A trip to Switzerland, in Zurich, led me to stay two days at the Sheraton Zurich. The opportunity to discover two rooms and to explain why you should never book on an online agency.
One customer but two different treatments depending on the booking channel.
For once I had not taken care of my reservation myself, which caused me some disappointment when I arrived at the hotel. The stay was booked through an online agency and my platinum status was not recognized by the hotel. No access to the lounge, no loyalty points earned, no free access to the gym. Nothing.
It was no longer possible to cancel the first night but I immediately cancelled the second and booked from the starwood app. So I had to check-out the next morning, then check-in again in the evening after a day of work. And there, of course I earned my points, had access to the lounge, the gym and was upgraded to a junior suite. For information, Starwood offering 5% discount to its members who go through the site I even paid less the second night than the 1st.
Once and for all: online agencies rarely offer the best rates and in any case hotels will always match the price charged by an agency if it is lower. Booking and others are simply uselessand prevent travelers from benefiting from advantages in the chains where they often stay.
Now let’s start from the beginning.
The Sheraton Zurich is a newly built hotel in a new neighborhood of business buildings. There is another Sheraton closer to the center that the tourist may prefer but given the purpose of my trip discovering the city was the last of my concerns, my room was used to sleep and work.
The check-in went flawlessly except for the above mentioned episode. But the hotel was very cooperative in allowing me to cancel my second night at no charge and allow me to rebook through the official channel so I could enjoy the benefits of the loyalty program. For the first one it was too late. As a bonus I got three free drinks at the bar the second night and a note from the hotel manager waiting for me at the second check-in.
The Sheraton room: very classic
The standard room is modern (like the hotel) and very classic. Clean and efficient without anything to notice.
As it is more and more customary today, the bathroom is glazed and overlooks the bedroom.
And it’s all on video.
Nothing but very sober and efficient.
A “fake” junior suite.
The junior suite was, of course, much nicer.
As soon as you enter, you will find a large bathroom equipped with a shower and a large bathtub.
Don’t forget to press the button to lower the curtain before taking your bath.
Good point too: the toilets are separate.
At the end of the corridor you will find the room. Made of a day part and a night part separated by a large column around which is arranged the office, it is not a real suite insofar as we do not have two distinct rooms but the organization of the places is clever and finally the experience pleasant. On the other hand, I was alone: in a two person configuration where one wants to work or watch TV while the other is resting, it would have been more complicated.
I will appreciate the large glazed surfaces that make this corner suite very bright.
And there is finally a large dressing room.
And the video tour :
A good lounge, limited catering
Not having access to the lounge the 1st evening I went to the hotel restaurant. The restaurant is large and soberly decorated.
It is a steakhouse and it must be admitted that the menu is both limited and expensive (yes we are in Switzerland I know). But at these prices, they might give the customer a little more choice.
The service was relatively long despite the few customers in the property.
All this for a good but unexceptional piece of beef and fries … sold at the price of caviar. Not enough to cause indigestion.
I will return to this same restaurant the next morning for breakfast.
The offer is extensive.
Nothing but classic without any surprise but it’s well presented and it does the job.
On my second evening, I will dine at the lounge which I can finally access.
The place is very nicely decorated and bright as it is located in the upper floors of the hotel.
Without being extensive the offer is substantial, of good quality and includes hot dishes.
The wine offer is not very generous, here people obviously prefer beer.
Given my experience of the day before, I will largely eat here to avoid having to return to the restaurant and the result was infinitely more satisfying.
Having to leave at the crack of dawn the next morning, I did not test the lounge at breakfast nor did I test the hotel bar despite the drinks offered: it looked very pleasant from afar but a work to finish late in the evening took over my evening.
I didn’t have time to test the gym either.
For the rest the hotel is quite pleasant with a rather warm lobby for a business hotel.
Conclusion: the Sheraton, a safe bet for your trip to Zurich
If I forget the booking incident that was not the fault of the hotel, this is a solid performance. Nothing amazing but it is in line with what I expect from a business hotel like this one: sobriety and efficiency. Apart from the restaurant whose prices I will not criticize (it has the prices of its local market) but the poverty of the menu and the slowness of the service everything was at the expected level.
Solid, without more, but it is what one expects from this type of hotel especially in business trip. But I wonder if I wouldn’t prefer it to the other Sheraton in Zurich even for a more touristy trip.
Ratings:
– rooms: the Sheraton room was very suitable and bright, the suite of course much more comfortable. no major fault of taste even if I prefer a little more sobriety in the furniture. 8
–Restaurant/bar: a very good lounge, a good but disappointing and expensive restaurant, a good level breakfast. Bar not tested. 7
–Check-in/out: efficient and attentive when it came to handling my cancellation. 10
– Respect of the loyalty program: as strange as it may seem, an impeccable application because I was “uncompliant” the first night and compliant on the second. 10
– Equipment: not tested.
– Experience for money: for a room around 200 euros which is not excessive in Zurich the experience was overall quite good. 8
– Service and care: an extremely slow service at the restaurant which weighs down the bill because for the rest the staff was attentive and helpful up to the manager who wrote me a little note for my second night and the customer service who stays in contact with me all day long to guarantee me that I will have all my benefits the second night. 8
– Hotel: modern, nice decoration even if not totally my style, a bit out of the way but what does it matter when traveling for business, especially since Zurich is not that big. 8
Complete photo album here.
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