Location

Aparthotel Adagio Zurich City Centre is situated north of Zurich Hauptbahnhof, approximately 7 minutes on foot from the train station and 10 minutes on foot to Zurich’s old town. As this seems to be a residential area, we did not find a lot of amenities near the hotel. There are several restaurants located next to the hotel, but they always seem to be closed whenever we walk past them. The nearest supermarkets are situated near Zurich Hauptbahnhof, which is approximately a 7-minute walk away. There is a bus stop near the hotel, but not directly in front of the hotel, which is a 3-minute walk from the hotel entrance to this bus stop. The hotel shares the same building as Ibis Styles Zurich City Centre.

The Suite

We checked into the 40㎡ Superior Studio with Terrace, which is a one-of-a-kind room in the hotel. Although it is termed a studio, the suite features a separate living room and a bedroom. The highlight of the studio is the spacious outdoor terrace that overlooks the city.

Entryway

The entryway to the Superior Studio with Terrace at Aparthotel Adagio Zurich City Centre occupies a small area of the studio suite. There is no furnishing at the entryway, and it shares the same space as the living room.

Living Room

The living room of the Superior Studio with Terrace is made up of the lounging area, the dining area and the kitchenette.

Lounging Area

The lounging area is immediately next to the main entrance and features Scandinavian decor, with woody tones from the flooring to the sofa. The sofa, which can comfortably sit two, is placed next to the main entrance to the Superior Studio and can be converted into a bed, which would increase the capacity in the studio by an additional two guests. In fact, the sofa was converted into a double bed when we first entered the Superior Studio. Instead of a large coffee table, I like how the hotel uses small round tables that not only save space but can also double up as stools for more people to sit on. There are three such stool-tables in the living room of the Superior Studio, one placed in front of the sofa, another placed next to the sofa, and yet another placed by the floor-to-ceiling window. I thought that not furnishing a TV cabinet was a great idea, as having a TV cabinet would clutter the lounging area due to the space allocated. The TV in the lounging area is mounted on a wall, opposite the main entrance and at a corner of the living room. Aparthotel Adagio Zurich City Centre is one of the few hotels that I have stayed in Switzerland that offered its guests more English channels. The placement of the TV with a pivoting mount allowed us to watch the TV while dining in the dining area. The living room, from the lounging area to the dining area, has a total of three floor-to-ceiling windows that open up to a French balcony. These three windows allowed lots of natural light into the living room and created an indoor-outdoor concept. They also made the elongated living room feel larger.

Dining Area & Kitchenette

The dining area & kitchenette took up about ⅓ of the living room space. Placed between the lounging area and the bedroom, the dining area is furnished with a suitably sized round table with four accompanying leathered seating dining chairs. As there are no work desks in this Superior Studio, the dining table also doubles up as a work desk. Behind the dining table is a kitchenette that has all one needs to whip up a simple meal. Other than a sink and the usual Nespresso Coffee machine and mini fridge, the kitchenette also has a two-stove induction cooker, a microwave oven and even a dishwasher. Aparthotel Adagio Zurich City Centre also equipped its Superior Studio with a full set of dining set for four, together with pots and pans. I like how the kitchenette, despite a small footprint in the Superior Studio, was able to function as a full kitchen with the many amenities the hotel provided.

Bedroom

The bedroom is further into the Superior Studio with Terrace at Aparthotel Adagio Zurich City Centre. Instead of a wall and door, the bedroom can be isolated with the use of thick blackout curtains. The bedroom is simply furnished with a queen-size bed and two bedside tables. One of the bedside tables is mounted onto the headboard of the queen bed, while the other is a standalone cabinet. Another TV is mounted on the wall opposite the queen bed, which has the same international and local channels available as the one in the living room. Underneath the TV is a long bench fitted with a cushion, I guess to double up as a seating area in the bedroom, as well as a luggage rack. Perhaps the weakest link in the Superior Studio with Terrace at Aparthotel Adagio Zurich City Centre is the wardrobe space. The hotel fitted an open concept hanging rack that only has sufficient space for us to hang four jackets, which is grossly insufficient if the Superior Studio is maxed out with four guests. There is a deep drawer underneath the hanging rack, which gives us more storage space, given the limited space for storage in the bedroom. The enclosed cabinet next to the hanging rack also did not provide us with more storage space. Of the four tiered cabinet shelves, we were only able to use three, as one of these precious shelves is being occupied by the in-room safe.

Bathroom

The bathroom in the Superior Studio at Aparthotel Adagio Zurich City Centre comprises two rooms, the toilet and the shower room. The toilet is located in a separate room from the shower and sits right at the end of the corridor in the studio suite. Despite the modest space, the toilet does not feel cramped. There is even space in the toilet for the hotel to install a small basin with a countertop that is large enough for me to place my toiletries on. I thought the hotel was clever to put a sink here, creating a dual sink in the bathroom area. Further into the bathroom, next to the toilet, is where the shower room is situated. Sitting next to the entrance of the shower room is the other sink in the Superior Studio, placed on a slightly larger countertop compared to the one in the toilet, giving us more space for toiletries. In the corner of the shower room sits a standing walk-in shower stall, equipped with both rain and regular shower heads. Aparthotel Adagio Zurich City Centre supplies its guests with a PRIJA combination of shampoo cum shower gel that gives off a woody scent after a shower. The only flaw in the walk-in shower is the lack of a ledge for us to place our facial wash and dental kit.

Terrace

What surprises me most is the terrace. From the picture on the hotel’s website, the terrace looked like an extension of the Superior Studio, having the same width as the studio suite. However, when we entered the terrace, we were surprised that the terrace took up the entire width of the 7th floor. In fact, we thought the size of the terrace was approximately the same size as our Superior Studio. Aparthotel Adagio Zurich City Centre furnished the terrace with two sets of outdoor furniture. The area immediately in front of our Superior Studio is furnished with a sofa for three and another four single-seater armchairs, together with an outdoor table. There are some holders for potted plants, which were empty due to the wintry weather. The other side of the terrace is furnished with three sundeck chairs and a single armchair with a matching table. I guess this area sees more use in the summer.

Service

The service at Aparthotel Adagio Zurich City Centre is good. We were warmly welcomed by the staff during check-in, who processed our check-in with much efficiency and patiently answered our questions about the breakfast and our half-board booking. The next day, we approached the reception staff about our welcome drink, who gleefully recommended us her favourite drink. Although there are signs in the hotel lift that state housekeeping services are only available every seven days, we were pleasantly surprised to find our rooms being made up when we returned to our Superior Studio in the evening. We booked a half-board package to dine at the YUKA restaurant. The staff there appeared to be aloof initially, but they started to warm up after our initial interaction with them. Despite us having the set menu, the staff took the effort to check with the kitchen if they were able to customise the dishes for us.

Hotel Facilities

Gym

The hotel shares a small gym with Ibis Styles Zurich City Centre, located on the ground floor of the hotel. The gym is equipped with a limited number of cardio workout machines, with only one stationary bike, one elliptical machine, one rowing machine, and two treadmills. Guests who want to engage in strength training are limited to one strength workout machine that targets every muscle group, as well as free weights. We found a sauna in the gym at Aparthotel Adagio Zurich City Centre.

Breakfast @ YUKA

Breakfast is served at the YUKA restaurant, located on the ground floor of the hotel, adjacent to the reception. Breakfast is limited to a large selection of bread, some hard-boiled eggs, sausages and cold cuts. Despite the limited breakfast variety, the hotel still serves a hearty breakfast to fuel guests for the day before exploring Zurich.

Overall

We had a pleasant stay at Aparthotel Adagio Zurich City Centre. I liked the terrace that looked out into the streets of Zurich and the amenities in the Superior Studio. Despite being termed as a studio, the bedroom can be isolated from the living room and the bathroom, creating a one-bedroom suite. The inclusion of a kitchenette gave us the option of preparing a simple meal, and the dishwasher eliminated the need for doing the dishes. The hotel is close to Zurich Hauptbahnhof and the city centre, making exploring Zurich and its surroundings a breeze.