Comfort Inn Royal - Zurich, Switzerland     

I was in Zurich for a week for a conference held at ETH Zurich. The Comfort Inn was very close and reasonably inexpensive. Several colleagues had stayed their previously and said that it was fine. It's very conveniently located for both ETH and the city center: I walked to the hotel from the main station in about 10 minutes (admittedly, I knew where it was from previous trips to the city), but you can also take a tram. It was a 5 minute walk from my conference. I had a room in the "basement" -- it's not really a basement, as my room had a window. My room was also at the back, so I didn't get disturbed by trams running all night. The room itself was quiet, the bed comfortable, and it had all the basic fixings I needed for a stay in which I wouldn't be in the room much. The bathroom was small, but clean, and everything worked fine. The room was not huge (and was in places difficult to navigate), but I wasn't concerned with that. The room had wireless, and (on the second day of my stay) wired connections via the TV. I didn't try the wired access. Wireless was from swisscom, at their usual exhorbitant prices, but there was a Euro 2008 deal on when I arrived, so I got a decent rate for a week. My only main grumble with the room was that it was unbearably hot. There was no real airflow, even with the window open. The air conditioning didn't do much except blow hot air around and cool it a little. Colleagues staying at the same hotel, but on a higher floor, had better luck with the air conditioning. Breakfast was excellent - lots of choice, good coffee, friendly staff. Everyone at the hotel I met was friendly and helpful, and in some cases in possession of a good and cynical sense of humour. I think if I had to be in my hotel room more, I would not have been happy with my stay (I also would have had to move rooms; it got cool at midnight!). I will have to be back in Zurich the same time next year, and I think I'll probably stay somewhere else, just because of the temperature of the room. Overall, the Comfort Inn is fine, and I would happily stay there in the winter, but not in a hot summer!

The weather is Zurich is generally not hot, but the week I was there in June 2008 was unseasonably hot. This hotel does not have air conditioning and my room on floor 1 was extremely hot. The windows opened but due to the angle of the sun, it was simply impossible to keep the room cool during the day. There is some type of blower device near the window but it is not an air conditioner and produces air not even 1 degree cooler than ambient. My room was also very tiny with barely enough room to put down my suitcase and move around. I needed to move my suitcase each time I wanted to access the mini-fridge. Also, there is wireless internet available, but it is very expensive. There was a special while I was there for two hours of access for 10CHF, but it is normally even more expensive. I thought all Choice Hotels were supposed to have free internet? The breakfast was pretty good with eggs, deli meats, cheese, yogurt, toast, some sort of pickled fish, and yes, champagne. The staff seemed friendly and unobtrusive. Overall, this might be a good hotel during cooler times of the year but I would avoid it during the summer.