Darcy G.
Yelp
I have been traveling about once a month to St. Gallen for the past 1.5 years for part-time MBA courses. I am usually there from 3 to 5 nights and Weisses Kreuz is 100% my hotel / hostel of choice for my stays (in fact, I'm even booked for all the dates I know in the next 9 months to make sure I get a room).
Why is it my hotel of choice in St. Gallen? Well, there are a few reasons:
(1) Switzerland (St. Gallen included) is freaking expensive (!!!) and Weisses Kreuz is the cheapest overnight in the city.
(2) it's Clean!!! I have a really big phobia of dirty hotel rooms and am extremely grossed out by any remnants of previous guests in my room. The rooms are very simple, but clean - no old dirty carpeting, only floors they can wash every day and simple white sheets and towels. Don't expect any extra frills (besides the big new flat screen TVs in each room) but it is for sure adequate. Also, they have hair dryers at the front desk if you ask.
(3) Super FRIENDLY and accommodating staff / owners!
I cannot say enough about the staff!
The first time I went there it was August and I was on the top floor. I arrived on a Sunday and when I realized how hot the room was, I asked for a fan (not typical to have a fan or A/C in Europe). The owner's wife actually went home and brought me a fan from their house since all the stores were closed and they didn't have any extras. There was also another time where my room was hot, all the fans were given out, so the owner went and bought another fan during the day to make sure it was in my room when I came home from class.
They have never made me feel like my requests are bothersome or annoying, they just always try to accommodate.
(4) Nice breakfast. The breakfast is simple, but nice. Fresh bread, fresh croissant, yogurt, cereal, meats & cheeses, orange juice and coffee or tea. You can even have a cappuccino or espresso. Nice way to start the day.
Now they negative side:
- Noise: Ground floor is a bar, plus it's on a "party street" in SG: The weekends can be extremely loud, extremely late! If you are a light sleeper or cannot sleep with earplugs in, then I would not recommend staying on Thurs to Saturday night. Although, the rooms facing the backside, if you request one, are a bit quieter, but still not absoutely quiet.
- Toilets are in the hallway (unless you're in the suite). There is one toilet per floor, which is OK since there are max 4 rooms per floor. However, you are sharing a toilet!
- Most rooms do not have a shower, but there is at least 1 room with a shower inside of it. The showers are also one per floor. However, they are separate from the toilet and I've never had a problem with having to wait to shower.
Both are typically very clean and are cleaned once a day. Except, it does depend on who else is sharing these facilities - I've also had "dirty" neighbors too. :-(
- Basic: If you're looking to have a "fancy" room or hotel feel, this is not the place for you. It feels a bit in between a hostel and a hotel.
To summarize, if you're looking to save money on accommodations and aren't looking for anything fancy, then this is the place for you. For the price in the area, it's a great value and I am happy to have found it!