The 2 Best Luxury Hotels in Bern
Hand-picked in Bern: our selection of 5-star hotels starts at the Bellevue Palace and reaches to the Hotel Schweizerhof. Every suitespot booking comes with free breakfast for 2, a room upgrade subject to availability, hotel credit and VIP service – benefits worth over €500.
The best-known hotels in Bern
These are the addresses in Bern is known for – in the order our travel advisors recommend them. Where each one stands and what it costs is right beside it. At the top of our recommendation: the Bellevue Palace Bern.
| Hotel | Location | suitespot score | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellevue Palace Bern | Inner city | ★ 4.5/5 | 453 € |
| Hotel Schweizerhof Bern | City centre | ★ 4.4/5 | 375 € |
Your guide to the best luxury hotels in Bern
Bellevue Palace Bern · Inner cityFor this guide we have put together the best hotels in Bern: two luxury hotels – and they are so different that the choice is easier than it would be with ten.At no extra cost: booking through suitespot costs the same as booking direct with the hotel – the benefits come on top, free of charge.
Two luxury hotels in Bern – how to choose
The two luxury hotels in Bern are the Hotel Schweizerhof at 375 € a night and the Bellevue Palace at 453 €. 78 € separate them.
Hotel Schweizerhof Bern · City centreBoth include breakfast for two, a room upgrade subject to availability and early check-in along with late check-out. In both the benefits apply from the first night, and both belong to the Leaders Club.
Everything else the two hotels have divided neatly between them.
Our travel advisors’ insider tip
In Bern the two hotels do not compete – they divide the work. Each has exactly what the other lacks.
The Bellevue Palace brings the view and the money:
• a hotel credit of 100 US dollars for food and drink
• a welcome gift
• categories whose names explicitly say Aare and Alps – the hotel stands on the terrace above the river
The Hotel Schweizerhof brings the space:
• the four largest units in the city – 130, 120, 100 and 95 square metres
• seven suites across ten categories
And it is the less expensive of the two. So here the price ladder runs against the size ladder: the more expensive hotel has the smaller units – its largest suite measures 77 square metres, a little over half the largest at the Schweizerhof.
One point to note: at the Hotel Schweizerhof the Leaders Club points only come if the membership number is given at the time of booking. Adding it afterwards is not provided for.
Our advice: tell us whether you are two or more. For two the Bellevue Palace almost always wins, because a view and a credit are worth more to two people than floor area is. From three people on, or with children, the Schweizerhof wins – and in that case please send us your Leaders Club number with the booking.
Where to stay in Bern: above the Aare or in the middle of the old town
Both hotels stand in the old town, a few minutes’ walk apart. Bern is small: from the station to the bear park at the far end of the loop is half an hour on foot, and everything worth seeing lies along that walk.
The difference is which way they face.
The Bellevue Palace stands at the southern edge of the old town, where the ground drops away to the Aare. Beyond the river the land rises again, and in clear air the Bernese Alps stand behind it – Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Our recommendation for anyone who wants to look out of the window in the morning rather than having to go outside first.
The Hotel Schweizerhof stands at the northern edge, right by the station. Our recommendation for anyone arriving by train, planning a day in the mountains, or travelling with luggage for several people.
Between the two lies what makes Bern: six kilometres of arcades – the longest covered shopping promenade in Europe – the Zytglogge with its moving figures, the minster with the tallest church spire in Switzerland, and eleven sixteenth-century fountains.
For orientation: Bern station sits on every major Swiss line – Zurich, Basel and Lucerne are about an hour away, Interlaken less than that, and Zurich airport a good hour and a half.
Rooms and suites: the best hotels in Bern from the inside
The best hotels in Bern offer 18 categories between them, and eleven of those are suites. So Bern has more suites than rooms – with only two hotels that is unusually pronounced.
The Hotel Schweizerhof holds the larger share: seven suites across ten categories. Its ladder starts at the Charming Room with 28 square metres, runs through the Boutique Room at 38 and the Boutique Suite at 48 and 60, and climbs on: Signature Suite 95, Family Two Bedroom Suite 100, Presidential Suite 120 – and at the top the Family Three Bedroom Suite at 130 square metres, the largest unit in the city.
At the Bellevue Palace it is four suites across eight categories. The largest is the Tower Suite at 77 square metres, below it a Deluxe Suite at 57 and two more at 45 each.
On the view the matter is clear-cut: only the Bellevue Palace lists view categories at all, and in three of the four the Aare appears in the name. That is this hotel’s motif – the river twenty metres below the terrace, and behind it, weather permitting, the mountain chain.
Tell our travel advisors how many of you there are. In Bern that settles the question entirely – the view for two, the floor area for more.
What a night in a luxury hotel in Bern costs
A night in a luxury hotel in Bern costs between 375 € and 453 €. The median price across the two hotels is 414 €.
| Luxury hotel | From | suitespot benefits from |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Schweizerhof Bern | 375 € | 1st night |
| Bellevue Palace Bern | 453 € | 1st night |
In both hotels the benefits apply from the first night. That makes Bern work for a single stopover too – which happens often here, because the city lies on the way into the Bernese Oberland.
When it is at its best: from May to June and in September. The city sits by the Aare in the evening then, the arcades are cool, and in the mountains the snow has either just gone or has not yet arrived.
When the locals get into the river: in July and August. Half the city lets the Aare carry it through the loop in the afternoon – a habit no other European capital has.
When the old town looks best: in December. The Christmas markets sit by the minster and on the Waisenhausplatz under the arcades, and the sandstone looks in snow the way it is meant to.
When to book early: for the Zibelemärit at the end of November, during sessions of parliament, and in December. With two hotels the city is full instantly – that is the sentence that counts most in Bern.
How long to stay: two nights. One for the old town, the minster and the Zentrum Paul Klee – and one for a day on Lake Thun or up the Gurten.
You earn points and status in both hotels through the Leaders Club. At the Hotel Schweizerhof that comes with a condition: the membership number has to be given at the time of booking.
And whatever the date: you get the suitespot benefits in the quietest week of the year just as you do in the busiest.
The Aare, hotel credit and exclusive services in a 5-star hotel
The Aare is why Bern looks the way it does. The river loops around the old town, and because that loop protected it on three sides, the city never had to break out – it grew inwards, into arcades and courtyards. The old town has been a World Heritage site since 1983.
Personal luxury travel adviceOur travel advisors personally accompany your booking – 365 days a year, from the first offer to late check-out. Reach the suitespot VIP service via email or WhatsApp.Phone: +49 30 81452346 · hotel@suitespot.comTo see it, go onto the Untertorbrücke or up to the Rosengarten above the bear park: from there you see the whole loop at once, the roofs, the minster spire – and when the föhn blows, the Alps behind it.
The hotel credit is meant for the evenings, and in Bern exactly one hotel brings one: at the Bellevue Palace you get 100 US dollars for food and drink. In a city where dinner is among the most expensive in Europe, that is a solid item – and you redeem it where breakfast is served too, in the restaurant VUE, with the view it is named after.
What our travel advisors arrange most often beyond that: the early check-in – both hotels grant it, and anyone arriving in the morning from Zurich or Basel gains half a day – and the train into the Oberland, because Interlaken is closer to Bern than any airport is.
And then there are the things that always come with both hotels: the room upgrade subject to availability, the late check-out and breakfast for two.
The hotels in Bern at a glance
What sets the hotels in Bern apart – from their opening year to the spa:
| Hotel | Opened | Renovated | Spa | Michelin Keys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellevue Palace Bern | 1865 | 2002 | – | 2 Keys |
| Hotel Schweizerhof Bern | 1859 | 2011 | ✓ | 1 Key |
Earn points & use your status in Bern
The properties in Bern share a single loyalty program. Your booking counts within it as usual – a direct rate with points, elite nights and your status benefits, plus what suitespot adds. Most properties in this selection earn with Leaders Club.
At no extra cost: you pay the same rate as booking direct with the hotel – the suitespot benefits come on top, free of charge.
| Program | Hotels | Examples in Bern |
|---|---|---|
| Leaders Club | 2 hotels | Bellevue Palace Bern, Hotel Schweizerhof Bern |
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Frequently asked questions about luxury hotels in Bern
How many luxury hotels in Bern does suitespot work with?
We work with two luxury hotels in Bern – the Bellevue Palace above the Aare and the Hotel Schweizerhof by the station, both in the old town.
What does a luxury hotel in Bern cost per night?
Between 375 € and 453 €. The median price across the two hotels is 414 € a night.
Which is the best hotel in Bern?
That depends on how many of you there are. For the view of the Aare and the Alps plus a hotel credit of 100 US dollars, the Bellevue Palace. For space, the Hotel Schweizerhof – it carries the four largest units in the city, up to 130 square metres, and is the less expensive of the two.
Where is the best place to stay in Bern?
In the old town – both hotels are there, a few minutes’ walk apart. The difference is the direction: the Bellevue Palace on the southern edge above the Aare, the Schweizerhof on the northern edge by the station.
Is there a minimum stay in Bern?
No. In both hotels the suitespot benefits apply from the first night – including a single stopover.
How high is the hotel credit in Bern?
At the Bellevue Palace it is 100 US dollars for food and drink, redeemable among other places in the restaurant VUE.
Can you earn points and status in Bern?
Yes, in both hotels through the Leaders Club. At the Hotel Schweizerhof there is a condition: the membership number has to be given at the time of booking.
When is the best time to visit Bern?
It is at its best from May to June and in September. In July and August half the city lets the Aare carry it downstream, and in December the Christmas markets sit under the arcades. Book early for the Zibelemärit at the end of November.
Which is the most expensive hotel in Bern?
The most expensive hotel in Bern is Bellevue Palace Bern, with rates from 452 € a night. Hotel Schweizerhof Bern has the lowest entry price at 374 €.
