Originally Posted by goodeats21

Just a note of thanks for a superb write-up of the available options in Zurich. Well done and very helpful!
Thanks!

Originally Posted by Exdon

As MR Plat your chances for getting/keeping a nice room in the Main building are very good, even on NYE. Never had to stay in the north wing even with ultra-cheap Priceline bookings. And don't miss the fireworks over Lake Zurich!

Originally Posted by SkiAdcock

Agree! Thanks! Much appreciated.

Cheers.

Originally Posted by Duke787

except I didn't think the lounge was that special. I thought it was perfectly serviceable (and the wifi was better than in my room so I spent most of my day working in the lounge) but nothing special (drinks were average, liquor was honor bar, and there was no MTO egg station for breakfast).

Originally Posted by ntamayo

Yup, a high-level river view is what I'm hoping for upon check-in to see the fireworks!

Originally Posted by Duke787

I'd echo nearly everything djohannw said in the review upthread except I didn't think the lounge was that special. I thought it was perfectly serviceable (and the wifi was better than in my room so I spent most of my day working in the lounge) but nothing special (drinks were average, liquor was honor bar, and there was no MTO egg station for breakfast).

Originally Posted by djohannw

After almost a year and a half traveling to Zurich twice a month I now have tried most of the Marriott and SPG properties in Zurich, and as such I think I can give my impression on what I would recommend for visitors. So here is my take of what I liked most.

My favorite hotel is the Zurich Marriott Hotel, which just fulfills all my needs and has always treated me exceptionally well. Upgrades as Platinum were substantial (even up to what was confirmed by others is their best suite in the house), they have a lounge that is really one of the best I have ever visited, and they deliver a great service all around. Also been there for breakfast in the restaurant, and it's fabulous as well - yet another world apart from the very good breakfast at the lounge and in my top three of best breakfast buffets I have seen (sadly you have to pay extra for that - it is lounge-only as the status benefit). Location is hard to beat, you can do most of the touristy things in Zurich from there very easily, sadly however the Marriott is usually the most expensive one of the hotels in Zurich, so I cannot go there very often based on my corporate rates.

Second choice is the Renaissance Zurich Tower hotel - again, after my initial stay and addressing what I did not like I have now a very good relationship with them. Upgrades again are very decent (I am at 90% suites there), and their lounge is also a nice benefit, yet light years away from what the Marriott offers - compares more like a McDonalds to a proper restaurant. Still I like it, and it's a very good deal given the price they charge. The train-station (Hardbruecke) is a tad closer than the station is at the Marriott (less than five minutes walk), and there are also two Coop-stores right on the way (one directly next to the station) for anything you would need to buy. Breakfast is either in the lounge or the restaurant, but the atmosphere has deteriorated since they added the Air China crew (in addition to United who put up one of their crews there as well). This means that the restaurant is overcrowded and overwhelmed around the 7:30 mark when I usually have breakfast, so this is kind of a thing that is driving me away. Breakfast in the lounge is OK as well, but you lack quite some choice there. If you value the lounge please be aware that the lounge is closed on weekends (Friday afternoon to Sunday mornings)...

Tied second is the Kameha Grand Hotel that is part of Marriott's Autograph collection. It is a very interesting hotel with a lot of character, and they also feature a very well acclaimed restaurant that is also visited by locals. Rooms are themed very nicely, and in general there is a lot of atmosphere in every corner of the hotel (have you ever opened a safe to get to your mini-bar? That's how they have the cabinet look like in all rooms). The hotel is very stingy with upgrades (one category only), and I only get a suite there when they are fully sold out (what happens not that seldomly) or if I argue hard at check.in. Suites are worth the hassle, though, if you get one of their themed suites - I had the Pokerface suite once with poker-table, cards and the like - still wait for the Space Suite to hit my way...:-)! Location-wise the hotel is a bit in an off-area in terms of restaurants as it's more residential around it, but you have perfect connections to the airport by tram (about ten minutes) and the city center (about another 10 minutes), but given that it's more residential a Denner, a Migros and an Aldi-store are only a few minutes away. Breakfast for Gold/Platinum is in the restaurant as they do not have a lounge and is the full buffet which is very good, however at times you have to remember them that they have given themselves the "whenever, whatever" theme, so breakfast potatoes are sometimes hard to get..,:-)!

Third in this valuation of mine is the Courtyard Zurich North that is a very solid hotel. Yet it is a CY, so upgrades are not really worth mentioning (you get a room facing the courtyard vs. facing the street), and there is no free breakfast for Elites and also no lounge. Still their service is good, and if your rate includes breakfast it is actually a very good one for a Courtyard even considering European standards. Rooms are decent but your typical Courtyard room, and I had a bit of issues with the AC over the summer which I overheard was not only my problem, so consider this if you go there when it's hot. As others mentioned location is very nice, One of ABB's larger offices is right next to it, so there are a few restaurants around the hotel and the Oerlikon-station in general (which is a three-minute walk from the hotel). From Oerlikon-station you are at the airport in five minutes by train and also the city-center is about the same ride-time away. Generally the CY is the cheapest of all MR and SPG properties, so given the generally high prices in Zurich that might be a deciding factor as well - I always choose the Courtyard when I can get a decent rate with breakfast as it is also very convenient to my company's office.

Fourth is the Four Points Sheraton which I think is surprisingly nice - given the interior and the facilities I think it would also qualify for the Sheraton Brand. In terms of location it is not very convenient for touristy things as it is quite a bit outside the city center, but located right at the entrance of the Sihlcity shopping center. So this comes with quite some options for restaurants and other venues, but to see the touristy things you will always need to take the tram (stop is right in front of the hotel) and calculate about 15-20 minutes each way. For the airport you can take trains that get you there, but it's about 45 minutes and a change of trains at the main station if I am not mistaken. Remarkably the Four Points usually has very high rates, always higher than both the Renaissance and the Sheraton and frequently even higher than the Marriott, so I get to stay there even less often. But the times I did I had a really good time, and they always upgraded me to a large junior-suite type corner room. Breakfast was decent as well, but well behind the lounge of the Marriott and both the buffets at Renaissance and Courtyard. But in all honesty: I'd go there more often if the rates would be lower, so their pricing plays a major role in thus ranking...

Fifth finally is the Sheraton Zurich Hotel which is my last choice of the hotels so far. They do make asking for upgrades feel like pulling teeth, and while I got Junior Suites there it only came through after using SNAs (even if they expired before being applied) - I never had a suite without at least trying to apply one of that certs. The hotel does have a lounge, but I ended up not using it - from my point of view most US lounges are superior to what they offer. Unless they changed since November they offer a soup every evening as the hot food and then plastic-wrapped sandwiches accompanied by unboxed Aldi cold-cuts, in addition to running out of items well before service-end time without refilling them. Rooms are OK, but about half of the rooms face a train-track, and that can be really noisy all night long - insist on a room facing away from the tracks. What I like about the hotel is the Route 66 restaurant - they really have nice dinner options, and the food is usually prepared very well. Keep in mind, though, that prices in Switzerland are very high and a 45 CHF high-quality steak is really a bargain. What I did not like is the attitude they have shown towards handling complaints - it always feels like they treat you from some levels above and expect that you should feel gracious for them even talking to you. One thing to note: If your are going in off-season the Sheraton is tweaking its rates in the week before until the last day, and might open up special rates at lower than normal prices even on the day of arrival, so monitoring the rates might always be a good idea with them. In regard to location, it is a stone-throw away from the Renaissance, so add about three to five minutes to what was said there.

In addition to all of those there are two SPG-properties that I have not stayed at, the Atlantis by Giardino (a Design hotel) and the Sheraton Neues Schloss that is located even more centrally to Downtown Zurich than the Marriott. Both tend to be more expensive (to prohibitively expensive) that I have not tried them even once in 18 month, with the Atlantis also being too far away from where I need to go as contributing factor.

Hope this helps, if you have any questions about Zurich's Marriott/SPG-hotels feel free to ask!

Greetings - Dirk

Originally Posted by cyclogenesis

Thanks for the write up! Now switching my points booking from the tower to the main.

Originally Posted by Kacee

Interesting that this property allows you to choose among multiple different room types - including Superior or Executive - all for the same 40k rate.