Hotel Federale Lugano

Last June, I stayed in this hotel for the second time in my life (the previous visit was in 1997!). This is a charming hotel in a quiet corner of Lugano. Situated ideally near the train station and within walking distance of the city center, the hotel offers a comfortable home away from home. The staff is super friendly and the hotel, which was founded more than a century ago, breathes tradition and superb experience in hospitality.

I had a wonderful stay at the hotel, and I want to especially thank Giuseppe at the front desk. He was incredibly kind, professional, and always ready to help with a smile. From the moment I arrived, he was super friendly and helpful. He gave great tips about the area, helped me with everything I needed. It really felt like he cared, and that made my stay so much nicer. You don’t always meet people like that in hotels — thank you, Giuseppe!

The 17th FIMBA World MaxiBasketball Championship of Ticino, Switzerland from June 27 until July 6, 2025 is right now! We came from Puerto Rico by plane to Madrid, Spain then to Milan, Italy, and by train to Lugano! The Hotel Federale Lugano is at CITTÁ DI LUGANO, Switzerland! The hotel is a family business ownership that go from generation to generation. One of the owners is the Chef, another one is the Business Manager, and my favorite is their Mom. She is 90 years but every morning we could see her taking care of business, and inspecting everything around her. I can tell that her employees love her too cause almost all of them had worked here for more than 20 years. The best ones are Giuseppe, Front Desk, and Rosa Marcelo, Restaurant Staff. The hotel customer service is great! The food is amazing, great flavor, and different dishes every day. Our Puerto Rico’ champions are 11 teams: Men teams 5 (years are 50 to 54, 54 to 59, 59 to 64 l, 64 to 69, 69 to 74) Women teams are 6 (30 to 34, 34 to 39, 39 to 44, 44 to 49 to 49 to 54, and keep going)! Weeepppaaa Switzerland, thank you for your beautiful views! Your people are amazing also! ||Zaida Gomez-Santana |Puerto Rico

I highly recommend this hotel. The room was clean, quiet, and comfortable. Breakfast was amazing, and the location is excellent. Above all, the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful.||We arrived late at night after a motorcycle accident and a visit to the hospital. Giuseppe went above and beyond to make us feel welcome and cared for. He helped us with our bags, arranged a late checkout so we could rest without stress, and even assisted us in ordering dinner. His kindness made a difficult night much easier, and we’re truly grateful.

We are guests staying here for our honeymoon, and every staff member at the front desk has been incredibly friendly to us. The hotel room is excellent and very clean. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance to enjoy the hotel’s dinner, but we would love to come back and stay again

Hotels in Lugano are very expensive, so on the plus side this place was relatively cheaper than some and is located very close to the main train station. The staff were very friendly and responsive to requests we had. |The downsides are that the decor is getting a bit old/tired and the wifi barely worked in our room for most of our stay, at times disconnecting altogether if not just slow. They really need to install some repeaters. |Breakfast was acceptable. |The air con worked pretty well

Very highly recommended!! The staff are friendly and always smiling and the location is great. Starting my days with their delicious breakfast and cheerful mood was just awesome! I left early in the morning to catch my train and had an issue with my luggage zipper but Giuseppe was there to help me sort things out! Many thanks! I will be back soon.

We had this hotel booked by our travel company, the esteemed Swiss Travel Company as part of a 14 night grand train tour of Switzerland. We travelled everywhere first class and had paid for a luxury trip to celebrate my husband’s 60th birthday. It was his dream trip of a lifetime. Up until this point we had stayed in some super hotels with balconies, stunning views and even a suite. This hotel was radically different. A massive disappointment. ||We arrived at the station after a long Bernina Express bus trip ( would not recommend) and the taxi due to meet us did not show. Fortunately we could see the Hotel Federale from the station so walked it with our cases. ||Check in was polite and efficient but it all went downhill from there! The hotel was incredibly noisy with fans from a basketball tournament staying and lots of shouting in the bar. Our room was small with no decent view. It looked out onto roadworks and a steep street. To sum it up in one word it was just plain BASIC . The tea and coffee facilities were woeful. Instant coffee and odd types of tea. No coffee machine. There were no face cloths in the bathroom. Toiletries consisted of some squirty type hand soap in the shower ( like what you’d find in a public toilet) and a tiny bottle of body lotion. The TV looked old. There was a cigarette butt on the windowsill outside. It was the sort of hotel where you might spend a night before a flight or a long journey. It felt more like a motel. It was not the sort of room where you would want to relax after being out for the day. In contrast we picked up a leaflet from another 3 star hotel in Lugano and the contrast was incredible. I cannot believe two 3 star hotels could be so different. This other one had palatial rooms, lake views and a swimming pool. ||We had dinner included as part of our package. It was very poor. The waitress was very pleasant and quick though. The menu was printed on a piece of paper and there was a choice of two menus. Glad I wasn’t vegetarian or I’d be scuppered! I had a chicken salad which was nice, then a seasonal salad which consisted of shredded lettuce, carrot and red cabbage and was arranged in piles on my plate. No taste. The main course was either veal or prawns. My husband’s veal came with carrot and risotto and looked just like a school dinner. Presentation was atrocious. My prawns were arranged on a big bed of indifferent and oily risotto. The desert was a tiny cup of two ice cream balls on top of a basic fruit salad. We were not at any time offered a drinks or wine menu. Then to top it all the chef came out and started talking to each table of guests to see if they had liked his meal!!!! This was in a dining room with tables closely packed together and a lit like a service station. It was Faulty towers on steroids! When I told the chef we found the food ‘ok but not brilliant’ ( that was me being polite) he looked furious. This guy is obviously pandered to and told he’s good. No, he isn’t. His cooking was dire. So much so, we decided we couldn’t face eating here a second night. Glad we did as the second night’s menu consisted of two mains of either rabbit cubes and mustard or veal and gnocchi - in July! God help you if you are vegan/veggie! Instead we took the funicular into town and had a damn good pizza and bottle of wine! ||On a positive note the breakfast was ok. Cooked options were scrambled ago, bacon and tomato. There were also continental options with sweet offerings. A good standard breakfast. ||If you are visiting Lugano I’d not recommend this hotel at all. For a 3 star it’s very basic and does not deserve its rating. It’s a family run establishment and I think has been doing things the same way for decades. There were no British guests here and it seemed to cater for the retired German market. It had a pally attitude ( with some guests) and I think some guests return year after year getting the same basic experience but for some reason loving it. I really don’t understand why the reviews for this hotel are so good. It’s not a good hotel- period. Don’t believe what you read in these reviews. It’s not good value for money and there are better places to stay in Lugano. Avoid.||I know that the hotel will now defend itself by saying our travel company had asked for a standard room and that is what we got but this room was simply not a 3 star standard and nor was the hotel. There was no attempt to improve when I complained about the room. It does not merit its 3 star rating that’s for sure and the photos I will now post will support this opinion.