Arena Strandbad

The hotel is neither directly at the airport nor in the center of Zurich, but either destination is reached easily and quickly, with a bus station almost in front of the hotel and train to Zurich just three minutes away. Also, there are a few restaurants and stores nearby. Thus, a practical location -- except for the traffic noise on the eastern side and the nearby runway on the opposite side. Fortunately, the windows are reasonably sound-proof and the ventilation system is effective. The rooms are quite spacious, with an excellent bed, a good desk plus a comfortable chair, two armchairs and a bathroom with bathtub and shower. In the refrigerator, we found four free (!) drinks. We slept too well to get to taste the breakfast (not included). The lounge is on the dark side in winter but offers sofas, café tables, a table-soccer game ... and two live rabbits. The front desk is staffed only from the afternoon to the evening. Some of the staff were reasonably, others very friendly and helpful. There was nothing to complain about the cleanliness. We had to change room, however, because the drain in the sink seemed to be clogged (it was not, as I learnt later, but it is of a rather unusual and non-intuitive type). The second room we got was larger and quieter but in serious need of maintenance, especially in the bathroom. Considering the hotel prices in the Zurich area, this is a very good deal if one can sleep with closed windows or tolerate the noise.