Best Luxury Hotels in Zurich

Zurich's hotels do not chase spectacle the way some resort cities do. Their luxury is quieter and considerably older — family-owned properties with more than a century of continuous service, medieval townhouses reassembled into a single address, a discretion that suits a city built on private banking as much as on Alpine views.

Baur au Lac

Open since 1844 and still run by the same family, Baur au Lac occupies the most coveted position in the city — a private park on the shore of Lake Zurich, at the point where the lake meets the Limmat. Its 119 rooms and suites are furnished individually rather than to a single template, and its two-Michelin-starred Restaurant Pavillon anchors a dining programme covered further in our guide to Zurich's Michelin-starred restaurants. Guests can also arrange a private cruise aboard the hotel's own vintage electric launch, detailed in our Zurich experiences guide — one of the few hotels in Europe with its own boat waiting a few minutes' walk from the lobby.

The Dolder Grand

High on Adlisberg mountain above the city, The Dolder Grand pairs its original 1899 fairy-tale building with a contemporary glass wing designed by Foster and Partners — a deliberate collision of eras that extends into a collection of more than 100 artworks throughout the hotel, including pieces by Salvador Dalí. Its two-Michelin-starred restaurant, led by chef Heiko Nieder, is one of the city's most decorated tables, and its 4,000-square-metre spa, complete with a snow room, rewards the climb up from the lake. The panoramic views take in both the city skyline and the Alps beyond it, a vantage point unmatched by any hotel in the valley below.

Widder Hotel

Nine medieval townhouses, some dating back 700 years, were combined over nearly a decade to create Widder Hotel in the heart of the Altstadt — a project that preserved painted wooden-beamed ceilings, original stone walls, and centuries of individual architectural quirks rather than smoothing them into uniformity. Its restaurant under chef Stefan Heilemann holds two Michelin stars, and the hotel's discreet position among the old town's cobbled lanes places it within the district covered in our guide to Zurich's areas.

Mandarin Oriental Savoy, Zurich

Reopened in 2023 after an extensive renovation of its 1838 landmark building on Paradeplatz, the Savoy sits at the exact centre of Zurich's financial and shopping district, steps from the boutiques of Bahnhofstrasse. French designer Tristan Auer created its bespoke interiors, and the hotel's Orsini restaurant, under chef Antonio Guida, holds a Michelin star for Italian fine dining. Its rooftop bar, 1838, has quickly become one of the city's most requested addresses for an evening view over the old town.

Storchen Zurich

Sitting directly on the Limmat with a history stretching back to the 1300s, Storchen pairs one of the oldest hotel sites in the city with river-view terraces and La Rôtisserie, its Michelin-starred restaurant known for tableside trolley service. As part of the same small hotel group as Widder, it offers a second, more riverside register of the old town's historic hospitality.

Choosing Where to Stay

The lakeside hotels — Baur au Lac chief among them — put guests within walking distance of Bahnhofstrasse and the Paradeplatz financial core. The Dolder Grand suits travellers prioritising space, spa, and skyline views over ground-floor proximity to the shops. Widder and Storchen, both set inside the Altstadt's medieval fabric, reward guests who want to fall asleep inside the history rather than merely visit it during the day.