Starling Hotel Lausanne

Room was very cold and took long time to heat up. Other than that the hotel was very nice and clean. Location was also good.

We booked two business rooms and a junior suite for five nights over Christmas. When booking I requested that the sofa bed in the suite should be made up, and I confirmed this request by international phone call the day before our arrival. Upon arriving it had not been made up. The very helpful lady manning Reception had to leave her post to make it up. The suite has a door between the bedroom and lounge area (where the second bed is located). If this door is closed for overnight privacy the hotel's weird heating system blows warm air into the bedroom bur extracts air from the lounge, with the result that one room becomes far too hot and the other far too cold. No fun in mid-winter. The washbasin in the suite didn't hold water. In spite of almost every notice in the hotel being in French and English the television, which had around 60 channels, had no entertainment channels in English. The guide to hotel services was only eventually found on the TV after searching through a tortuous menu. In a suite sold as suitable for up to four people there was only one small rail for clothes, one shelf, and no suitcase storage area. Worst of all, our teenage grandson was taking a shower in his business room when faces and other excrement came up through the drain. Luckily, we had adjacent rooms that he could use, but there is clearly a very serious defect in the design and/or maintenance of the building drainage arrangements. This incident was reported to Reception, but no apology or compensation was offered by Management, as would immediately have happened in a well-run hotel. On the plus side, all the staff we encountered did their best to be helpful, and the housekeepers did a great job at maintaining the rooms in a spotless condition.

The Starling Hotel is our first choice when visiting family near Lausanne. The staff are professional but personable, welcoming and efficient. The hotel is well positioned for bus and rail travel connections, lovely lake views. The restaurant is excellent for breakfast and dinner, bar drinks and snacks. We will return later again this year. Thank you Team Starling Hotel, and Happy New Year!