deal of nightlife in Basel and we spent most evenings in an Irish pub just round the corner after turning left on leaving the hotel.

If you do visit Basel, I would definitely recommend taking the train to Freiburg in Germany for a day out. It takes about 90 minutes and cost us about 15GBP each for a return. You ass some lovely scenery on the journey and Freiburg itself is great for shopping. You won't believe the prices after Basel! We bought gifts at the Freiburg Christmas market and speant about one fifth on what we would have spent on the same items in Basel's market.

We ate in the hotel restaurant one night and had the fondue which I can highly recommend. The portions were huge and the staff very attentive and friendly. The restaurant has slightly more charm to it than your average business hotel restaurant and we had a nice evening there, although the menu wasn't particularly extensive.

The staff at the Radisson are wonderfully welcoming and friendly and cannot do enough to make your stay pleasant. They all speak superb English and are extremely helpful. If you are paying "rack-rate" then the prices are extortionate, but we got a great deal off the internet which worked out £150 for 3 nights bed and breakfast! A bargain anywhere, never mind in Basel!  

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