During the weekend of 9th April the Holiday Inn Express in Kriens, just next to Lucerne (10 minutes by bus from the main station), was completely booked out by families and teachers from canton Valais. In fact, the front desk revealed to me that it was overbooked and they were hoping that not everyone would show up. This was the weekend of the Swiss solo brass Championships, which I was playing for, so it was very much a working weekend.
Holiday Inn Express Kriens, Luzern
The downstairs open plan reception and entry area was reasonably inviting, with multi coloured cushion seats and recliners, an open plan business area and kids mini playground, as well as the bar area and the breakfast area further to the left. Front desk service wasn't all that great, but by remaining calm and pleasant everything worked out fine and the platinum benefit of free drinks was offered. The bar area wasn't that great or cosy in any way but they had a reasonable enough selection of wines, enough to impress my winegrower friends. The hotel really made a hell of a lot of money out of the huge number of drinks sold on both nights to my friends and colleagues.
Seating area and television some distance away from reception
Back to the front desk and I had to really push on the last day to get a late check-out, despite being a platinum member. It was finally (and pleasantly granted) and I had until 14h00, which was good because I really needed it. The previous day they let me check into the second room I had booked, a twin room at 08h00 in the morning already.
The bar area, which at the time the photo was taken was totally calm
Quite a lot of these were consumed
This was surprisingly drinkable, given that Lucerne is not exactly known for its wine production - it can be found at the station in the Drinks of the World shop
In the room there was really a lack of storage space for two persons' belongings, although I applaud modern hotels for removing excessive useless cupboard and wardrobe space. In the design of the new HIX hotels there's a sort alcove like an open flap in the wall, where a hair dryer and iron could be found, along with an ironing board stacked against the wall (useful if you're playing a series of concerts as I was). Tea bags and instant coffee were provided but there was no kettle due to kettle repairs (reception provided hot water for tea). Toiletries were of the dispenser on the wall type but pretty good quality. One issue with the shower in both rooms was the fact that there was no door, sliding or otherwise, but the shower unit was open to the rest of the bathroom with just half a door pane of plastic glass, so the bathroom became quite wet. There was also very little storage space in the bathroom for personal toiletries as the area around the sink also became quite wet. No complaints about the bed and quality of sleep though. I would definitely come back here if the price is right. I think CHF
130-150 was too much for what was on offer.
The quality of the room is a little bit higher than the standard Holiday Inn Express that we have been used to
Standing at the window looking back into the room
The shower and washroom