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Hotel/Restaurant Goldener Schlüssel
by Durant Imboden, Europe for Visitors Bern is a compact city, so hotel location isn't as important as it is would be in Zürich, Geneva, or Vienna. Still, on my most recent trip to Bern, I wanted a hotel in the heart of the medieval center--preferably at a cheap, or at least reasonable, price. I decided to try the Hotel Goldener Schlüssel, which is located in an arcaded passageway on Rathausgasse between the Kornhausplatz and the Catholic church. Since I was traveling alone, I reserved the cheapest possible room: a bathless single for 79 francs a day, including breakfast and taxes. I booked through the hotel's Web site (see page 2) and received confirmation by e-mail the same day. The hotel itself turned out to be a mixed bag. The reception clerk was friendly, but the room was disappointing. The decor was austere, with an open-fronted wardrobe, a simple desk and hardbacked chair, a small TV on a stand (with cable channels, including CNN), and a bed. The view was of a large airshaft that could have been in New York or Chicago, and the hotel laundry was almost directly across the hall. Still, there were two WCs and a shower on the floor, and everything was impeccably clean. The shower even had a liquid soap dispenser. The lobby had something I hadn't seen before: a do-it-yourself key rack. The clerk showed me how to insert my room key with its heavy fob on the appropriate hook, then turn a smaller key above it to lock the room key in place. I could then take the smaller key with me when I left the hotel. Breakfast was the high point of my stay. It was served in the attractive restaurant just off the lobby (see page 2) and consisted of a generous buffet with three kinds of bread, croissants, butter, jams, cornflakes, müesli, juices, and two types of cheese. The chewy, seed-covered Vollkornbrot was my favorite part of the meal, and it almost made up for the dreariness of my admittedly inexpensive room. Verdict: Don't stay at the Hotel Goldener Schlüssel if you're looking for a cozy honeymoon suite, but consider it if you want an unbeatable location and an excellent breakfast in the budget to moderate price category.
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