Hotel Des Tourelles Reviews

This was my fourth stay in the Hotel Des Tourelles, again just for a single night, for the purpose of visiting the Geneva Festival Arbres en Lumieres and also to do some Christmas shopping. Once again I had a warm welcome; despite arriving early I was able to leave my bag in the room and make the most of my arrival day. The hotel is warm, spotlessly clean and the rooms all have immense character; high ceilings, wooden floors and period features. My room this time even had a balcony looking out over the Rhone river. Being an old building the floors are a bit creaky and I was woken by someone returning to a nearby room in the early hours, but this was the only problem. The location of the hotel is ideal - only a five minute walk from the station and not much more to the main shopping area and the old town. It is close to a busy road bridge, so in the summer noise may be a problem with the windows open, but in winter the windows have extra glazing that virtually eliminates outside noise. Breakfast is a simple but perfectly good buffet; rolls, croissants, cereals, cheese, youghurt, tea and coffee were all avaialable. If you prefer the predictability of a chain hotel, this may not be for you - but if you want a great value stay in a character building this is definitely recommended. Note that there is no 24 hour reception, so this may be best suited to travellers who are comfortable with being a bit independent.

The hotel was in a good location. The staff were friendly and helpful. It's a little old but kept in good nick.

This was my third stay in the Hotel des Tourelles; one night each of the last three years to visit the Geneva Tree and Light Festival. The hotel occupies two floors of a lovely old building, the rest of which contains apartments. If you are expecting a pristine hotel with all of the predictability of a major chain, this may not be for you. The rooms do not have air conditioning and those on the west side of the building are very close to a busy road. The windows are soundproofed and cut most of the noise out, but in summer the noise would be a problem if the windows were opened. I had a different room for each visit and they were all unique; the room on my last visit had a very spacious bathroom (a proper room) but on a previous visit the room had a small “cubicle” bathroom.... then again, that room had a superb seating area in one of the turrets (“tourelles”). The hotel has some major plus points: i. The price is very reasonable compared to other hotels in the city. ii. The rooms (in winter when I visited) were nice and warm. iii. The rooms have a lot of character (high ceilings and other period features) and are tastefully decorated, also with a TV, mini fridge and kettle. iv. The rooms are spotlessly clean v. The hotel location is excellent; 5 minutes walk from the station and the same to the main shopping area and “old town”. In conclusion, the hotel met my needs on a short visit perfectly and I would stay here in preference to a chain hotel any day!