zurich hotel
 

we are looking for a hotel for ourselves and our 2 22 yr old sons for a Saturday night in june. i want to be able to walk to the old town. Quiet room plus a/c are desired.
hotel adler is booked. a large room for 4 wld be fine as we leave early in the morning.

any suggestions?
i looked at the seegarten but not a/c. does the st. josef have a/c?

Hi alainr,

Its site doesn't mention a/c, and in fact very few hotels in Switzerland in general offer a/c. You may have to look at the business-type hotels or 4- or 5- star hotels to find it.

Also, you ought to know that most hotels charge per person, so your savings of four adults in one room will not be huge.

Curious about why you tagged this post as "France"?

s

Let's hope it was a "misclick."

Just wanted to add --

I've heard folks on this board have some luck bidding on Priceline and getting the Marriott, which I do think has a/c. You may have to bid twice for two rooms though, as I don't know if you can bid for a four-occupancy. You may be able to, I just don't know.

Anyway, good luck!

s

I think you will be hard-pressed to find a hotel room in Zurich that is large enough to hold four people AND which has air-conditioning. While you may find some “family rooms” in three star hotels which could take 4 people, these are unlikely IMO to have air-con. (I don’t believe that the Alder has air conditioning, by the way, the "cooling system" they have is not air con.) You are also going to pay more for a hotel with air-con. Generally in June you would not need it, but on a Saturday night in the old town, you might want to have it for nothing else than to keep out the noise. (However, for the four years I live in the old town of Zurich, two of our Junes were brutally hot and I did wish I had air-conditioning; but of course typically temps should be quite pleasant. But noise on Saturday night in the old town can be an issue, the Swiss like a good party in the summer.)

For hotels in the old town area which I know or which I am pretty sure have air con, see below. To the best of my knowledge, none of these hotels have rooms which would hold 4 people however, but do ask, and you have to be sure to ask about room size, as some of them would not be comfortable for 3 people, and even some of them like the Storchen have pretty small rooms for 2 people.

The Marriott does have air con, but rooms would not take 4 people as far as I know. It is quite close to the old town areas so is a perfectly fine location, its also quite an easy walk to the main train station. You might try for it on Priceline. Also places like the Park Hyatt has air con, if you don’t mind paying for it, and while not in the old town area, is near the lake and is easy to reach by tram or on foot. Zurich is very small. The Sheraton Neues Schloss is quite near the Park Hyatt and would also have air con. For the Hyatt and the Sheraton you would want to use the Enge train station from the airport, not the main train station. If you end up there let me know and I can give you walking directions from the train station, it is not far. For most of the ones below you want to use the Zurich Stadelhofen train station, as they are closer than the main station. Let me know and I can post directions.

Hotel Helmhaus
Schifflände 30
8001 Zürich
tel: 41-1 251 88 10
fax: 41-1 251-0403
http://www.helmhaus.ch

4 star in the Oberdorf area, very close to the Grossmunster and several very good restaurants, a block in from the river and about a block to the lake. They have air-conditioning. A very good location for sightseeing, shopping and eating. A fairly modest hotel for a 4 star, but I include it because of its very good location in the old town and the air-conditioning.

Hotel Opera
Dufourstrasse 5
8008 Zürich
Tel: 44 258 99 99
http://www.operahotel.ch

4 star. Quite a nice hotel with an excellent restaurant. Just behind the Opera House and about a block to the lake. Not in the old town, but quickly walkable to it, and to a major tram stop. They have air conditioning.

Hotel St Gotthard
Bahnhofstrasse 87
tel: 41 44 1 227 77 0
fax: 41 44 1 227 77 50
http://www.summithotels.com

4 Stars. This is one block from the main train station, and right on the Bahnofstrasse, the main shopping street in town. This is not the old town, but you can walk to that area in moments, and Bahnofstrasse is the main street in Zurich and is a very pretty tree-lined street of banks, shops and bustle (but no cars, just rams). I have not seen the rooms, but love the bar, restaurant and public areas. They have air-conditioning. Take a look at the website for all their hotels, including the Zum Storchen, mentioned below, as those may work as well. The Ascot in the Enge area may also be a good choice (and has air con), although not in the old town. It is not far from the Park Hyatt.

Central Plaza
Central 1
8001 Zürich
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

Nice hotel on the river in a great location for sightseeing, shopping restaurants and business in Zurich. My only comment is that it faces one of the major tram intersections in Zurich, as well as a bridge and a generally busy street. This may be a noise issue. Of course, this is Zurich so "traffic" is a relative term. You might want to ask for a high floor, or a courtyard. A high floor room would also have better views, including good lake views and on a clear day, Alp views. I am fairly positive that they have air-conditioning, but do check. If that is the case, then the noise would be reduced considerably.

Steigenberger Bellerive au Lac
Utoquai 47
8008 Zürich
Phone: +41 (0) 1 / 2 54 40-00
Fax: +41 (0) 1 / 2 54 40-01
www.zuerich.steigenberger.ch

Upscale hotel in a good location on the lake (across the street), a little bit out of the old town area, but certainly walkable from there, its about 3 blocks. Some of the rooms have balconies. Rooms facing the busy main street would have very good lake views. If you choose this hotel, ask for a room on as high a floor as available, or on a side street room to avoid the busy street which fronts the hotel (of course no views from side street rooms). I believe but am not positive, that they may have air-conditioning; this would also help with street noise.

Hotel Zum Storchen
Am Weinplatz
Zurich, Switzerland, 8022
Tel: 41 1 227 2727
Fax: 41 1 227 2700
http://www.summithotels.com

This is probably my favourite hotel in Zurich because I love its location (right on the river in the old town, good Alp views on a clear day) and charm. This would be quiet at night due to their river location. They have a lovely outdoor terrace for meals, and their restaurant is one of the best in town. This is owned by the same group which owns the St Gotthard. Some of their rooms can be very small, so ask about room size. Others are great with balconies (and prices to match). They have air-conditioning.

May be the mysterious Zurich hotel described in "L'Allumette" from the novel "Les Contes du matin" by Charles-Louis Philippe would give you chills ...