The Schweizerhof Zurich
The Schweizerhof? Oh it’s amazing! There’s a porter to meet you off the train! There’s a butler! They give you a glass of sparkling wine as soon as you come in the door! Honestly, the service….! For five years I have listened to customers and fellow Railbookers waxing lyrical about the Schweizerhof in Zurich. Finally, I’m going to find out what all the fuss is about with an overnight stay at this popular hotel, just across the road from Zurich’s main station. Expectations are naturally extremely high as I find the hotel without any effort (I didn’t book myself a porter since I was on a very short trip with hardly any luggage) and go through the unimposing doors into the lobby. Porter in his distinctive red uniform – check. Beaming receptionist – check. Another receptionist offers me a hot towel (that’s one I hadn’t heard about) and then a glass of wine – check. Loving this. The lady I am meeting to have a look around the hotel is not going to be available for 20 minutes (I’m very early anyway) so would I like to wait in the Café Gourmet with a complimentary cup of coffee? Of course I would! So I spend my first 20 minutes in this hotel sitting in a café with my free coffee and free glass of wine, feeling thoroughly pampered. Half an hour or so later, the red-uniformed porter is showing me around my room. All guestrooms at the hotel come with a welcome basket of fruit and water, tea and coffee making facilities, flat screen TV, adjustable beds (you can angle the top half of the mattress so your head is raised). But I have one of the newly renovated rooms which also has a Nespresso Machine, an iPhone docking station and a bed where you adjust the bottom and top as well as being able to choose whether you want a soft, medium or hard mattress! The hotel itself does not have the wow-factor. You don’t walk into the lobby or the bedrooms and stop in your tracks, looking around in open-mouthed wonder. But it’s the customer service and the little extras which make a stay here so special. I had spent the previous night in a hotel in Interlaken and tried to charge my phone while I was at breakfast – only realising when I came back that there was no electricity without my card. At the Schweizerhof, all rooms have a lockable drawer with a power socket which is always connected even when the electricity is off, so that you can always charge your phone or laptop and leave it safe while you are out of the room. Also, during the week a butler goes to every room in the evening to ask if there’s anything guests need and to offer complimentary papers, chocolate and drinks from his trolley. I went down to the bar for dinner and was offered yet more sparkling wine and canapés in the lobby! And every question I asked was met with a smile and answered immediately. Breakfast is also impeccably served, with Champagne and a special offering of the day –which for me is some kind of heavenly smoked salmon brioche with a creamy dill accompaniment to die for. As I am wished a hearty farewell by the reception staff and two different porters, I fully understand what all the fuss is about.
