Review of Widder Hotel

Built on Roman and Celtic ruins, the Widder Hotel is set in a tranquil location in the heart of Zürich’s Old Town on Rennweg. Based in the city’s Augustiner quarter, the hotel is just 183 metres from the bustling, world-famous Bahnhofstrasse shopping area and an easy walk to Lake Zürich. The property is also just 20 minutes from Zürich Airport. Trains run regularly between the airport and the city’s main station with a journey time of less than 15 minutes. The station is only 650 metres from the Widder or alternatively, the hotel will transfer guests to and from the hotel. Local drivers may use the hotel garage for parking. 

Tourist attractions are many and varied in Zürich’s Old Town located both sides of the Limmat River, all within easy reach from the Widder Hotel. These include the Grossmünster with its twin towers, the most recognised landmark in Zürich, St Peter Church, the oldest in the city and featuring the largest clock face in Europe and Fraumünster Church, known for its Chagall windows. 

Other highlights nearby are the Giacometti Murals in the entrance hall to a police station, Cabaret Dada, the birthplace of Dadaism and the Kunsthaus Zürich, the largest museum in Switzerland.

Every room at The Widder Hotel is unique and individually styled to mix the past with the modern, with furnishings created by design greats such as Ray and Charles Eames, Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright. 

There are 34 rooms in total and 14 suites, each with a different layout. One suite may feature venerable oak beams, another an antique tiled stove, grisaille murals, delicate frescos or elegant stucco. Over the medieval framework, the hotel has layered contemporary design, cutting-edge technology and unparalleled comfort: each bed is adjustable and features directional LED reading lights. Movement sensitive night lights guide guests from bed to bathroom and each room is equipped with air conditioning with temperature control, Nespresso machine, minibar with complimentary drinks and multimedia HD flatscreen televisions. 

Rooms vary from the entry level Design Single Room, perfect for short stays, the Design Queen Room for double use or double single-use for those who want a little more space, to the Courtyard Queen Room with the quietest stay to the Deluxe Double Room. These range in size from 21 – 27 square metres to 35 – 50 square metres. 

Inching up the categories, choose from an Historic Junior Suite (35 – 60 square metres) which may feature 17th century frescoes or wood panelling to a Duplex Junior Suite (55 – 65 square metres) with a sofa bed up on the gallery, perfect when you need space for three people. 

Full suites vary from the Courtyard Suite & Spa (48 - 53 square metres) with a large bathroom as well as a separate SPA Shower Room, to the Family Suite at 53 square metres – complete with a master bedroom and an annex with two single beds, the Historic Suite at 48 – 65 square metres featuring late Baroque wood panelling and the Design Suite at 73 square metres – a contemporary space with a large, picturesque rooftop terrace. 

The premium suites include the Design Loft Suite at 85 square metres – a duplex space which is colourful, modern and airy with a rooftop terrace, Corbusier and Eileen Gray furniture for an urban style. The crème de la crème suite is the Penthouse Suite with Rooftop terrace at 164 square metres and offering sweeping views out over Zürich, the lake and the Alps. The living room has a wood burning fireplace and dining table with a fully stocked bar ideal for entertaining. 

Suite guests also enjoy several additional benefits including an ironing service, a welcome bottle of champagne, VIP treatment and souvenir, in-room check in and Heavenly room service breakfast. 

Since 2020, nearby, four new fully furnished apartments have been added to the accommodation roster. This town house offers medieval foundations, original beams, stucco ceilings and state of the art interior design, sharing the services of the Widder Hotel. The most unique space is the Penthouse Maisonette apartment (167 square metres) offering three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a private rooftop. The Historic 3 Room Apartment (115 square metres) is compact and comfortable with wooden parquet flooring, three rooms, two bathrooms and a generously appointed kitchen. The two Historic 3 Room Apartments with Patio (114 – 139 square metres) offers three bedrooms, two to three bathrooms and a spacious fully equipped kitchen with grocery shopping a stone’s throw away. 

Apartment rentals come with the many amenities offered by the Widder Hotel together with a grocery starter kit, free use of the Widder gym, twice a week maid service and, for an additional fee, a chef to rent for that special dinner party. 

There are two adapted rooms for guests with disabilities.

The hotel features a state-of-the-art fitness centre open 24/7 for inhouse guests. Featuring a range of TechnoGym equipment and free weights, should guests want to push their fitness boundaries, they can book one of Zürich’s top personal trainers to set them through their paces. For pampering, the hotel offers guests a spa menu of beauty treatments, wraps and massages to fully relax and enjoy themselves during their stay.

The Living Circle has partnered up with the largest private clinic group in Switzerland, the Hirslanden Private Hospital Group, should guests be in country sourcing specific medical services or care.

On the ground floor of the Steinhaus, the property has installed a private library, christened Turicensia after the Roman name for Zürich. The shelves are stocked with hundreds of coffee-table books, volumes of history and art guides for the city, its inhabitants, and the surrounding area. There is also a fiction section too.

As part of The Living Circle, guests may take advantage of the group’s City & Lake Resort Guest Card benefitting in various unique experiences – taking the inhouse boat from the city to Thalwil and back and indulging in the culinary delights of eight restaurants, four bars and one nightclub.

The Widder Hotel has to be one of the world’s most unusual hotels, composed of nine medieval townhouses in the heart of Zürich dating back to the 12th century. The hotel was originally bought by the bank UBS as part of a bid to preserve Zürich’s inner city from high rises and once successful, they employed a very clever and innovative architect, Tilla Theus, to thread the disparate buildings together with interconnecting passageways. 

Chrome, steel, and glass was introduced to complement the old stone walls and wooden beams, choosing a particular type of wood and a specific kind of stone for each individual house. Gallery-worthy artwork is displayed throughout the property with vintage designer furniture to give it that urban edge and a residential style that today’s travellers prefer, complementing historic frescos, delicate murals, wonky walls, and oak beams. 

The conversion took over a decade to complete with more than 1,000 conservation builders, artisans and designers involved in helping to fuse these nine entities into a single hotel. Today, the hotel is owned by Swiss Life who entered into a long-term operational agreement with renowned hotel group The Living Circle. 

Why should you stay here? Well, this is definitely a one-of-a-kind hotel and for many repeat guests, they choose to return to try different rooms just for the fun of it. With every room enjoying its own unique design identity, it can be a very addictive travel forming habit and pricey on the wallet … you have been warned.

The two Michelin-starred Widder Restaurant is the heart of the hotel and skilfully combines the history of the city with the modern flair which is presented through design and culinary delights. Chef Stefan Heilemann has recently been awarded Gault et Millau Chef of the Year 2021 and is known for his unique cooking style, combining the best and freshest of ingredients, many sourced from The Living Circle’s own farms and wineries, cooking craftsmanship and a willingness to experiment to ensure every meal is a culinary adventure. 

The Widder Bar has become something of a Zürich institution open daily from noon to late in the evening with an extended teatime in the afternoon before becomes a nightlife hotspot. The Bar offers over 300 single malt whiskies and is well known in the jazz world, presenting stars like Diana Krall and Benny Green during the bi-annual concert series. 

The Greenery is a pop-up restaurant located on Augustinergasse presented in collaboration with Champagne house Perrier-Jouët. In the winter months this cosy restaurant is a mystical magic winter forest with firs, birch trees and lots of woods to create an idyllic space for a Jumi fondue or Jumi raclette. In summertime, the sun terrace opens up with a lighter, mountain-inspired menu.

The Boucherie AuGust is a boucherie, brasserie and bistro under the toque of rustic chef, Tino Staub, offering regional classics such as Leberkaese, home-made paté, terrines and pies. 

The offsite Widder Garage is a bar, club and afterwork hotspot in Kreis 1 in the former parking garage of the hotel. Open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, dance away to live DJs sets, cocktails devised at the Widder Bar and appetites satisfied with Pinsas – pizza bases with fresh toppings. 

The Widder Garden is a hideaway in the heart of Zürich and opens from mid-April to mid-October when the weather is clement. Just a few minutes’ walk from Bahnhofstrasse and located directly on Rennweg, The Widder Garden is a lush green idyll in the middle of Zürich’s Old Town and offers a casual dinner menu.

With buildings dating back to the 12th century, the topic of sustainability is of great importance to the Widder Hotel who would like future generations to continue to enjoy these unique buildings.

As part of myclimate “Cause We Care” initiative, the hotel asks guests to make an effective contribution to support sustainability measures and to offset the CO2 emissions caused by a hotel stay. The hotel then doubles the amount to ensure a carbon neutral stay and to invest in operational sustainability measures. The hotel is also a member of NOW association which advocates for more sustainability tourism and highlights the hotel’s efforts in that regard. They are also part of the sustainability programme Swisstainable by Swiss Tourism.

The Widder Hotel promotes energy conservation, ethical purchasing, paper free offices, flowers and plants, sustainable design, waste management and water efficiency – good for the planet. They also have pet friendly rooms and welcome animals on site, buy locally sourced furniture and furnishings, are non-smoking and have a “suppliers pay fair” policy – good for people.

In addition, they offer healthy food choices and drinks in their minibars and room service, with their in-room amenities, offer wellbeing options, promote local artist and artisan programmes, offer sustainable bath and shower amenities, minimise waste using KITRO, becoming members of the Food Waste Alliance and say no to plastic.

In the restaurants and bars, they mostly use regional and seasonal products to ensure they are not flown in or come from fossil-fuel heated greenhouses. As part of The Living Circle, they have access to that organisation’s own farm and winery.

From the guest rooms, leftover soap is donated to SapoCycle, a non-profit organisation that turns discarded soaps into life-saving products. The soaps are recycled by people with disabilities and then distributed to improve sanitary conditions of families in need.

The Widder Hotel also believes passionately in supporting education and to that end, offers five annual apprenticeships and collaborates with popular hotel management schools to offer internships.