I stayed there last year. It's a 3-minute walk to the Oerlikon train station. Pretty much industrial/commercial right around the hotel, looks like some residential on the other side of the rail tracks.
Best thing to do is to get a city transit day pass. The local trains (S-bahn), streetcars, and buses are all included on the pass. It's about twice the cost of a one-ride ticket into the city, so it pays for itself very quickly. Ask at the rail/transit ticket counter at ZRH.
http://www.zvv.ch/export/sites/defau...s/TxP_E_09.pdf
It's about a 10 minute ride from the train station into town, so pretty easy to see the city and sights. I went down around the lake and wandered around town. Took in a couple of decent meals and that pretty much did it for a day.