To wrap up our trip to Germany and Switzerland we decided to spend three nights in Zurich. Mrs. ATX and I hadn’t been to Zurich before and we were looking forward to exploring the city and using it as a jumping off point for a day trip to Liechtenstein. We arrived in Zurich just before 5:00p and headed from Zurich Hauptbahnhof down to our hotel and home for the next few days.
Booking
With a stash of points sitting in my account, along with the expensive hotel prices in Zurich, we wanted to stay at a Marriott Bonvoy property for our visit. While there are a number of properties in Zurich and the surrounding area, only 4 were close to the city center and the main train station. The Sheraton and the Renaissance were both a little further from where we wanted to be and with the points being almost identical to the closer in Marriott and Autograph Collection hotels we quickly crossed those off the list.
Ultimately we decided on the Neues Schloss Privat which is located just a few blocks from Lake Zurich and had recently been converted over from a Sheraton property. We booked our Queen Room for 180,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for the three night stay directly through Marriott.com. Cash rates were over $500 per night so points were by far the better deal here.
Location
The hotel is located in the Enge district of Zurich, just a few blocks from the lake. The hotel is also a short walk from Zurich Hauptbahnhof and the Bahnhofstrasse which is lined with many high end shops. While the neighborhood is located in the center of town, the hotel is located on a side street, near the Park Hyatt Zurich. The location worked out well for us on this trip but may not be what you’re looking for if you want to be next to bars and restaurants as it is more of a residential/business district.
Check-In
We walked through the front doors and up a short flight of stairs to reception. The hotel had a moody vibe in the lobby and featured lots of dark wood and deep blue throughout. There was a family being checked in that had some issues but we were helped within a few minutes.
Our friendly check-in agent took our Passports and explained some of the features of the hotel. We were also offered glasses of prosecco during check-in though the bottle ran out after Mrs. ATX got hers. They sent for another bottle but it never came for the duration of our check-in, though it was still a nice touch. As par of our stay we had complimentary breakfast in the hotel restaurant as well as a 30 CHF food and beverage credit to use during our stay. With our room keys in hand, a bellman took our bags and escorted us to the elevator and up to our room.
Room
We were assigned to a standard king room on the 3rd floor and located our room, 301, near the elevators. The entire property only has 57 rooms so it is definitely on the smaller side. I applied my Marriott Suite Night Awards but with only a few upgraded rooms we didn’t get an upgrade on this stay.
Upon entering the room I noticed that it was on the smaller side though, contrary to our stay at The Westminster in London, it was laid out well and had a great use of space. The bathroom was to the left immediately upon entering while the remainder of the room opened up past that.
A seating area was located to the left of the bed and curved around to form the headboard portion of the bed. Nightstands were also built in and flanked the bed. While the couch was comfortable, this mainly was an area for us to store our bags during our stay.
Across from the bed was a chair with a comically small table as well as the bar/desk/TV stand. The hotel left a small plate of sweets here for us which was a nice touch.
The mini bar and coffee setup was hidden inside of the desk drawers. This was a great use of space assuming you don’t use the drawers in a hotel desk, which I never do.
The refrigerator was hidden in the other side of the desk and was well stocked, though the pricing was on the high side.
To the right of the desk was a luggage stand which we used to hold one of our bags.
We didn’t have a balcony in this room but the windows opened fully which gave us a view of the street below and the lake in the distance. There was also a metal shade that could be closed over the windows if needed.
The bathroom, like the bedroom, was on the smaller side but was also well appointed.
The shower was quite spacious considering the rest of the room and featured Soeder branded toiletries in reusable bottles.
Our only issue with the room, and it’s a big one, was the thermostat. It was warmer than usual in Zurich during our stay in September but the room would not cool off. No matter if we had the shade up or down, the room temperatures stayed between 76 and 79 degrees for the duration of our stay. This made for a few very uncomfortable nights of sleep.
Food and Beverage
The hotel’s on site restaurant, Castellan’s, served breakfast each morning before turning into a restaurant in the evenings. We ate breakfast here each morning during our stay and the spread was quite impressive.
The buffet was self serve and there was also table service where you could order coffee and additional breakfast dishes. The food was being refreshed constantly but the service flow was short staffed as the restaurant seemed understaffed.
We also visited the bar here one night to use our 30 CHF food and beverage credit. The weather was nice so we sat on the outdoor patio and had a couple of beverages.
Amenities
In the lobby, there was a large sitting area that felt like a living room. This appeared to be seldom used during our stay and I only saw a couple of people utilizing this space for the duration of our visit.
The hotel also had meeting space and a fitness center on site, though we didn’t utilize these during our stay.
Summary
Our stay at the Neues Schloss Privat Hotel, Autograph Collection was an up and down experience. The staff at check in was friendly and the location near the lake and center of town was fantastic. However, the air conditioning, or lack thereof, was an issue for us as the room wouldn’t cool off no matter what we did. Also, while the Castellan’s food was good, the service flow was lacking. For our next trip to Zurich I’ll likely look at other options.
In This Trip Report
