Hotel Continental

We were only there for one night. Check-in was very quick, and the receptionist was kind, but the room was awful. It smelled bad and had no air conditioning, so we couldn't stay in it. When we reported it, reception offered an odor spray, which didn't solve anything. Opening the window just let in cooking smells from outside.

Michel really made our time at Lausanne-Gare Continental Hotel special. From the first day, he made us feel at home, and his local advice helped us get much more out of Lausanne. He was warm and helpful in such an easy, natural way, and it was clear he cared about his guests and enjoyed his work. Thanks so much, Michel. We can't thank you enough!

We booked through Hotels.com three or four weeks ahead. The listing said we'd pay extra for breakfast for our six-year-old if we booked a double room, which was fine. But when we arrived around 6 PM on November 10, we were told that because there were three of us, we couldn't stay in a room for two, supposedly for security reasons, and had to move to a triple. Finding a solution took nearly an hour at check-in. They initially added 40 CHF per night, then lowered it to 30 CHF when we asked. The extra bed for our son turned out to be a miserable fold-out chair. We've stayed at six or seven hotels in Bruges, Brussels, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Greece over the past six months and never had this kind of experience. The hotel's main advantage is being opposite the station, so this level of "sensitivity" seemed excessive to me. There's no garage at the hotel, and parking in Lausanne is hard. They send guests to a large partner garage, but getting back means a ten-minute walk up steep streets and side roads. After our first night, we're thinking of asking for a refund for the rest of the stay and leaving.

The welcome desk service was great. I didn't book a room, but I used their Radical Storage luggage service. It was inexpensive, felt safe, and each bag was insured up to 3000€. Simple and handy.