Trip Report: Baur Au Lac (Zurich)
BAUR AU LAC
Talstrasse 1 ZURICH CH 8001 Zurich, CH 8001
Trip Report: Baur Au Lac (Zurich) (11 Photos)
BAUR AU LAC
The Baur Au Lac is an elegant old world hotel with a rich history in Zurich.
On our way to Africa, we had a 16 hour layover in Zurich (6am to 10pm). We looked for a hotel in the city that would offer us a day rate, and the Baur Au Lac had an ideal location on Lake Zurich and within walking distance to Old Town. With help from DavidO, we were quoted one night’s rate for guaranteed use during the hours we needed.
Hotel Exterior
Hotel Lobby
Pavillon Restaurant
Service
What follows is a description of the hotel’s perfect handling of our unusual reservation.
We landed at 6:15am where we were promptly greeted by the Baur Au Lac driver and whisked away in a Mercedes sedan. We were checked in by 7:00am and after freshening up a bit in our upgraded suite, we enjoyed our Virtuoso breakfast at Restaurant Pavillon followed by a nap. By midday, we had mapped out a walk through the Old Town with the concierge. Our day in Zurich included beautiful lake and mountain vistas, medieval architecture, cobblestone alleyways, lots of chocolate tasting, and the purchase of our little boy’s first Swiss Army Knife. We returned to the hotel in time for a shower and an early dinner outdoors at the Rive Gauche Terrasse where the pastry chef had a pre-ordered birthday cake waiting for me. We were able to return to our suite once more before the Mercedes sedan arrived promptly at 7:45pm to take us to the airport. Our final invoice even included the Virtuoso $100 food and beverage credit without our having to ask for it.
The Baur Au Lac never missed a beat and made all of these arrangements seem effortless. Staff members were friendly, generally knew who we were and knew of our tight schedule.
Old Town Zurich
Lake Zurich from Hotel
Swiss Army Knife
One Bedroom River Suite
Since this was just a day room for us we booked a Deluxe Double, but the hotel was kind enough to upgrade us to a River Suite in celebration of my birthday. The suite had a generous marble entrance foyer, bedroom, separate living room, and a large marble bathroom with separate shower, deep soaking tub and water closet; all with a Schanzengraben Canal view.
The River Suite also had special children’s amenities and a welcome treat for our son.
River Suite Living Room
Children's Welcome Amenity
Dining
Breakfast in the elegant Pavillon consisted of a cold buffet with fresh pastries, meats, yummy local yogurts, cheeses and eggs made to order. We had dinner at the Rive Gauche Terrasse where the standouts were the Agnolotti with Jerusalem artichokes and my layered coconut/vanilla birthday cake.
Rive Gauche Terrasse (photo by Baur Au Lac)
Birthday Cake
Opportunities for Improvement
Nothing we can recall. :-) It was a perfectly executed short stay!
Orchids
If you don't mind sharing, what were the highlights for your single day touring around Zurich? Any particulars you'd recommend? We will be there for 2 nights (really only 1 full day) in Oct.
If you don't mind sharing, what were the highlights for your single day touring around Zurich? Any particulars you'd recommend? We will be there for 2 nights (really only 1 full day) in Oct.
Old Town is lovely and there look to be some nice restaurants, raclette, etc. The chocolate shops (even the ever present Sprungli) are amazing and the Swiss version of the macaron is pretty good as well. IIRC, there are many options to see lake Zurich. Ferries mostly, but the hotel should be able to recommend a nice private charter. And there is high end shopping of course. Are you in the market for a new watch?!?
Sorry I can’t offer more specifics. We just didn’t have time to DO all that much.
Old Town is lovely and there look to be some nice restaurants, raclette, etc. The chocolate shops (even the ever present Sprungli) are amazing and the Swiss version of the macaron is pretty good as well. IIRC, there are many options to see lake Zurich. Ferries mostly, but the hotel should be able to recommend a nice private charter. And there is high end shopping of course. Are you in the market for a new watch?!?
Sorry I can’t offer more specifics. We just didn’t have time to DO all that much.
I just didn't know if there were any shops in particular that you thought we shouldn't miss. I don't even wear a watch any more, mostly, picking up the habit from my students for checking my mobile phone instead. Darn youngsters.
We also were considering a ride down to Lake Lucerne and maybe a lunch or late snack at the Park Hotel Vitznau--based on so many amazing reviews for it during the off-season. Not sure we will have time, but that's our only other goal for the day.
Of course spending the night on top of Rigi is a magical experience (but far far from being a luxury accommodation).