RTWSTARALLIANCE

I have been trying to get my wife to the PH ZRH for the last few years. It looks like we are a go for next week. As the weather will be cold looking for some indoor ideas. Can we get comments on things in the general area of the Hotel like museums/exhibitions? In the past have already asked about day train trips. Also asked in the Europe forum. We will get zurich cards each so ideas off that appreciated. Is Zermatt worth a one night stay? Looks like five hours by rail. Any and all ideas appreciated. Thanks.

speedytimmy

Zermatt is 3:14 from Zurich main station (see www.sbb.ch for train times). If you haven't been, the town of Zermatt is very cool and the train ride is quite scenic. Look into buying a Swiss Transfer Ticket - it'll definitely give you significant saving to Zermatt - the first class option I would say is worth getting. One night stays during ski season might be hard to come by given a lot of people head there for week long stays. Coeur des Alpes is my favorite spot to stay - why can't they make that a Hyatt property?

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Thank you. Please expand. I assume a transfer ticket is if you were coming off a flight and trying to make a connection via train to Zermatt. Sounds like it might be a solid day trip out of ZRH for us. Thanks.

speedytimmy

It is just in the name - no direct transfer from flight to train assumed - is really just a cheap roundtrip ticket from wherever to wherever, but believe it has to be purchased before arrival in Switzerland (you then just assign the destinations and dates as you feel free) - link here:

http://www.raileurope.com/rail-ticke...d-pricing.html

The first class option for only $66 more (than 2nd class) return for what would be at a minimum 6:28 to Zermatt and back seems a great deal.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Thank you. A little more homework.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Can a SIM card for use in the country be purchased at ZRH airport? Any ideas for a SIM card appreciated. Thanks.

LilZeppelin

1. Uetliberg accessible with a city tram is a nice area on the outskirts of the city that has an observation tower (just a short walk up the hill from terminal stop) with a wonderful view of Zurich and surrounding areas, also one can do sledging there. Going there makes for a nice escape from the city (I think tram runs twice an hour).

2. Zurich card entitles you to a boat ride on Lake Zurich which runs several times a day in winter. It's a roundtrip ride of about 1.5 hr in length and starts from nearby the Park Hyatt Zurich. (one of the stops on the lake is where Lindt Factory is; although it is not too far from city center without a boat...).

3. free access to Kunsthaus, maybe the largest and best known museum (audio guide is so and so though). We also enjoyed Museum für Gestaltung (Design Museum) which has temp exhibits but is in a very modernist bldng of the early 20th c.

4. Winterthur, a 20 min ride is a suburb full of museums, including some good Photography ones. However, it is beyond the Zurich Card limits and one needs to pay a supplement.

RS250Racer

Well I am here at the PHZ now and this kind of sums up my feelings.

As a Diamond there was no room upgrade, in fact I must be in the smallest room they have tucked at the very end of a corridor far from the elevator.

No Diamond amenity that I am aware of, although there was a small bag of some type of confectionery next to a welcome letter. Fresh fruit is included with all rooms according to the hotel brochure.

I ordered some eggs at breakfast, maybe somebody called in sick, I have had better eggs on an airplane, I am surprised they served it! The rest of the buffet is nice and from here on out I will stick with that. Service is fine but cold and mechanical.

I have stayed at a number of PH's around the world with the last being in Istanbul which I am now using as the benchmark to judge others, and the PH Zurich, while a fine hotel so far as I can tell is maybe more of a Grand Hyatt (GH Berlin is more Park like than this place!).

So a perfectly fine Hyatt but does not feel particularly special or especially welcoming and if my experience is any indication, do not expect *anything* special if you are a Diamond!

Glad I used FFN's here....or am I?

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Lil. Thanks for the ideas and esp the boat ride info. We will have a nice time.

Thanks for the comment on the Hotel. Hope we get a better stay in.

bostontraveler

Not sure I would agree with your opinion that the Park Hyatt Zurich as anything less than a Park Hyatt. It's an outstanding property.
As for "cold" service, you're correct on this point especially in the restaurant/bar/cafes. You're in Switzerland though... The Swiss are reserved and it's a business hotel to boot. Culturally they try to be respectful and not to be intrusive.
The scrambled eggs can vary but have you tried the pastries... the breakfast is quite a spread.
Agreed on the Diamond Upgrade...they do only upgrade one room and yes, nothing really special if you're a Diamond except a welcome greeting from the guest services manager. Again, it's Switzerland... they have studied the Gold Passport rules and when it's one category..it's one category.

The amenity is fresh fruit, water and some chocolate from Sprungli.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Well my wife did not cancel but the weather did us in.

Given some nice options by UA so we will be back in the spring before our NBT nights expire. Thanks for all the info.

FD1971

First of all, they do not have any small rooms.

Additionally, the small bag of some type of confectionary is actually the Diamond Amenity, the bag I received during my last stay retailed at CHF 10.50, so ~ USD 10, quite expensive 'free' gift and significantly more than some other hotels offer.

Fresh fruit and water, replenished daily is standard for some Park Hyatt properties, among them Zurich.

Service in Switzerland, especially at the peak of the lodging industry is supposed to be cold, unemotional and perfect and the vast majority of employees perform like this.

PH IST is a very nice hotel, but not nearly as well organised as the PH Zurich, although I def. agree that the average 'slightly upgraded room at the PH IST offers more amenities than an Executive King at the PH Zurich.

Rooms, albeit spacious and full of high quality furniture items are not really outstanding...

Shareholder

Agree, I had no complaints about my NBT award night there earlier this month. I was checked in efficiently and greeted warmly -- for the Swiss. I was walked to my room and have no complaints that I was not upgraded to a suite or something more "magnificent". I had a high room with a view of the street, but so what? It met all my needs for the two-night stay. I found the fudge tasty and tempting. I received a small bowl and a small bag to take home, which I did and which I am still resisting a binge on. There was fruit and water, and I nibbled on the fruit in the early morning hours as my China-time zoned body rebelled against sleep and I tried to find some interesting things to watch on TV. There was plenty to satisfy my breakfast appetite (which were I not a Diamond would have set me back over $50 a shot) and I did not find the eggs particularly distasteful...I've had a lot worse in other 5-star properties. Service was efficient and quite different from what I had just experienced at the PH in Shanghai, but that's Asia, this is uber chill Switzerland.

(Yes, the rooms are certainly not the architectural/Monicle designer types I had at both Hyatts in Shanghai, but for the local culture, and the period when it was built, quite appropriate and more than acceptable.)

I found the hotel conveniently located , a block from the #13 tram line which can be caught outside the Hauptbaunhof (hang a left out the main entrance for the tram stand) where the train from the airport lands us. The train ticket includes a free transfer to the tram or other public transit in the city. For my sightseeing, I ended up walking into the main shopping street, then up to the station and over to the national museum and various art galleries further into the old manufacturing section of the city. I could have taken the #13 tram, but enjoyed the walking and exercise it afforded. (A pitstop was made at the nearby Nespresso shop, but unlike the ones elsewhere in the world, copping a free cup of java was not permitted! Maybe they've caught on to the routine. However, there was a cafe that was more than willing to sell me a cup and some pastries.)

Heading back to the airport on an early Sunday morning was a breeze, with an efficient check out and walk up to the tram stop. After a few minutes the #13 arrived and I used my return rail ticket to ride to the station (ensuring I time-stamped it at the tram stop kiosk). A quick check of the schedule board showed the next train to ZRH was departing from platform 10 in three minutes, so a quick stroll got me onto the train and off for a 15-minute ride to the station with hardly a huff or a puff.

In short, a very efficient if not cold stay at the Hyatt. (Cold because it was about -6C and snowy...but coldly efficient as one would expect.)

Frequent_Flyer1

Is it correct to assume based on all reports here, that Diamonds usually get a "Park Executive Room"? Just asking because I'll try to burn my last FFN here at the end of March.

By the way, does anybody know when breakfast starts being served? I've quite an early start (train from main station leaves at 06:32) and a long day ahead, so breakfast would be much appreciated. Or do I also have the option to order via in-room service?

Shareholder

Haven't a clue what my room was called. It was a typical hotel room, nicely decorated with ample space and full featured bathroom. IIRC the restaurant in the lobby for breakfast doesn't open until 6a, possibly 6:30a. You should email the hotel to confirm, but I doubt you'd have time to even ravage the buffet much...though if it does open a 6a, and with a waiting cab and checking out before breakfast, you might be able to depart at 6:15a and still make it to the station for a 6:32a train!

Facing similar circumstances, albeit an early early plane departure, a few weeks ago in Buffalo, I just had to forget about the free breakfast and find something at the airport. You'll probably have to do the same at the station where you'll find several food kiosks, bakeries, etc. in the lower level to purchase something. Though I suppose if you asked, the PH folks might slip you a croissant or muffin with the Diamond coffee/tea you can have delivered to your room as a wake up offering.