Unfriendly service and noise, noise and more noise
I stayed here for several nights in March. First impressions weren't great. I arrived at the hotel at 2.30pm, and was told by the unsmiling receptionist to 'go away and come back later' as check in wasn't until 4pm. This is frankly ridiculous and I have never encountered this policy at any other hotel I've stayed at, nor such an unhelpful reception. I had just arrived from another time zone where I had woken up at 4.30am to catch a 7 hour flight. I was exhausted and desperate to have a shower and freshen up. I explained this to the receptionist and asked if perhaps there was a free room where I could use the bathroom to do this until my room was available? The receptionist told me there wasn't and proceeded to ignore me. I then asked if I could use the lobby restroom (you'd think she might have suggested this herself). The receptionist handed me a key card and gestured vaguely behind her while looking down at the desk. I struggled to open the door for a few minutes and in the end a passing maintenance person took pity and got it open for me. My feelings on this check-in policy are that the hotel should make it very clear to its guests when they book and that they should also have provisions in place to accommodate weary travellers - for example the hotel lobby is miniscule and there are no newspapers etc. so you can't (and obviously aren't encouraged) to hang around and wait there. The room itself was clean and tidy - the standard of cleanliness was excellent throughout the hotel. I have given two points for the fitness center and free wi-fi, which are major plusses. Other than the woman who checked me in, the other members of reception that I encountered were all courteous. Were it just a case of the initial absence of customer service and unreasonable check-in policy then I would have given a higher score but unfortunately the hotel has a MAJOR, and in my opinion, fatal, flaw. It is unbearably NOISY. The walls in the rooms are incredibly thin and there is a large gap between the door and the door frame with the result that all noise, no matter how innocuous, penetrates the room and makes it impossible to sleep. Each night I heard the plumbing in the room above me (like a jackhammer), the television in the room next door, and the conversations and doors slamming of all the guests walking past in the corridor. It actually felt like they were IN my room. I could even hear the constant ding of the elevator even though it was right down the hall. I was periodically woken up throughout the entire night by all of this and then again by housekeeping first thing in the morning as they made their rounds. It wasn't that people were being overly loud - in a well-insulated hotel you wouldn't hear them. My colleagues were all staying in other rooms on different floors and they had the same problem - one of them asked to be moved to an empty part of the hotel. Having read all the reviews here, it is clear that many other visitors have also experienced this and I can't believe the hotel hasn't done something about it, as I imagine they field a lot of complaints. The whole point of a hotel is to provide a good night's sleep, so although the Lucerne has a great location, the rooms are nice and the wi-fi and fitness center are great, I can't possibly recommend it.