Park Hyatt Zurich
Where is it? In the most expensive city in one of the most expensive countries in Europe. The Park Hyatt can be found amid the hustle of Zurich's financial district, a few blocks from Lake Zurich, the Limmat River, the city convention centre and the continent's most elegant shopping boulevard, Bahnhofstrasse.
Traditional or modern? A bit of both, actually. This decidedly five-star hotel eschews leaden design elements of yesteryear in favour of today's chic, dressed-down modernism. So instead
of antiques and oriental rugs, guests enjoy inviting minimalist surroundings, such as low-to-the-ground designer furnishings and lashings of modern art. Yet, thanks to the real-world outlook of interior designer Hirsch Bedner, there is a pleasing, sit-anywhere-you-wish attitude, not the missile-silo inspired standoffishness frequently associated with modern interiors.
Who should visit? Clued-up travellers who have grown bored with Zurich's timed-out 18th-century interiors and who are keen to embrace a slick-suited, full-service hotel that underpins the city's sophisticated sharpness.
It's for pleasure rather than business then? Thanks to its location and amenities, the Park Hyatt is the perfect hotel for both. Standing almost in the shadows of the steepled churches and centuries-old guildhalls of Zurich's medieval town, a few minutes from the bustle of Globus' new three-storey food court and directly in the heart of the banking and insurance sector, it strikes a perfect balance between work and play. The hotel offers a de rigueur health club and gym, 130 rooms and 12 suites.
What's on the menu? The inventive continental cuisine of local chef Frank Widmer, which is on offer at Parkhuus, the hotel's main restaurant. The space is anchored by an open kitchen, from which international fare created from the freshest Swiss ingredients emerges. A two-storey glass-enclosed wine library, with an outsized Ingo Maurer chandelier that keeps watch on those dining privately or having a tasting, flanks the restaurant.