Continental Parkhotel

Beautiful room and bathroom at the front of the hotel. Had large balcony, shared with other rooms (although nobody else used it when we were there). Extremely comfortable room with efficient aircon. Food in the on-site restaurant was excellent, as was the hotel's home-grown/produced wine. Breakfast also great, with loads of choice. Staff polite and helpful. Some noise from passing trains when windows were open, but being near the station was a requirement for us, and this didn't impact our stay.

I booked this hotel mainly because it is near the station and I wanted to travel around the Ticino region by train. I wasn't expecting such a charming property that reflects the grand era of travel of a century ago. Despite its age, it has been very well upgraded and my room was very comfortable, with a balcony view of the garden and its many palm trees. The "Parkhotel" in the name is well merited -- the grounds are substantial and are like an oasis around the building. My stay was only for three nights and I was out and about during the day so I didn't have an opportunity to take advantage of this. Breakfast was well organized and a wide selection was on offer. Based on the listing in Hotels.com, I was under the impression that there was no lift, but there are in fact two lifts, and these can be accessed directly from the ground level without having to climb the stairs to reach the lobby. If I ever come back to Lugano, I would definitely stay here and I'd make time to take advantage of the "park."

Convenient location. Very close to the train station. Beautiful balcony view. Friendly staff. Overall very nice experience.