Finding an affordable hotel with a family room in high season in Basel is not easy. We were looking for a comfortable budget hotel for one night, no more, and that Belagra delivered. It's not a hotel to fall in love with but if you're on a budget (with kids) it'll do quite nicely.

The service was very friendly throughout our stay. We arrived a bit earlier than expected as traffic was surprisingly low on our way there. No problem, we were allowed to check in, park our car for free, got a free transportation card for the Basel public transit system for everyone in our family, and were set to go.

We stopped for a late lunch at a bakery around the corner. Must have been the same one the other reviewer mentioned as we really loved it. The walk to the tram station was very close as well and the ride into the centre of Basel took only 10 minutes.

The quad room was rather small once you opened up the sofa-bed but that was what we had expected for the price. The bathroom was definitely on the small side as well but even with the 4 of us it was sufficient.

What we did not expect was the noise level coming in from the streets surrounding the hotel. Closing the window was not really an option either as it was a very warm summer night and the small room got stuffy quickly unless you kept the window open. No AC.

The beds were ok, not super comfortable but I've had worse.

The breakfast room was small but adequate and with a friendly atmosphere - despite renovations going on in an area of the hotel close by. The buffet was very extensive and had something for everyone. Fresh fruit, cold cuts, cheese, several kinds of bread and buns, yoghurt, muesli (of course!) ... We didn't feel hungry again till the afternoon.

My husband & I stayed at the Hotel Balegra in early October 2007 with both of our parents. We were in Basel for 1 night (to fly back to US) after a 10 day trip through Austria, Germany & Switzerland. There was a conference in Basel, so hotel rooms were almost impossible to find. After a lot of searching online, I found 3 hotel rooms at the Hotel Balegra. I travel for work extensively, so I consider myself pretty picky when staying in hotels. The Hotel Balegra is definitely not a place I would generally pick to stay (recall though - no hotel rooms in Basel).

Overall, the Hotel Balegra was OK. The women at the front desk were super nice & helpful. They helped us get to our restaurant, and to the airport with maps, internet printouts, etc... They also gave us free transportation cards for Basel (which was a nice touch).

The room my husband & I stayed in was on the 2nd floor. The room itself was larger than the ones our parents stayed in. It even had a large deck off of it with a door out to it from our room. The deck wasn't "cute" - it was a slab of concrete. But - you could have sat out there (we didn't). The decor of our room was very 80's. The bed, vanity & armoire were all white laquer with gold trim. The room was barely big enough to fit all of that furniture. The bed was terribly uncomfortable, and the pillows were almost non-existent (feather pillows with no bulk to them).

The bathroom was clean - but VERY small. You had to completely get in before closing the door. Then, you kind of had to back out to get out. It worked out for us - but I'm sure larger individuals would have problems.

There is a restaurant on the 1st floor that was very smoky & very loud. On the evening we were there, they had karaoke. You had to shut your windows to ensure the noise was not leaking into your room.

We checked out our parents rooms to compare them to ours. They were both much smaller. The beds barely fit in their rooms. They were much cuter than our room, however, with a more traditional style of furniture (not 80s).

The breakfast area is rather small. We waited for awhile for a table to free up, but instead chose to walk down the street to a cute bakery (with wonderful food & coffee). I would highly recommend the bakery (& Italian grocery store) down at the turnabout. I think our decision to eat breakfast elsewhere was a good one. The breakfast offerings at the hotel were not particularly appetizing. Again, mind you, I'm pretty picky when it comes to hotels.

I wouldn't tell people not to stay here. It is a good budget hotel in what seemed to be a cute, great neighborhood. Our bus ride to the airport was probably 15 mins, and the zoo is nearby.

It definitely was everyone's least favorite hotel of our 10 day stay in Europe, and the cost was the same for all of them.