I had a nice week-long stay at Hotel Linde in Baden, Switzerland.
The good:
1. Nice location - 5 minute walk to rail station and the town center. Lots of close-by shops, restaurants, stores, bars.
2. Friendly staff with excellent English.
3. Awesome roof top bar (Panorama) with great views of Baden, and really nice waitresses - my co-workers and I loved this place.
4. Rooms - modern and clean, corner rooms are spacious (though I am told that non-corner rooms are tiny)
5. Free breakfast was OK - hot options included eggs and bacon. Good croissants and cold cuts (ham, salami, etc.)
6. Wifi Internet is fast -- though it did drop out a few times during my stay.
7. Balcony - My room on the 13th floor also had a small private deck, which was cool.
The bad:
1. No fitness center on-premise. You can walk 5 minutes to the fitness center in the post office next to the rail station, but you need to pay 29 CHF per day to use it.
2. No air conditioning in the rooms. They do provide a fan, which helps -- but it was still a bit rough to be there this past week (where daytime temperatures in Baden Switzerland averaged in the high-80s F)
3. No iron/ironing boards in the rooms. If you want to iron clothes, you need to use the public iron/ironing board on the 11th floor. There is no place to hang clothes while you're ironing them there.
4. The elevators/lifts are tiny. Not a problem except during busy times, or if you're in a larger group (like I was).
5. The directions on their web site for walking to the property from the rail station are horrible and pretty much unusable.
6. No alarm clock in rooms, though staff will give you a wake up call upon request.
7. In-room hair dryer is very weak on even its highest setting and takes forever to dry hair. Bring your own!
8. In-room "mini bar" refrigerator does not keep anything cold.
Getting to Hotel Linde is a bit tricky and their aforementioned website directions are crap, so here are some tips if you're arriving at Zurich airport:
- TRAIN FROM AIRPORT: There is a direct train from Zurich airport to Baden, but I was given an itinerary by SBB for a train route where I needed to transfer trains (this meant hauling my suitcase up and down stairs at a different station). Insist to SBB that you want an itinerary for a direct train to Baden when you buy your ticket at the airport.
- OVERALL CONCEPT FOR FINDING HOTEL LINDE IN BADEN: Once you get to Baden, you want to walk out of the rail station and towards the hill with the tunnel in it. Hotel Linde is on the other side of that tunnel/hill. You won't be able to see the hotel from the rail station. The train goes through the tunnel, and there is also a parking garage in the tunnel that runs to the left of the train track that you should walk through called the "tunnel garage." Once you get out of the tunnel garage, Hotel Linde will be across the street to your right.
- LANDMARKS: Your main mission should be to find the tunnel garage. The easiest way to find the tunnel garage is to walk along side the rail tracks. Find the Starbuck's next to the rail station, and walk towards the building that says "Coop City", walking along the street underneath that passes through the building. Once you get through "Coop City" keep walking straight (train tracks will be to your right -- keep walking along the tracks) and you'll see the tunnel garage ahead of you.
- EXITING THE TUNNEL GARAGE: Stay to your right in the tunnel garage to the end and follow the pedestrian-only path in the right corner at the end of the parking area in the garage. You will want to continue to stay right throughout. When you emerge you should see Hotel Linde ahead of you. It is the tallest building in the area. Be sure to check out their web site so you know what the building looks like. read more
