Introduction
From 1530 to 1792 the city of Solothurn was the seat of the French ambassador to the Swiss Confederation, with which France entertained a primiarily transactional relantionship for the provision of Swiss mercenaries to the French court.
Today, Solothurn has a beautifully preserved old town that is dominated by the baroque cathedral of St. Ursen.
The interior of the church is surprisingly uncluttered.
The old town was once fortified. However, at some point, most of the fortifications were removed as the city started to expand.
The old city gate remains.
The Hotel de La Couronne
The hotel is situated opposite the cathedral and has rooms overlooking the square out front.
It’s a very grand old building.
It has clearly been well maintained.
There were bouquets of flowers on every floor.
The Room
I‘ve been given a room on the fourth floor. Apparently there‘s a party happening on the first floor, so they figured I had the best chances of not hearing anything up on the top floor.
To their credit, the hotel informed me that there might be noise a few days in advance by mail.
The room is simply decorated and spacious.
The small table is decked out with information about Solothurn.
The room also has air conditioning.
Although I always think the old-fashioned way usually works best.
The view from the room is excellent.
The room has tea and coffee making facilities, and the minibar is complimentary.
The bathroom has a walk-in shower. My standard reference of empirical measurement for the quality of a hotel is a) the water pressure in the shower, b) the ability to shower without inadvertently flooding the whole place, and c) if the belt is threaded through the loops of the bathrobes (in cases where bathrobes are provided). There are no bathrobes in my room category, so I guess they had a lucky escape…
So, as far as I‘m concerned, La Couronne scores top points: the water pressure is stupendous and once I‘m done, I step out of the walk-in shower onto pristine dry tiles.
And the toiletries provided by the hotel are from French label L‘Occitane.
Just in case you forget the name of your hotel while sitting on the loo…
… or coming out of the shower.
The Restaurant
The restaurant has a small but varied menu with a good selection of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes. The service is friendly and intimate, which makes for a pleasant dining experience. For dessert, I can highly recommend the Coupe Danmark, which is Switzerland‘s answer to a Dame Blanche.
The breakfast is served in the same restaurant as dinner, and is presented as a lovely and very extensive buffet.
Conclusion
Solothurn was a very pleasant surprise. I knew about the old Baroque church but beyond that, I didn‘t really have any expectations. But it‘s a lovely, vibrant town and definitely worth a visit.
La Couronne is a very nice hotel in an excellent location. It‘s a perfect hotel for a weekend getaway.
I love a good strong shower so water pressure is very important to me too.
You see! I mean, all the amenities are great too, of course. But there’s nothing like a powerful shower to start off the day!
Or, indeed, at the end of the day!
Nice looking Cozy[!] hotel——- the only thing missing is a bath in the room. I Never book one without.
Baths are nice. The only problem is finding one large enough to accommodate me. I either end up with me legs sticking out one end, or my torso getting cold the other end.
Blimey——ive never known anyone who couldnt comfortably fit the average bath!
Is there anything else worth visiting there besides the cathedral?
The town is vibrant and very lively. And it‘s good for hiking.
Sounds like a nice place then.