St. Gotthard - Zurich, Switzerland 

On paper, the St Gotthard has it all - good location on the Banhofstrasse (main shopping street), an impressive facade, and a swag of celebrities that have stayed there in the past. However, once you step in, it feels like you've gone back to the 1930s and that the hotel has been stuck in a kind of time warp. That's only the beginning - I've stayed in this hotel quite a number of times, but I am constantly amazed that they always find a way to make the stay not "seamless". From non functioning bathrooms, to broken internet connections, not working air conditioning units, mishandling of laundry ... the list goes on! I think the staff do try hard, but the hotel seems to suffer from a chronic lack of investment - in updating the rooms (the rooms are now being redecorated but in a very cheap fashion) and in staff training (with more uniform standards of service). Overall, I would rate the hotel to be more like a 2 star establishment, rather than the 4 stars that they claim to be. As they charge like a 4 star establishment, this makes them poor value for money.

Stayed here for 1.5 weeks on a business trip, payed CHF 220. The standard room I got was very small but nicely decorated, though less sumptuous than the website suggests. No bath! TV channel selection was limited; TV was tuned badly too, which I hate. Breakfast selection is rather standard and expensive (CHF 20 plus) for a 4 star hotel. No bacon or eggs in the buffet. Had a problem with heating in my room which could not be switched off and was moved to a business room, which was twice the size and cooler fortunately. Not so nice was the fact that the breakfast lobby, located in the court yard's ground floor in a kind of atrium, was used to host a party with live music on Saturday night which kept me awake till 2 am the following Sunday morning. A hotel with 4 star aspirations shoul'n't keep its guests awake I think. Hotel owners, a couple from a presumed Swiss hotelier dynasty, are quite 'present' in the hotel's presentations and seem to enjoy taking pictures of themselves with celebrities. The 'family' feel they seem to wish to emanate is however not really present in the hotel. Staff is very friendly and location is excellent if you need to be in downtown Zuerich. So for the price I paid it's an adequate place.