During my Basel city break, I stayed at The Passage. Only open since February of this year, the sleek and minimalist four star hotel served as a conveniently positioned base for exploring the city and a comfy HQ away from home that was well worth returning to.
My room met my approval. The bed was large and with a firm mattress (good pillows too), and I had total blackout darkness whenever I wanted to sleep. The walk-in shower was spacious with ample water pressure from both a handheld head and Rainshower.
There was one pesky feature though: a speaker in the bathroom that was connected to the TV. Every time I turned the set on, this speaker came on too (and fairly loudly at that) and could only be turned down by doing so manually in the bathroom. The first time this happened I was already in bed and it was late at night. It took me awhile to figure out why I couldn’t manage to reduce the volume by remote control and then it took some time to realise where the sound was coming from and then where the switch was to remedy the situation.
Everything else about the hotel was lovely. Each member of staff was friendly and helpful. The fitness room and sauna were fantastic. I even had to do a spot of work while there, one evening in my room and also in the lobby during the afternoon of my last day before heading to the airport. I gladly report there was never any issue with the free WiFi and that both settings were conducive for out-of-office admin and focused writing. All in all, it was easy for me to see why this place has such near perfect TripAdvisor ratings.
From The Passage, it was incredibly easy to go anywhere in or near the city. Most sights (the river, tons of museums, loads of shops, plenty more) were with easy walking distance, and public transport was readily at hand usually just outside the hotel or just a short and pleasant stroll away at the hubs of Marktplatz and Barfüsserplatz. As I mentioned in my introductory post about my visit to Basel, upon arrival at the hotel I was given a free Mobility Ticket which allowed me access to all of the city’s public transportation for the entirety of my stay. And as I understand it, all Basel hotels give Mobility Tickets to all their guests. Travel time between The Passage and the airport by bus took less than half an hour.
I’ll blog more about my weekend in Basel over the next few days. Please stay tuned for more tips on having a Rhein time in this compact city that’s big on culture.
The Passage is located at Steinengraben 51, CH-4051. I loved the place and am happy to recommend it to you. Find out more at thepassage.ch.
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