Grand Hotel National

The National follows Lucerne’s lakeside promenade, with trees between its façade and the water.

A week here, month by month

I come to the National for its Empire-style rooms, a 9-minute walk from the Chapel Bridge. On the city side, though, the Classic and Superior rooms have no air conditioning, only cooling ventilation: in summer, ask for the lake side.

The hotel website

Is it for you?

For 2, I would choose the Ritz Suite, a corner suite with 2 balconies facing the lake and east.

I’d ask for
A Ritz Suite.
Worth knowing
The double bed is made up of 2 twin beds, each 100 × 200 cm.
The Ritz Suite sitting area with its sofa and armchairs

Like a regular

The Grand Hotel National marble staircase

9 min readHow we write the guide

  1. Sunday brunch

    Until 31 May 2027, the National Brunch runs on Sundays from 12pm to 3pm: CHF 69 per person, CHF 30 for children under 12.

  2. Leave the keys on arrival

    Arriving by car, leave the keys at the entrance: the valet parks the car in the garage opposite and brings it back when you need it. The service costs CHF 40 per car per day.

  3. A direct booking for dinner

    With a direct booking, use the CHF 10 voucher per reservation at Sharing Brasserie Juliette. A complimentary room upgrade depends on availability at check-in.

What Grand Hotel National is

Grand Hotel National opened in 1870, its Neo-Baroque and Neo-Renaissance façade facing the lake. César Ritz took over as director in 1877, and Auguste Escoffier joined the kitchen in 1881. Today it has 62 rooms and suites, including 3 apartments.123

In the Lumina Guide

Lumina Guide 2027

In the guide because it is my choice for a longer stay in Lucerne: the hotel presents its apartments as a temporary home for longer stays too.

How we choose the hotels

The 5 things that matter, as guests tell them

What do Grand Hotel National’s guests say? They write it in their reviews, even those who only came for a drink or dinner: we read every one and tell the 5 things that matter, from the location to the bill.

  1. Location

    Nearly every guest who mentions it is happy with it. The city is easy to explore on foot. One guest especially appreciates being on the lake while keeping 2 bus stops close by.

  2. Room

    7 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. A Classic City View guest finds the bathroom spotless, with plentiful water and easy temperature control. Another enjoys the view but finds the room a little dated and the unusually high bathtub hard to get into.

  3. Staff and service

    When there is a hot-water problem, one guest sees someone sent to check it immediately and receives a solution. On another stay, returning at 4pm brings a less welcome surprise: the room has not been made up.

  4. Breakfast

    Guests like the small, carefully prepared buffet and à la carte choice. On another stay, many trays run nearly empty on 2 mornings; on the second day, there are no glasses for juice either.

  5. Price

    One guest feels the stay is worth the price, helped by the staff’s willingness to assist. Another, staying for a single night, finds the rooms too expensive for what they offer.

How we count
Grand Hotel National in numbers
WhatGuests’ scoreGuests who mention itHappy
Location8.75198%
Room7.04670%
Staff and service7.17366%
Breakfast7.51471%
Price–1932%

98 guests said so on Google, from 17 November 2024 to 22 October 2026. The reviews include visits to restaurants and bars without an overnight stay. The other hotels are assessed on the same 5 themes. The score is the average of what they say, from 0 if they speak of it very badly to 10 if they speak of it very well. Where only a few mention something, the score stays close to the guide’s average: a handful of voices does not make a reputation.

The hotels we weigh it against around Lake Lucerne and in Central Switzerland:

Price: for 2, the night of 15 January 2027, from 264 CHF on Google Hotels on 23 October 2026.

What a night costs, period by period

January to April 2027 is the cheapest stretch; prices rise from late April.

PeriodCHF a night
25 October to 23 December 2026279–584
24–31 December 2026413–882
1 January to 28 April 2027264–383
29 April to 18 September 2027395–1,203

One night searched alone for 2 adults, at the lowest seller on Google Hotels; room category, meals and taxes unspecified, read on 23 October 2026. The calendar ends on 18 September 2027. Separately, 12 June 2027 costs CHF 1,251. Booked together as 7 nights from 16 to 23 November 2026 for 2 adults, the lowest seller asked CHF 272 a night; the hotel’s own Google Hotels listing showed no rate.

The rooms of the National

Rooms, balconies and salons in the hotel’s own film.

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The light room with its central bedfrom 0:19 · Grand Hotel National Luzern · 14 October 2024Watch on YouTube
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The balcony over the lakefrom 0:33 · Grand Hotel National Luzern · 14 October 2024Watch on YouTube
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The timber-lined saunafrom 0:40 · Grand Hotel National Luzern · 14 October 2024Watch on YouTube
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1:05
The bar and decorated ceilingfrom 1:05 · Grand Hotel National Luzern · 14 October 2024Watch on YouTube
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A suite sitting roomfrom 2:00 · Grand Hotel National Luzern · 14 October 2024Watch on YouTube

Where to linger

The Sharing Brasserie Juliette dining room and arched windows

Sharing Brasserie Juliette

At Juliette, choose fig and cheese ravioli with sage butter, then Crêpes Suzette flambéed at the table.1

The National indoor pool between its windows

The pool above the quay

On the pool floor, massages run Monday to Saturday from 10am to 8pm, and on Sunday from 8am to 6pm.1

Good to know before you book

  • Under the general terms of October 2023, one child under 6 sharing with 2 adults stays free; other children up to 11 pay CHF 50 per night. Source: grandhotel-national.com

  • Under the general terms of October 2023, pets are welcome, with CHF 30 per pet per day for special room cleaning.

Choose your room

Ritz SuiteRitz Suite70–73 m²Up to 4 guests.View the room Junior SuiteJunior Suite44–48 m²Up to 3 guests.View the room Deluxe Lake ViewDeluxe Lake View29–33 m²Up to 2 guests.View the room Superior City/Lake ViewSuperior City/Lake View28–31 m²Up to 4 guests.View the room Classic City/Lake ViewClassic City/Lake View21–25 m²Up to 2 guests.View the room Design Apartment Two BedroomsDesign Apartment Two Bedrooms56 m²Up to 4 guests.View the room Design Apartment One BedroomDesign Apartment One Bedroom51–54 m²Up to 4 guests.View the room Design Rooftop Junior SuiteDesign Rooftop Junior Suite44–48 m²Up to 4 guests.View the room Design Deluxe Lake ViewDesign Deluxe Lake View29–33 m²Up to 3 guests.View the room Design Superior Lake ViewDesign Superior Lake View28–31 m²Up to 3 guests.View the room Design Classic Lake ViewDesign Classic Lake View21–25 m²Up to 2 guests.View the room

Getting here

AddressHaldenstrasse 4, 6006 Luzern

Your day

In the morning

Lengths before the city

The pool floor opens at 7.30am and closes at 10pm.

Back at the hotel

50 minutes for yourself

Book an aromatherapy oil massage: 50 minutes costs CHF 160, and it can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours ahead.

At lunch

2 courses before heading out

At Juliette, the Julie à Semaine lunch includes 2 courses, water, tea and coffee; on request it is served within 45 minutes.

For an aperitif

The National Bar Negroni

At National Bar, choose the Negroni with National Gin, Campari and red vermouth.

At dinner, in November

Truffle time at Juliette

From 16 November to 5 December 2026, truffle is Juliette’s seasonal highlight.

Reviews of Grand Hotel National

Google

Guest voices

Google

Water and madeleines

At check-out, a guest remembers receiving a bottle of water per person and madeleines for the onward trip. They stayed in a Classic City View and also recall chocolate on arrival.

Google · 2026-07-31Read the review
Google

The service lift

For a guest using a wheelchair, access is through the service lift. The helpful staff turn the small inconvenience into a chance to chat; the stay remains very enjoyable.

Google · 2026-06-03Read the review
Google

Water only on the bill

On a visit to the bar, a customer waits more than 20 minutes and has to order at the counter. The requested water never arrives but appears on the bill; they go back to have the charge removed.

Google · 2025-11-26Read the review

Before you travel

How much is a night?

One night for 2 adults: 16 November 2026, CHF 279; 16 January 2027, CHF 281; 16 March 2027, CHF 300. Room category, meals and taxes unspecified. Prices from Google Hotels, checked on 23 October 2026.

Do you need a car to get here?

Lucerne station is a 10-minute walk away and city buses stop outside the hotel. By car, the Luzern Zentrum motorway exit is 5–10 minutes away.

What is the spa like?

The pool floor has an indoor pool, a sauna and a sun terrace above the Nationalquai; the Harbour of Serenity Spa offers massages and facials, from CHF 85 for a 30-minute Swedish massage. The hotel says its therapeutic massages are recognised by health insurers.12

Is the pool included? Is there a day pass?

The Classic City/Lake View and Deluxe Lake View pages include free access to the pool floor; the other room pages do not mention it. The Day Spa also sells single admissions at CHF 45, plus 3-month (CHF 650), 6-month (CHF 950) and annual (CHF 1,600) passes.123

Is there a New Year’s Eve dinner or gala?

Yes: on 31 December 2026, from 6pm, the Moulin Rouge evening includes unlimited Champagne and oysters at the aperitif, a 5-course gala dinner with paired wines, live music and a burlesque show, for CHF 375 per person. From 11pm the party moves to the National Bar: a party-only ticket costs CHF 45, with a glass of Champagne.1

Still choosing?

The Palace on Lucerne’s lakeside promenade, with its copper tower

Mandarin Oriental Palace, Luzern

The Palace’s Belle Époque façade faces Lake Lucerne, a 10-minute walk from the pedestrianised old town.

The illuminated Schweizerhof on Lucerne’s lakeside promenade

Hotel Schweizerhof Luzern

The Schweizerhof lights up on Lucerne’s lakefront.

Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois among the Old Town façades on the bank of the Rhine

Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois

Les Trois Rois stands on the bank of the Rhine, in Basel’s Old Town.

The Waldhotel among the meadows and woods of the Bürgenberg

Waldhotel by Bürgenstock

The Waldhotel steps down in terraces over the Bürgenberg meadows, below the woods, within Bürgenstock Resort, 500 metres above Lake Lucerne.

The Helenabad pool beneath its arches

Grand Resort Bad Ragaz

Beneath the 19th-century arches of the Helenabad you swim in the resort’s thermal water: the pool is for guests aged 16 and over.

The rooftop infinity pool at HUUS QUELL, above the houses and meadows of Gonten

HUUS QUELL

HUUS QUELL has a rooftop infinity pool, with views from Gonten to the Alpstein.

A Palafitte pavilion on its stilts above Lake Neuchâtel

Hôtel Palafitte

Palafitte’s pavilions stand on stilts on Lake Neuchâtel.

The Beau-Rivage lit at dusk, with Lake Neuchâtel behind it

Beau-Rivage Neuchâtel

The Beau-Rivage stands on the shore of Lake Neuchâtel, in the centre of town.

Chenot Palace and its turreted villa seen from the lake

Chenot Palace Weggis

Chenot Palace stands on the shore of Lake Lucerne at Weggis, facing the Rigi and Pilatus: from its private beach you can swim in every season.

The Dolder Grand from the air at sunset: the turreted 1899 building between its two curved modern wings, on the wooded hillside above Zurich

The Dolder Grand

Curhaus towers above Zurich, art in the corridors and warm water facing the city.

The Belle Époque façade on Rue du Grand-Chêne: red awnings, wrought-iron balconies and the carved gable above the columned entrance porch lettered “Lausanne-Palace”, with flags; the brasserie’s green awning on the left

Lausanne Palace

Lausanne climbs behind the palace; from the right rooms, the lake appears beyond the rooftops.

Steam rising in the morning from the outdoor sports pool, with frost on the shrubs and the garden, the chalet wings with their wooden balconies on the right and rocky peaks against a clear sky on the left

ERMITAGE Wellness- & Spa-Hotel

At Ermitage, the afternoon means cake at Bärgblick.

Is this your hotel? See what people ask ChatGPT about your hotel.

19 photographs

Grand Hotel National on the lakeside promenade
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The Grand Hotel National marble staircase
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The Sharing Brasserie Juliette dining room and arched windows
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The National indoor pool between its windows
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Ritz Suite
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Junior Suite
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Deluxe Lake View
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Superior City/Lake View
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Classic City/Lake View
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Design Apartment Two Bedrooms
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Design Apartment One Bedroom
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Design Rooftop Junior Suite
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Design Deluxe Lake View
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Design Superior Lake View
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Design Classic Lake View
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The Ritz Suite sitting area with its sofa and armchairs
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The Design Apartment Two Bedrooms dining table and sofa
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The Design Rooftop Junior Suite roof terrace
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National Bar armchairs facing the counter
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