Hotel Leoneck, Zurich

...across the road from the hotel is a streetcar stop (Haldenegg) and you can catch Trams 6, 7, 10, or 15. Its just off the centre section of Zurich, but close enough that its still central, close to the main shopping street and the bar area. There are very good directions to the hotel on their website which offer directions for those arriving by car, tram or train.

Its hard to miss the hotel once you are in eyesight, there is a big ...
...you are in a tourist hotel in Switzerland, the reception desk is decorated in cow spots (black and white) and for your breakfast tokens (breakfast is an additional 16 CHF) you are given little plastic black and white cows to hand over to your wait person. The keyring for your room? A giant wooden cow. The floor also has cow spots and there are a few cow patterened mirrors around, which got less funny as my friend kept making "look at the old ... more

Well if you are staying in Zurich you can make the choice of staying in a normal hotel, or head to where the cows are. My friend and I headed to the cows, but when we booked - we didnt know (about the cows) but you have been warned..

Located not so far from the main railway station, a walkable distance. When i say walkable I mean walkable back to the station as if you are carrying a big bag then you need to be warned - its up a hill! Though it is down the bottom of the hill so things could be worse. Just across the road from the hotel is a streetcar stop (Haldenegg) and you can catch Trams 6, 7, 10, or 15. Its just off the centre section of Zurich, but close enough that its still central, close to the main shopping street and the bar area. There are very good directions to the hotel on their website which offer directions for those arriving by car, tram or train.

Its hard to miss the hotel once you are in eyesight, there is a big sign written on cow patterened board saying "Crazy Cow", this is the restaurant and theres more on that below. There is also a metal cow next to the steps (theres only about ten steps) at the entrance.

On entry you know you are in a tourist hotel in Switzerland, the reception desk is decorated in cow spots (black and white) and for your breakfast tokens (breakfast is an additional 16 CHF) you are given little plastic black and white cows to hand over to your wait person. The keyring for your room? A giant wooden cow. The floor also has cow spots and there are a few cow patterened mirrors around, which got less funny as my friend kept making "look at the old cow" jokes..There were also a couple of couches in the lobby with a few tourist brochures and tourist magazines.

We hired a twin room and it came with an ensuite, shower, bath, toilet and haidryer. The room also had a safe where you could enter your own pin combination. The room had a TV which had cable, but mostly non English cable. There was also a phone which had a modem connection and my favourite thing - a mini toblerone on your pillow! Some rooms came with a balcony (mine didnt) and both smoking and non smoking are available. Each room has a mural painted by a swiss artist. The beds were comfy and the room was a decent size, it somehow managed to accomodate both of our shoe collections.

The "Crazy Cow" restaurant is located downstairs in the hotel, facing onto the street. Its part of a mini chain (OK so there is one other) and set up in tourist version of "swiss style". The dishes were advertised as traditional swiss food, but we just ate our breakfast there. Meals in the restaurant are around 19F-34F £9- 15)for a main course, Zurich is an expensive city so this is quite reasonable. The Crazy Cow website, and food menus are not translated into English, though while we were in the hotel everyone spoke English so no doubt someone could recommend something, there are also pictures on the menu for a backup! They also accept credit cards.

Breakfast was a buffet style, with the usual European fare of Ham, Cheese and bread. There was a nice variety here and also cereal, yoghurt, jams and honey. A couple of juices to choose from and coffee and tea. We went to breakfast at the very end of serving each day and there was always lots of food still there.

The hotel has 78 rooms, a conference room, one of those crazy tiny european lifts and what they call a "business corner" which means there is a PC and a printer you can hire. Reception is open 24/7. .

You can book online (which is what we did) or via phone - its also listed on a few hotel booking sites too. If you are calling from in Switzerland there is a free phone number for reservations.

I read a review of this hotel on a different site (gasp, im so disloyal to Ciao) which suggested rude staff and a noisy location. I had no troubles with either of these, and thought it was a very quiet location. We found the staff to be helpful and friendly with any questions we asked, and even had a weird problem with my credit card (and a moment of panic) where they ended up taping the back of my credit card (on the swipe part) to make it work. The staff also rang up a tour and booked it for us, though this is not an advertised service.

Aside from (as mentioned above) great directions to the hotel, the website also has pictures, a monthly contest, reservation link and even E-cards!

And of course - the cost.. (in Swiss Franks)
A single room rates at 100 - 150, Double 150 - 185, Triple 160 - 240 and a four bed / family room 200 - 290. These rates include service and any taxes. They accept credit cards for payment.

The Leoneck is at: Leonhardstrasse 1, 8001 Zürich
In Switzerland dial 0800 Leoneck for a free call.
Outside Switzerland they are on: +41 44 254 2222
The website (in English) is at http://www.leoneck.ch/en/
Crazy Cow: http://www.crazycow.ch/d/main.asp

 

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