Concerto

What about the other Hilton in Zurich, which I believe is relatively new? They seem to have better rates. I suspect it is also out of town, but I was wondering if there was any feedback about it yet.

est-gratuite

It's called the "Hilton Garden Inn Zurich Limmattal"
https://hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com/...PGI/index.html

It hasn't opened yet...first reservations start 31 March 2019.

The location looks awful....10 miles (15km) west of Zurich, in the middle of nowhere off the motorway/highway in a place called "Spreitenbach".

From what I can see the only way to get there is by car, as there is no train station anywhere nearby....God knows what Hilton was thinking when they decided to put a new hotel in this way out of town area.

escape4

Well the hotel you are referring to is a Hilton Garden Inn not Hilton so although it's a newer property it won't give you the same level of services, for example no executive lounge. I have not stayed at HGI Zurich Limmattal myself, but what I can say about the location of the HGI is that even though it's out of the city, it's not going to take you longer to make it to city center from there compared to the Hilton at the airport. HGI is 3km from the Dietikon train station which is a major satellite station in the greater Zurich area and you can go direct from Dietikon to Zurich HB in 10 minutes. The bus ride from HGI to Dietikon is 7 minutes so you can be in city center in less than 30 minutes.

The problem with Hilton is that there is no bus or train station very close by foot so if you walk it will take you quite a bit of time, and if you take the hotel shuttle then fine but you are limited to their schedule so it's less flexible.

So for access to city center, I would pick HGI rather than Hilton despite HGI being in Aargau canton, not even in Zurich. There is also far more around the HGI (shopping mall, restaurants) whereas Hilton is in an isolated area.

est-gratuite

The Hilton Garden inn is not in the Zurich 110 central public transport zone. You will have to pay for 2 or 3 transport zones to get there. Add payment for 1 more zone on top of the others if you're connecting to/from the airport. Also, you will be at the mercy of the bus schedule going the long 3km from the hotel to/from Dietkon station. I very much doubt that bus will pass frequently like the Zurich trams that pass every 5 minutes. Also, if that bus isn't part of the Zurich transport network, you'll pay extra for that too.

The whole location/public transport setup of this new HGI sounds expensive and inconvenient...especially if you don't have car and are carrying luggage.


I don't understand why Hilton doesn't have at least 1 semi central hotel in Zurich.

escape4

Sorry but I need to correct some misinformation here. The city bus from HGI (#303) runs every 15 minutes, which is better than the frequency of the hotel shuttle from Hilton which I am not sure what it is nowadays, but it's never been so frequent.

Cost from HGI to Zurich HB is 8.80 CHF one-way, versus 6.80 CHF from the airport. But Hilton now charges for their shuttle if I am not mistaken (?), so 6.80 CHF plus Hilton charge, that means overall it is cheaper from HGI.

est-gratuite

Bus 303 runs only twice an hour on sundays.
Also...are you sure you don't pay extra for the bus ? It is still part of the same Zurich ticket zone/ travel network as the train ?

You can get a whole city-wide 24 hour unlimited travel ticket for the same price if you are anywhere in the central 110 travel zone of Zurich. It's a very large area. The HGI is way outside this area.

You only pay for the airport shuttle when returning from the Hilton to the airport. (It's free from airport to hotel) so it still works out cheaper (transport costs-wise) to stay at the Hilton at the airport.

escape4

How much does Hilton charge for the shuttle? I cannot imagine that it would be less than 4 CHF? And how often is the Hilton shuttle on Sundays?

You can check sbb.ch if you doubt what I say regarding costs

florens

:D!

The Hilton shuttle is 5 francs but there is no "day ticket".

Kloten Balsberg train stop is not so convenient because of the infrequent service and it is often delayed due to a single-track section beyond the station. You might as well take buses 735, 759 and 768 which stop at "Kloten Balsberg Hardacher" and go to the airport where you can get more frequent trains. Unless trams 10/12 from Kloten Balsberg get you where you want to go (you can take them to the city but it takes 40 mins - however sometimes it's more convenient to just go directly).

The HGI is in zone 184, and involves passing through zone 154 to get to zone 110. So you need a 4-zone 24-hour ticket if you are playing by the rules. If you are also going to the airport you need a 5th zone (or at least a 2-zone single + 4-zone 24h). A 24h ticket is the price of two singles so it is always worth it if you travel more than once.

When in Zurich I usually have an all-zones 9 o'clock ticket at CHF 26 which would be valid to either hotel.

as219

A brief trip report...

After a week of meetings in Geneva and Zurich, I stayed for the weekend to see the city on my dime, moving to the Hilton Zurich Airport after checking out of the St. Gotthard. Frankly, after six nights in $500+ hotel rooms that made my tiny NYC apartment look palatial, it was a pleasure to move over to the Hilton. I was upgraded to a family suite, but on request was "downgraded" to a relaxation room. (I preferred a whirlpool bath to more space I couldn't use.) The room was spacious and comfortable, with a large work area that I wish I had had earlier in the week! My only complaint here was that the outlets by the sides of the bed were connected to the master power switch, so if you turned off all the lights, it turned off the outlet too! Strange. Breakfast buffet, comped for Diamonds, was plentiful and tasty, though service was a little off. Dramatic views made up for it! I also appreciated the EL. One night, when I got back late, the mediocre food offered for dinner (meat and bread dumplings?!?) was a perfectly good substitute for the super-expensive food at the restaurant. Some decent booze was available as well. (That said, one night I had steak tartare at the restaurant, which was delicious if expensive. They even made me a dry martini the way I like it!) I had no problem walking from the hotel to the train station, but I can see that it might be difficult with luggage.

I wouldn't hesitate to stay again, though the distance from Zurich is annoying...too far to go back and forth more than once IMO.

adpucci

FYI, in case you fancy ever going back and avoiding this issue, there is one power outlet oon the desk which is always on - I can't remember how it's marked but it has some writing on it to identify it as being not connected to the rest of the circuit.

as219

I did use this one, actually. The problem is that I needed an outlet by the bed for my CPAP machine...

deuce1

Three night stay last week. I arrived via an ICE train to Zurich HBF, and took a train to the airport, then shuttle to the hotel. Left via the airport shuttle upon check out. I was not charged any shuttle fee either time.

I used the S-7 train to get in and out of Zurich. It is a 12-15 min walk to the station, but very easy in and out. I found it to be convenient and I was into central Zurich within 30 min of leaving the hotel. There's a train into Zurich twice an hour (:26/:56) and same for going back to the hotel (:19/:49).

As a Diamond, I was given a two-room suite, and the bed was comfortable enough. Bathroom was on the smaller side.

Breakfast choice of the restaurant or lounge. The restaurant has many more choices for breakfast, and would recommend that over the lounge. The lounge was nice, and never crowded, but it did seem like choices were very limited. I did eat dinner one night in the hotel restaurant, which was tasty, but expensive (it is Zurich after all).

I would not hesitate to stay again.

flybyFIRE

Does anyone remember the hours for the evening service in the lounge?

:D!

1800-2030