Bellpark Hostel
The cheapest legit hostel bed in the Lucerne area, on the Pilatus side of town
A modest, quiet hostel in Kriens, fifteen minutes by bus 1 from Lucerne train station, parked directly on the cogwheel side of Mt. Pilatus. Shared kitchen, snack bar, garden, and a Lidl supermarket two minutes away — the cheapest way to stay near Lucerne without sleeping in a tent.
Bellpark sits on Luzernerstrasse in Kriens, a working-class municipality south of Lucerne where the cogwheel railway up Mt. Pilatus starts. The Hofmatt-Bellpark stop of bus 1 is right outside the door — that's the same bus that runs every six minutes to Lucerne train station, twelve to fifteen minutes away. So you trade Old Town atmosphere for a noticeably lower price tag and direct access to the Pilatus base station.
The building is functional, not pretty. Concrete and timber, fluorescent corridor lighting, IKEA-style dorm beds. But the place is genuinely clean — multiple recent reviews call out kitchen and bathroom hygiene specifically — and the shared lounge is properly cozy with sofas, board games, and the kind of slow-WiFi mornings where backpackers actually talk to each other.
The shared kitchen is the secret weapon. Switzerland is brutal on food costs (a regular sit-down dinner runs CHF 30 minimum), and the Lidl supermarket two minutes from the door is the cheapest grocer in the canton. Cook your own pasta, save fifty francs a day, spend it on the cogwheel ticket up Pilatus.
The rating (7.3 on 1,149 reviews) reflects the trade-off honestly. It's not a party hostel, the dorms aren't fancy, and the location is suburban. But for the price, the kitchen, and the position relative to Pilatus, the numbers add up.
- 01Honest pricing: it doesn't pretend to be fancy, so it doesn't charge fancy money
- 02The kitchen is properly equipped: gas hob, full fridge per dorm, decent pots and knives
- 03Free coin lockers for full luggage even after check-out (rare in Swiss hostels)
- 04Direct walk to Pilatus cogwheel — skip the Old Town tourist crush in the morning
- 05Staff actually warn you about the Visitor Card free transit pass at check-in
- Cheapest hostel bed in greater Lucerne by ten to fifteen francs per night
- Bus 1 outside the door to the train station every six minutes (12 minute ride)
- Walking distance to the Pilatus cogwheel base station in Kriens
- Shared kitchen + Lidl two minutes away — the only realistic way to eat cheap in Switzerland
“Good value for money. 10 minute walk to Mount Pilatus, 2 minute walk to Lidl, kitchen facilities, kettle, tea bags, luggage storage all sorted. Clean, simple, exactly what you need.”
“Very easy to find and very near to bus station. There is supermarket nearby, kitchen is well kept and super clean. Wonderful staff who actually warned us about the free transit card.”
“I liked the lounge — comfortable and cozy. Very nice staff. They let me use the coin locker for my luggage even after check-out, which saved my afternoon at Pilatus.”
- Hofmatt-Bellpark bus stop (line 1)30 m
- Lidl supermarket160 m
- Pilatus cogwheel base station800 m
- Lucerne train station (bus 1)4.5 km
- Old Town & Chapel Bridge5.0 km
- Lake Lucerne (Tribschen)4.8 km
