Chill with your favorite cocktail at Cinchona Bar. Photo / Andrea Diglas
As regentrification slowly encroaches upon Zurich’s entertainment strip, Langstrasse, there’s one hotel clinging to its infamous, debaucherous past. Enter 25hours Langstrasse.
Location: Langstrasse 150, 8004 Zürich, Switzerland
Perfect for: Couples or friends who are all too familiar with each other and business travellers keen to mingle in Zurich’s long-standing nightlife district.
First impressions: Approaching the hotel, you’re greeted by a string of giant neon-lit words wrapped around the front of the box-shaped building; “spotlight”, “expedition”, “bling”, “highball”.
As with all 25hours hotels, each follows a theme; this one is a pocket universe. Hotel manager Michael Baur says 25hours Langstrasse’s chosen theme reflects its location: “All the worlds come together, business, tourists, entertainment and a bit of the red-light district.”
It is a stimulation overload, with the lobby area akin to a hip vintage store, chock-full of random antiques and trinkets, from the tame (ships in bottles) to the eyebrow-raising (timeworn postcards of naked women). The centrepiece, an industrial, Hills Hoist-inspired “Freitag” tree, has bags of Switzerland’s favourite cult brand dangling like fruit over the concrete floor.
Behind the reception desk is a luminous sign, “Leihaus”, meaning pawn shop; possibly a play on words for another source of inspiration. The hotel pays homage to the district’s grittier, scandalous past as a former red-light district. A painting of a lady posing provocatively in a corset and knee-high black boots glares down at the counter. Squint, and you’ll see a naked lady in the colourful mosaic mural behind the bar, too.
Check-in takes less than five minutes, and I’m advised of a few unexpected perks: for every day I forgo having my room cleaned, a tree is planted, and everything in the mini-bar (including alcohol) is complimentary. And there’s a good reason why “Leihaus” flashes behind: guests can score free stays in exchange for an antique or piece of art deemed of value. Score!
The room: There are 170 rooms across four categories. I’m in a large room, and it’s not the decor, high ceilings, mezzanine layout, abundant natural lighting, or king bed that leaves a lasting first impression; it’s the big glass box shower (BGBS) in the middle of the room. It faces a mirror wall and, next to it, a shelf with a Polaroid camera. The camera is complimentary to use with film purchased from reception. Suggestive much?
Speaking of risqué poses, I’m embarrassed to admit I may have given the hotel’s neighbours an accidental (free) peep show. Thankfully, there are blue-green curtains to draw across the shower, separating it from the bedroom and window.
We go from eccentric to eclectic, with the window nook featuring cushions, a small desk with coloured pencils and coffee and tea essentials. The bed faces a black-and-white cityscape mural and a mounted TV. Flooring is a mix of polished concrete floors (bathroom) and floorboards (bedroom).
Bathroom: While the BGBS takes centre stage, things are kept discreet, with the toilet secreted behind a wooden door next to the room’s entrance. Black brick tiles run from the shower wall to the vanity area, featuring a white basin under an LED mirror. There’s also a wooden bench in the shower in case you’re in it for the long haul.
Facilities: Needing to blow off steam or inhale it? The hotel’s gym and sauna are on the 7th floor and offer impressive views of Zürich. It also provides Schindelhauer bike rentals to ride around the city in style (and keep to fitness goals).
Food and drink: This is one of those hotels where you’d be forgiven for lingering longer than intended. I’m not alone – its social haunts are local go-tos.
Highball heroes Cinchona Bar features cosy lounges and booth nooks, as well as high stool seating, around its rectangular gold bar, hidden under a staircase. Also on the ground floor is restaurant NENI Zürich, offering home-style Middle Eastern share plates.
The latter is also where breakfast is served. Middle Eastern dips sit alongside typical continental buffet fare, such as charcuterie, an assortment of cheeses (it’s Switzerland, after all), freshly baked breads and pastries, smoked fish, muesli, and fruits. There’s also a juicer, which I use liberally. As part of the buffet breakfast, I have shakshuka eggs made to order. One will never go hungry in this place.
In the neighbourhood: You don’t have to try too hard to be entertained. The once-scandalous Langstrasse intersects with Europpaalee – one of Zürich’s newest neighbourhoods, dominated by Google offices, boujee eateries, clubs, bars and boutiques – next to Zürich Main Station.
Accessibility: There are six rooms to accommodate wheelchair users located near the elevator.
Sustainability: 25hours Zürich Langstrasse is a Green Key certificate holder, which recognises excellence in environmental responsibility and sustainability in the tourism industry. 25hours is also a member of the country’s “Swisstainable” tourism sustainability programme.
Price: Rooms start from $525 per night, including breakfast.
Contact: 25hours-hotels.com
The writer was a guest of Visit Zürich and Switzerland Tourism.