Last May, during the Frequent Miler “Flying by the Seat of our Points” challenge, I was tasked to get from LA to Switzerland in ~40 hours while completing some fun activities and wowing with blingy travel in the meantime. Oh, and I needed to be close to somewhere with convenient international connections, since I would be leaving the next day.
The first hotel that came to mind was the Park Hyatt Zurich, which I had never stayed at before. However, I was trying to avoid going there, lest I fell victim to accusations of “blogger goes to Switzerland on a last-minute travel challenge and immediately goes to Category 8 Hyatt.” But, after searching around the entire country using Hyatt, Marriott, IHG, Hilton, Choice, Wyndham, Preferred Hotels, Leading Hotels of the World and even Airbnb…award rates were abysmal. So, off to the Park Hyatt I went. While the hotel didn’t necessarily knock my socks off with luxurious trappings, the service at the hotel did.
Park Hyatt Zurich Bottom Line Review
The Park Hyatt Zurich is a very nice property. PHs tend to be minimalistic in design as an attempt towards elegance, but I sometimes feel like they can walk the line of feeling a bit sterile. The PH Zurich managed to more or less stay on the elegant side and, I have to say, I think that’s partially because of the service. It was incredible, from the personal greeting from the GM when I arrived to the afternoon coffee and cookies that were sent to my room when the concierge noticed that I came in wet from a rainstorm. It has a terrific location and great food…but it’s also terribly expensive in either cash or on points. Despite that cost, it’s a lovely place to spend the night. Thumbs up
- Price: The hotel is a Hyatt Category 8, so it’s 35K/40K/45K Hyatt points per night low/standard/high season. I paid 40K for the night I was there, while the cash price was ~$900.
- Value: In straight points-for-cash, this was a great deal at 2.25 cents per point (we peg the average redemption for Hyatt points at 1.7 cents each)…and that’s before factoring in the $2400 cash cost of the suite that I stayed in. That said, 40,000 Hyatt points per night is a lot, even for such an expensive place like Zurich so it’s hard to call it a “good” value, as opposed to a desirable splurge.
- Location: Hard to get much better. It’s located on Beethovenstrasse, right in the center of most of Zurich’s attractions and a five-minute walk to the lovely Zurichsee lakefront. It’s not a late-night area, though. After dinner, most of the nightlife seems to move to the surrounding areas.
- Room: I wanted to use a suite upgrade award (SUA) to book myself into the 775 sq ft Park Suite. However, by the time I got around to making the reservation, all of the standard rooms were gone (although there was still standard suite availability at 61K per night). In the first example of terrific service, I called the hotel and the manager were willing to open standard room availability for me so that I could immediately book into the suite with my SUA. The room was lovely, with terrific furnishings, large windows that gave it a “treehouse” feel and plenty of space.
- Parking: CHF 45/night (~US$50).
- Resort/Destination Fee: None.
- Internet: Excellent, able to stream throughout the hotel.
- Service: Easily my favorite part of the hotel. There was really a remarkable balance that the PH Zurich struck with never making me feel doted or fussed over, but anticipating needs in really unique ways: personal greetings from staff, monogrammed leather ID-holder as a welcome gift (see below), next-level arrangement from a concierge making sure that I was delivered an absinthe exactly 15 minutes into that evening’s livestream (having a glass of absinthe was one of my mini-challenges). Superlative, across the board.
- Turndown service: Twice daily, with water refills.
- Dining:
- parkhuus: Primary restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a great patio on the sidewalk of Beethovenstrasse. Great service. Breakfast is served Monday – Friday from 6:30am-10:30am or 11:00am on the weekends. Open for lunch Tuesday – Friday from 12pm-2pm, while dinner is served Tuesday – Saturday from 6pm-9:15pm.
- Lobby Lounge: An elegant lobby bar with overstuffed armchairs, upholstered sofas, and woodwork. Open Monday – Friday from 8am-11pm and weekends between 11am – 11pm. There’s a standard menu most of the time, with an afternoon tea served between 1pm and 6pm that requires a reservation 24 hours beforehand.
- Onyx Bar: Starts out the evening as more a trendy, after work bar, then turns into more of a club atmosphere later in the night. Open Monday – Saturday from 5pm-1am.
- Spa: There is a full-service spa with a sauna and relaxation room that can be used by all guests. It has the full menu of usual spa treatments, as well as some wellness classes on offer.
- Fitness Room: There is a decent-sized fitness area open 24/7 with numerous cardio and weightlifting options, as well as an area for stretching/yoga.
- Hyatt Globalist Benefits:
- Suite Upgrade: I booked a standard king room and used a Suite Upgrade Award to upgrade to the $2400/night Park Suite.
- Free Breakfast: Breakfast for Globalists is served at parkhuus and includes full access to the buffet as well as a choice from the full a la carte menu. The food and drinks were delightful, as was the airy setting on the leafy, outdoor patio facing Beethovenstrasse. Service was excellent: the waiter proactively thanked me for being a Globalist and went over my breakfast benefits; everyone (even the busser) addressed me by name, numerous folks offered suggestions for things to try from the menu and buffet, etc. It was a lovely way to start the morning.
- Late Checkout: Automatically given 4pm…then proactively extended to 6pm once they found out my flight time.
- Parking: Free on award stays.
- Welcome Amenity: When I arrived at the hotel, the GM greeting was very nice, but I was surprised to not find a welcome gift in the room. I hadn’t been in the room more than five minutes when there was a knock on the door. I answered and was met by a staff member who gave me a fruit plate and a wrapped, black box with a ribbon that she simply described as a “gift to welcome you to the hotel.” I looked inside and found a white, fabric bag with the inscription, “Luxury is Personal.” I opened it up and there was a very nice, leather, black pocket-case for credit cards and IDs that was made by the upholsterers for Rolls-Royce. I thought it was nice, then turned it over and saw that it had been monogrammed with my initials.
- Would I stay again? It’s a tough one, simply because of the cost. I really enjoyed my stay here, but at 80-90K Hyatt points for a weekend would probably only consider it for a special occasion.
View this post on Instagram
Park Hyatt Zurich Pros and Cons
Pros
- Superb location near the Zurichsee in central Zurich.
- Some of the best service that I’ve ever had in a hotel.
- Excellent elite recognition.
- Breakfast is terrific.
- Roomy, bright rooms.
Cons
- Later at night, the immediate area gets very, very quiet.
- Very expensive in cash or points.
Image Gallery
Park Hyatt Zurich Park Suite
Welcome Amenity
Park Hyatt Zurich Restaurants
parkhuus
Elite breakfast
Lobby Lounge
ONYX Bar
Park Hyatt Zurich common areas
The post Park Hyatt Zurich: Bottom Line Review appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.