One of the cities I'd been wanting to check out for awhile was Zurich. This past October, I finally had the chance to visit! I had also been following the luxury boutique hotel, the Marktgasse Hotel, on Instagram, loving the regular dose of design inspiration from their stylish space. Once I booked my plane ticket to Zurich, I knew right away this is where I wanted to stay.

The Marktgasse Hotel is nestled in the heart of Zurich's Old Town. Situated on the corner of a cobblestone street in a beautiful small square, the hotel offers 39 individually designed and furnished rooms, two fantastic restaurants, and a bar. The building itself is one of the oldest inns in Zurich; the first written reference to the building dates back to 1291! The building was recently carefully renovated between 2013 to 2015 adding quirky touches while preserving and incorporating its heritage into the design details. The interiors are contemporary, light, and bright with high ceilings, large windows, and white walls, with some eclectic design features injecting personality throughout the hotel. I love how unique, historical, and chic the Marktgasse Hotel is as its character and understated luxury made this a memorable stay. Many times during my stay, I didn't hear or see many other guests (even though they were there), so it felt very personal and cozy, almost like I had the hotel to myself! I also had fantastic service from the reception staff while checking in, which is always the sign of quality and makes a difference in kicking your stay off on the right foot.

The hotel's location is fantastic as you can easily walk to many of the city's museums, galleries, and Lake Zurich, as well as being a short walk to the tram and main train station. Located between Bellevue and Central, you can check out sights such as the Kunsthaus (Museum of Modern Art), Schauspielhaus (Theatre), Opernhaus Zurich (Opera House), and Tonhalle (Orchestra), as well as the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and University of Zurich. Just across the square from the hotel is the famous Cabaret Voltaire, the birthplace of the Dada movement. There are also many beautiful little shops, boutiques, and restaurants in the hotel's neighbourhood of Niederdorf.

Delish and Baltho Restaurant are the two restaurants inside the hotel, both offering excellent food. As a guest, you can have breakfast at Delish on the ground floor of the hotel. I highly recommend their freshly baked, homemade cinnamon buns, which are popular with locals and guests alike, and their shakshuka. You can also have lunch there as they offer in-house smoked fish, regional cheeses, various salads, several types of bread, homemade granola, fresh fruit, and yogurt. They will also give you a takeaway container if you're heading out on a tour or going on a picnic. Don't forget to have a hot coffee by Henauer or tea by Schwarzenbach!

I enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Baltho Restaurant on one of the evenings during my stay. The food and cocktails were absolutely divine. I had the Bang Bang chicken to start, a favourite on their menu, which was bursting with flavour. You can choose a smaller appetizer size of this tasty dish or a larger size as your main. Next, I had a fresh, handmade ravioli dish that was so tasty that I didn't want it to finish. For dessert, I had a local favourite of apple pie and ice cream - the perfect way to top it off. Attached to the restaurant is the cozy bar called Baltho Bar. Like the two restaurants, it is also popular with visitors and locals alike due to their inventive cocktails and extensive list of drinks - you'll want to sample them all!

The Marktgasse Hotel has an inviting lobby featuring some fantastic design pieces, complimentary coffee, and fruit. There is also a cozy library where you can pick a book to read and adjoining salon for guests to enjoy, such as playing a board game. The library and salon can be hired out for business meetings, birthday parties, a reading event, or even a small concert. While the hotel doesn't have a gym on the premises, guests get free access to the Fitnesspark Hamam Münstergasse which is close to the hotel. Here, you can use the Fitness Area, Group Classes, and the Hamam (although treatments are not included).

Each of the 39 rooms are individually furnished with high quality designer pieces and different layouts and floor plans from a small and cozy single room to the spacious Marktgasse Suite. All of the rooms has oak parquet or hard floors. Due to the history of the building (one of the first inns in Zurich), some of the rooms feature heritage-protected details such as stucco, wall panelling, tiled stoves, and columns, as well as some slanted floors and lower ceilings in three of the rooms on the fourth floor. I slept well during my stay due to the cushy white bed linens and premium Schramm mattress. There is free wifi available as well as television with multiple international channels. The chic bathroom was stocked with Aesop products, one of my favourite brands! I had large windows in my bedroom and the bathroom, which was perfect to watch the world go by below and admire the district's beautiful coloured buildings and architecture.

If you're planning a visit to Zurich, I would highly recommend this lovely hotel for a chic, modern, and comfortable stay with terrific service and amenities.

Getting There:

The Marktgasse Hotel is easy to get to, with multiple forms of transport getting you to Zurich and onwards to the hotel:

Air: Flughafen (Zurich) Airport is the closest airport, and there are good transport links from the airport to the city.
Train: There is a train from the airport that will take you to the main train station in Zurich (or trains from elsewhere around Switzerland or Europe, of course). From there, you can either walk to the hotel or take the tram.
Tram: Take tram no. 4 or 15 to the Rathaus stop, and walk up Marktgasse, which will only take about a minute. You'll find the hotel on the left on the corner. Or, take bus no. 31 to the Neumarkt stop, walk down Neumarkt, continue on Rindermarkt for five minutes and turn left onto Marktgasse.
Car: Much of the Old Town is blocked to personal vehicles, including Marktgasse. Public transportation is best to get here; however, if you're a guest with a valid reservation, you can drive up to the hotel to load and unload luggage.