Budget
Youth Hostel Geneva
A clean well maintained place. Well placed for access to the bars and restaurants of the Paquis, and only a 15-minute walk from the central station. Floors, lockers, and doors, unfortunately, are all fairly loud, and if staying in a shared room, you must bring ear plugs.
City Hostel Geneva
A clean and hassle-free, if somewhat soul-less, hostel located near the budget food haven of Paquis and the central train station.
Cité Universitaire
A huge dorm space with 500 beds, which means that if all else fails you can probably sleep here and it's cheap. It is a bit far out of the old town though, about 2km south on the bluff of Champel, which overlooks the Arve river across from Carouge. Do remember that, because it is not a hotel, the reception closes at 10PM. If you do stay there check out the tower of Champel in the morning.
Hotel Formule 1
Right behind the airport on the French side. Inexpensive but still a good standard since it belongs to the Accor hotel chain.
Hotel de Geneve
5 minute walk from Cornavin Station.4 bus stops away from St. Pierre Cathedral.
Hôtel de la Cloche
This charming, clean, and relatively inexpensive family run bed and breakfast shares its tiny street with the cab stand of the Hilton. It is usually full so do book ahead! Note: telephone numbers and email address are unavailable December 2010 - suspect the hotel is no more.
Midrange
Sagitta
Member of Swiss Quality Hotels International. Three star hotel situated 1km away from the railway station and 200m from the city center. Single room from 163CHF, double room from 213CHF low season of April 2009. www.hotelsagitta.ch www.SwissQualityHotels.com
Hotel Savoy
(http://www.hotel-savoy.net/), place cornavin 8 across from the cornavin train station, +41 22 906 47 00 fax: +41 22 906 47 90. a nice clean recently remodeled place with prices as close to reasonable as one can find in geneva. 135-195chf/165-230chf singles/doubles.
Hotel Lido
(http://www.hotel-lido.ch/...), rue de chantepoulet 8, tel: +41 227315530. close to the train station and outside the red-light district. 160chf in high season.
Mon-Repos
Member of Swiss Quality Hotels International. Three star superior hotel situated 1km away from the railway station and 1.5km from the city center. Single room from 207CHF, double room from 258CHF low season of 2009. www.hmrge.ch www.SwissQualityHotels.com
Hôtel Bel'Espérance
Rue de la vallã©e 1, next to the college du calvin, just off of place bourg de four. +41 22 818 37 37, fax +41 22 818 37 73. (http://www.hotel-bel-espe...) run by the salvation army, the bel'espã©rance is less hotel like than many hotels; they have a little kitchen with small individual refrigerators if you want to cook, and considering how close the hotel is to the wednesday morning farmer's market on blvd helvetique there's a pretty good chance you will want to. you can take your meals on the rooftop terrace or in the big, comfy lounge area. 90/160chf singles/doubles
Residence Studio
Rue de berne 35, next to hotel novotel,infact its part of novotel hotel, +41 22 909 90 00, fax +41 22 909 90 01. (http://www.novotel.com) run by novotel and the cheapest available in geneva center. small room in 125 chf per night excluding tax. the best part is kitchen, with has two hot plates, fridge, and ample crockery. kitchen cost is 100 chf per stay, which means if you stay for two days or two weeks its only 100chf. the sad part is location of studio which is in red light area.
Grand-Pré
Member of Swiss Quality Hotels International. Four star hotel situated 1km away from the railway station and 500m from the city center. Single room from 231CHF, double room from 292CHF low season of April 2009. www.grandpre.ch www.SwissQualityHotels.com
Hôtel-Résidence du Grand-Saconnex
175, route de ferney genã¨ve,ch-1218 grand-saconnex very close to bus stop. (http://www.auberge-gs.ch/...) cheapest available in geneva near airport. variety of rooms available, studio or standard rooms.
Bernina
Member of Swiss Quality Hotels Internationanl. Three star hotel located right next to the railway station in the heart of geneva. The airport is 6km away. Single room from 179CHF, double room from 245CHF as of April 2009. www.bernina-geneva.ch www.SwissQualityHotels.com
Drake & Longchamp
Member of Swiss Quality Hotels International. Three star hotel situated 1km away from the railway station, 500m from the city center and only 5km from the airport. Single room from 180CHF, double room from 234CHF low season of April 2009. www.hdlge.ch www.SwissQualityHotels.com
Hotel Strasbourg
Rue pradier 10, three minutes by foot from the main train station. +42 22 906 58 00, fax +41 22 906 58 14. (http://www.hotelstrasbourg.ch/) run by best western, the hotel is very close to the train station as well as tram and bus lines. the desk staff is very knowledgeable and helpful.
Hotel Residence St.James
(http://www.st-james.ch/), rue du versonnex 3 geneva, 1204 switzerland. the st-james residence is in an elegant district in the centre of town on a street parallel with the river rhone.
Le Montbrillant
(http://www.montbrillant.c...), 2 rue de montbrillant at the north entrance of the main train station, +41 22 733 77 84 fax:+41 22 733 25 11. this lovely hotel is slightly pricier than the average mid-range, but the location can't be beat. if you can, get a room on the top floor under the sloping roof. there are two restaurants downstairs: the cafã© de la gare which has a separate entrance, and a quality pizza joint which adjoins the lobby. both are to be recommended on their own.
There are hundreds of quality mid-range hotels in Geneva. Here are a couple of representative examples.
Top end
Les Armures
(http://www.hotel-les-armu...), 1 rue du puits st-pierre in the center of the old town, up the curved steps from rue de rotiserie, +41 22 310 91 72 fax: +41 22 310 98 46. lovely 17th century building in the old town has hosted recent democratic presidents of the u.s. 360chf+ specials sometimes as low as 290chf for a single..
Beau Rivage
(http://www.beau-rivage.ch/), 13, quai du mont-blanc on the northern border of the lake, +41 022 716 66 66 fax: +41 (022 716 60 60). the interieur of this five star hotel is breath-taking, old european style, beautiful, service is above any doubts, simply high-class, usually you meet there a lot of rich arabian families. reserve best months in advance... 600chf+ .
Swissotel Metropole
(http://www.swissotel.com/...), 34 quai gã©nã©ral guisan on the southern border of the lake, +41 022 318 33 50 fax: +41 (022 318 33 00). five star hotel with nice old ambiance. very kind service, in front of it is a park, may be a nice view, but to see much of the lake or the jet d'eau you should take a room on 3rd level or higher one of the suites. 430chf+ .
Grand Hotel Kempinski
(http://www.kempinski-gene...), 19, quai du mont-blanc, +41 22 908 9081. formerly known as the noga-hilton, this very modern and luxurious hotel is a typical choice for corporate clients. features a mini-mall, health club and conference rooms. prices start at 580chf.
Hotel Carmen
By plainpalais on rue dancet. reportedly excellent in terms of quality, comfort, cleanliness. no pool.
It's almost as hard to pick from the huge selection of luxury hotels in Geneva as it is with the mid-range.. that said there are a couple that stand out for their historical importance or excellent locations.
Des Bergues
(http://www.hoteldesbergues.com), quai des bergues 33 on the river near the old pedestrian bridge, +41 22 908 70 00 fax: +41 22 908 70 90. the oldest of geneva's super-luxury hotels, this palace like space faces the old town from a superb right-bank position just above the pedestrian pont des bergues. a favorite among european royalty. 450chf+ they do run specials. the price can drop as low as 330chf in slow periods, such as over christmas.
There are a lot of hotels in Geneva, but very few of them are actually in anything like the budget range. Hundreds, many right around the central Cornavin train station offer a pretty standard rate of 135CHF per night for a single. If you arrive late and are willing to spend that it makes sense to look at the automated hotel board in the train station to find the nearest vacancy.
It's hardest to find lodging during large international conferences, and trade shows. The latter, of which the prime example is the Salon d'Auto are usually held at Palexpo. It's worthwhile to do a bit of research to see if your arrival is likely to coincide with one of these events.
For lower hotel prices, try the outlying French cities of Annemasse or Gaillard which are conveniently accessible via public transit from Gare Cornavin.