thebestpuppeteer

I am flying into Zurich on the way to St. Moritz. Since I will be carrying my skis and luggage, I was hoping to find a hotel that is VERY close to the main train station and that has a free shuttle from the airport. Do you have any suggestions?

Travelnut

Can't your equipment be forward by train to St Moritz, where you can pick it up at the train station? Then you only need a small bag for your overnight in Zurich. There is at least one hotel directly across the street from the Bahnhof; have to do a bit of research to identify the name. There are a goodly number more within 5-15 minute walking.

Travelnut

Here is some information:

http://www.rail.ch/pv/baggage_e.htm

Travelling easier without luggage
Registered luggage
No more dragging of bags and suitcases

For Swiss domestic travel, you register your luggage until 7 p.m., and you collect it after 9 a.m. on the day after next. This service is provided at each staffed station, but please give heed to the local opening hours. Registering is possible for suitcases and bags weighing not more than 25 kg each.

<b>Skis and snowboards are welcome</b>
We transport skis, snowboards and ski boots in protective covering provided by us.
Luggage registration charges
If the sender has a train ticket, the charge per luggage item is CHF 10.
A pair of skis, a pair of skiboots or a snowboard costs CHF 10.
Into private skibags, several snowboards or several pairs of skis may be packed. Per skibag weighing 25 kg maximum, you pay just CHF 10.

Travelnut

OK, my last post, let someone else join in!

Author: malibu &lt;threadselect.jsp?screen_name=malibu&amp;fid=2& gt;
Date: 08/27/2004, 05:31 pm
Message: <b>Hotel Schweizerhof Zurich</b> is right across from the train station.. and the trains run like clockwork back and forth to the airport.. also a great hotel!

Author: kitty &lt;threadselect.jsp?screen_name=kitty&amp;fid=2&g t;
Date: 08/24/2004, 01:19 pm
Message: We stayed at the <b>Hotel Bristol</b> which is an easy walk to the train station. It was clean and quiet. The tv actually had several English language channels which was better than any other place we stayed in Germany/Austria. I would recommend this hotel and stay there again.

Author: kr &lt;threadselect.jsp?screen_name=kr&amp;fid=2&g t; ([email protected] &lt;mailto:[email protected]&gt
Date: 03/30/2004, 08:33 pm
Message: The <b>Marriott</b> is about a 200 yard walk from the main train station; a cab (to airport) will cost you about 40 US

Cicerone

I agree you should forward your skis and any luggage you won't need in Zurich to St Moritz. Depending on your airline, you may even be able to do this when checking in for your flight in the US (or other departure airport if you are not coming from the US). Take a look at the &quot;fly rail&quot; site mentioned above. I know Swiss Air and Lufthansa permit this for flights from the US, not sure about other US carriers. The best source of info would be Swiss Rail and possibly Swiss Air. The way the program works for flights is that you attach special green luggage tags to each bag which you note with the destination you want the bags sent to. You then just check your luggage in at your departure airport.. That is all you do, no special papers or declarations are needed. When the bags arrive in Zurich, the Swiss customs people look for the green tags, take the bags and put them onto the next Swiss train, and they are taken off at the destination noted on your tag and held in a luggage room at the train station. You walk out bagless from the airport and hop on the train. It can take up to 48 hours for the bags to arrive at your destination, so if you need yours skis or other baggage before that you might rethink it. It generally delivers in 24 hours or less, but not always. You need to buy the tags in the US, you should be able to do it through Swiss Air now, you can also buy them through RailEurope. You pay CH20 for each tag and they mail them to you. You can also buy insurance for a slight extra fee.

The three hotels above would be fine, not sure what your budget is. Run a search here and myself and others have posted suggestions for hotels in various budget ranges. The Marriott also has a shuttle bus to and from the airport, I think it is about US$12, but do check if that interests you. Many other hotels also participate in the hotel shuttle, called Joker Bus (and God alone knows why they would give it such a strange English name!).

There are in fact four train stations in Zurich. There are a number of hotels near the Stadelhofen train station in Zurich, which is in the old town on the right bank. If you are staying a few nights, you might prefer the old town. There are many non-stop trains from Zurich airport to Stadelhofen station. There are also a few hotels near Enge station, but that is not as charming a neighbourhood, IMO.

Cicerone

Sorry, if you can't use the bag service from a US flight, then when you get to the airport train station in Zurich, look for the baggage forwarding service (near the ticket booths) and you can have the luggage forwarded to St Mortiz. It may take up to 48 hours to arrive, so again if you need stuff before that you may want to rethink it.

Cicerone

I keep posting before I mean to:

Hotel Schweizerhof
Bahnhofplatz 7
8023 Zurich
Tel 41 1 218 88 88
Fax 41 1 218 81 81
hotelschweizerhof.com

Another hotel about 300 yards from the main train station and acrross the river in the old town is

Central Plaza
Central 1
8001 Z&uuml;rich
Phone: +41 (0)44 256 56 56
Fax: +41 (0)44 256 56 57
Room Reservations: +41 (0)44 256 56 55
www.central.ch

lfm1955

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