Originally Posted by
escape4
If my evening is expected to end before midnight I would not worry much where I stay because as others mentioned you can reach most places in the city within 20-25 minutes. So whether I am 10 minutes away or 20 minutes away it would not make much of a difference. However if you plan on going out until 2am, public transportation will be mostly finished so you will need a taxi. In that case I would pick a hotel within walking distance of where I am going.
OP mentioned Saturday night.
There is excellent public transportation night network on Friday and Saturday nights (basically, non-stop public transport from Friday early morning till Sunday night) - a small surcharge of 5 CHF applies for those night trains and buses, but it's completely possible to get around (almost) anywhere on Friday and Saturday night. I still agree, though, if you want to party around Langstrasse, Schiffbau, Niederdörfli (the 3 "hotspots for drinks/party etc.) then pick a hotel somewhere within walking distance.