Nash Carlton Hotel

In July 2008 we spent two nights in Lausanne. Due to the annual Jazz Festival in nearby Montreux, accommodation was hard to find, and we had to stay in a different hotel each night.

On our second night we stayed at the Nash Carlton Hotel, which was located halfway between the train station and Ouchy. It is a 4 star hotel with a fairly upmarket feel to it. We managed to get a very good price for our one night stay - possibly because it was a Friday night and the hotel seemed like it may cater to a lot of business people during the week.

The location of the hotel may not be ideal for some as it is a little isolated - but that said it is only a ten minute walk to the lake or the station, or a very short bus ride to either. The young lady who checked us in was friendly, though the fellow who dealt with our checkout seemed to have gotten out of the wrong side of the bed, such was his scowly face.

When we arrived, the first (non-smoking) room we were given stunk of cigar smoke. I went straight down to reception and requested another room, and thankfully they were able to give us another immediately which was blissfully stink-free.

Unique Quality: The décor in the rooms is a bit OTT. The walls in the two rooms we saw were covered with blue and white fabric with various pictures and patterns. The bed cover was made from the same material, while the carpet was a darker blue. We felt the room had too much furniture and it was difficult to find room to open our suitcases. The bathroom was nice and there was a small balcony. There were two complimentary bottles of water in the (otherwise empty) minibar.

There was free wifi in the room, but as we don't travel with a laptop we asked at reception if there was a computer we could use. Apparently there was one in the business centre, but they could only sell us a "1 hour access card" for CHF 25. Too rich for our blood.

Breakfast wasn't included in our room price, and we decided against the pricy buffet and just had a quick breakfast at the train station, before jumping on the train to Geneva.

Directions: Located halfway between the main train station and the lake