Widder Hotel, Zurich
The Widder Hotel in Zurich is a true architectural masterpiece, uniquely composed of nine separate medieval townhouses seamlessly connected by modern, glass-walled passageways. Located in the heart of the historic Old Town, the property underwent a decade-long restoration led by renowned Swiss architect Tilla Theus, finally opening its doors in 1995. The name “Widder,” meaning “ram,” honors the site’s history as the guild house for the local butchers’ guild, dating back to 1401.
Every one of the 49 rooms and suites is individually designed, offering a distinct personality that blends centuries-old wooden beams and stone walls with mid-century modern furniture from icons like Le Corbusier and the Eameses. Walking through the hotel feels much like visiting a private art gallery, as the walls are adorned with works by masters such as Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg—the latter even created a site-specific piece for the penthouse.
The hotel is perfectly situated for those wanting to soak in Zurich’s history and culture. You are just steps away from the upscale boutiques of the famous Bahnhofstrasse and within an easy walk of the Limmat River.
Nearby landmarks are plentiful, including the Fraumünster Church, celebrated for its stunning Marc Chagall windows, and the Lindenhof hill, which offers a beautiful panoramic view of the city. Whether you are enjoying a meal in the atmospheric Widder Garden or exploring the winding alleys of the Niederdorf district, the hotel serves as an elegant, historic sanctuary right in the center of the city.
Expert reviews
“Old meets new at the luxurious and quirky Widder, made up of eight adjoining medieval houses, and named after the 13th-century Augustinian monastery once located here.”
“Zürich’s most captivating hotel was created when 10 adjacent medieval houses were gutted and combined—now steel fuses with ancient stone and timeworn wood.”
Featured as Fodor’s Choice in Zurich.
“Widder Hotel is an art-and-design masterpiece in the heart of Zurich’s Old Town. Composed of nine medieval townhomes ingeniously joined together through modern passageways, the Widder balances impossibilities in style.While architectural elements, like carved beams and frescoed walls highlight its historic heritage, cutting-edge curated interiors push thrilling, edgy boundaries.”
“Widder Hotel is an intriguing concoction of townhouses dating from the 15th century, artfully melded to make space for 49 unique rooms. Located in central Zurich, the five-star also boasts a library decorated with Eames chairs, two restaurants and one of the city’s best bars.”
What guests liked
- Top location
- Excellent service
- Comfortable beds
- Free Wifi
- Great breakfast
- Private parking
Location
Recent guest reviews
1 June 2026
no mistake but no vibe
The Location is great, rooms are very clean and practical. In short, there is nothing wrong with the hotel, save for the value for money. I travel all the time, and I can say that this is overpriced.
The building would need a full redecoration. Apart from the library room, in between the old and new part of the building all corridors, lifts, doors, garden are to be refurbished. They are a cold ensamble of old and neutral materials. There is no soul to be a 5 star hotel.
19 August 2025
Very nice hotel located in downtown Zurich , very friendly staff
The room design is so nice
The bed pillows were not comfortable
18 August 2025
This is the hotel!
The service was exceptional, as was the breakfast and everything at the hotel. They were very helpful with our daughter's requests during breakfast and in assisting us with restaurant reservations. They even provided a pillow menu to accommodate different preferences. We enjoyed our stay!
N/A
30 July 2025
The hotel is lovely and the level of care by the team is patchy.
Very clean and thoughtfully decorated
No response from staff on a twice made request and a low level of care/apology that the simple request was not carried out.
13 July 2025
A superb hotel with great staff.
Beautiful rooms and abundant spaces to utilise outside the room, the Widder garden is a wonderful place to relax on a summers day. The location is excellent in the old part of the city.
12 July 2025
Great staff, nice suite, but at Zurich prices
Excellent and friendly staff; nice suite, complimentary minibar, and well located.
The Widder exemplified Zurich - a standard European five star experience but at twice the cost. The room key was also an oddity. it was like a small brick. There was also an odd “Climate fee” of 8 euros per day — I had it removed as it rained every day. Grin.
14 June 2025
Excellent location. Great staff. Classy interior design. Some facilities need to be upgraded.
The staffs are very polite and helpful at the concierge. The room is spacious and well appointed. Classy interior design with Eames design chairs. The bathroom is well designed with beautiful marble and craftsmanship. Staff Dario at Widder bar are very friendly and attentive. All the furniture and decor are exceptional. The vibe at the Garden bar are excellent.
For this price and grade of hotel. I expected more. There is no USB outlet in the room. I expected there is at least one on the study table. The light control is not flexible. Either all on or all off. Housekeeping is a bit slow when I asked for iron board and iron. Threw my pyjama near the study table when they cleaned the room. The shower (the hand held one) is difficult to adjust to an ideal temperature. Either too hot or cold. The pumps of the shampoo and shower gel are not using friendly. The hair conditioner pump does not work.
9 May 2025
Perfect hotel in a great location. Staff were friendly and very efficient.
Everything
Nothing
8 April 2025
Gorgeous boutique hotel in perfect location
Almost perfect - please sort out the new WiFi system
27 January 2025
Excellent service, facilites not meeting expectations.
Great location
Rather outdated design and decor
10 October 2024
Amazing Hotel. Ideal Location. Professional, Helpful Team.
Ideal location. 40 mins drive from the airport. Edge of Zurich old and new towns. The whole team at The Widder always did everything they could to ensure their guests' stay is outstanding.
N/a - everything was perfect.
12 September 2024
Great place with amazing staff
Excellent location in the very center, breakfast and service are beyond praise. The staff impressed us with their professionalism. And the reception, and the restaurant, and the wonderful room service. Very tasty food, perfectly cooked. Everyone greets you with a smile, jokes and does their job professionally. For example: on arrival we ordered a transfer, and on departure it turned out that it was ordered for the time of the plane's departure by mistake. Without any worries in 5 minutes we already had a new car. The situation was resolved instantly.
We really liked the attention to our one and a half year old daughter. They prepared a wonderful crib, left pleasant and very useful gifts. We are delighted, you are all great! The hotel is made by its team. Thank you for the wonderful impressions!
Pillows are good for lying on the bed, but not for sleeping :)
It was uncomfortable during the night.
15 July 2024
An extraordinary hotel in a wonderful city
Excellent - we ordered the room service and everything was perfect
Not a thing. The staff was amazing, the concierge was incredibly helpful, the food was great, the room was perfect - top notch!
12 July 2024
Over rated hotel
Location
Very Clean
The hotel is structured in a very complex layout. To reach my room with luggage, you need to navigate several minutes of stairs up and down twice before finally taking an elevator.
Additionally, next to my room, there's a church that rings its bells loudly at 7 am on Sunday and Monday mornings, which disrupted my sleep after arriving at the hotel at 3 am from a friend's place.
Lastly, I found the reception team to be unfriendly although they smile all the time.
30 June 2024
Wonderful rooms, lovely courtyard and bar. Great place for a short stay
Breakfast was pretty much anything you wanted. The room I was in had 17th centyry murals. Location is bang in the middle of the shopping area. Bar and courtyard is very nice
Food in the restaurant could have been a lot better. I did not get a chance to try the michelin star restaurant
25 June 2024
Location, restaurant and staff were all superb.
Superb location, unique design, very helpful staff and fabulous restaurant.
18 May 2024
Best hotel in Zurich - beautiful. great service and best food.
The property is beautiful, welll maintained. The staff was incredable - very helpful and attentive, nice and welcomning.
Room is very clean, wide - alot of space and luxurious. Located in the best area in Zurich in the middle of shops walking street between the Bhanofstrasse and the old city. Hotel has beautiful, small but really nice fitness room. Food at hotel - both in breakfast and in the yaed restaurant is excellent.
Matress in bed - was too hard for me.
22 April 2024
Luxury at great value
An exceptional stay. What an amazing hotel. Excellent staff. Best location
I have to say there was not a cafe or a place to sit indoors and have a cup of coffee or meal..this could improve
10 February 2024
My new favourite place to stay in Zurich
Great location. Very nice rooms, good breakfast, good design.
13 August 2023
Outstanding level of service, extraordinary place. Will be back.
Outstanding service, thoughtful, friendly stuff but not overbearing, very balanced as it must be in luxury places. Historic but modern luxury place, very clean, nice smell. Very good breakfast.
Hotel facilities
Food & Drink
- - Restaurant
- - Bar
- - Breakfast in the room
- - Snack bar
- - Special diet menus (on request)
- - Kids' meals (additional charge)
- - Kid-friendly buffet
- - Wine/champagne (additional charge)
- - Fruits
General
- - Room service
- - Non-smoking rooms
- - Facilities for disabled guests
- - Family rooms
- - Lift
- - Safety deposit box
- - Soundproof rooms
- - Packed lunches
- - Car hire
- - Heating
- - Allergy-free room
- - Non-smoking throughout
- - Air conditioning
- - Designated smoking area
- - Shuttle service (additional charge)
- - Airport shuttle (additional charge)
- - Shared lounge/TV area
- - Grocery deliveries (additional charge)
- - Pet basket
- - Pet bowls
Business facilities
- - Meeting/banquet facilities (additional charge)
- - Business centre
- - Fax/photocopying
Reception services
- - 24-hour front desk
- - Currency exchange
- - Tour desk
- - Luggage storage
- - Concierge service
- - Private check-in/check-out
- - Lockers
- - Invoice provided
Activities
- - Fitness centre
- - Massage (additional charge)
- - Cycling
- - Nightclub/DJ (additional charge)
- - Evening entertainment (additional charge)
- - Fitness
- - Yoga classes
- - Fitness classes
- - Personal trainer
- - Fitness/spa locker rooms
- - Temporary art galleries (additional charge)
- - Walking tours (additional charge)
- - Themed dinner nights (additional charge)
- - Cooking class (additional charge)
- - Bicycle rental
Outdoors
- - Garden
- - Terrace
- - Sun terrace
- - Outdoor furniture
Entertainment & family services
- - Babysitting/child services (additional charge)
Cleaning services
- - Laundry (additional charge)
- - Dry cleaning (additional charge)
- - Ironing service (additional charge)
- - Trouser press (additional charge)
- - Daily housekeeping
Parking
- - Parking garage
- - Electric vehicle charging station
- - Accessible parking
Transport
- - Public transport tickets (additional charge)
- - Airport pick up (additional charge)
- - Airport drop off (additional charge)
Miscellaneous
- - 24-hour security
- - Key access
- - Security alarm
- - Smoke alarms
- - Fire extinguishers
- - Breakfast takeaway containers
- - Delivered food is securely covered
- - Access to health care professionals
- - Thermometers for guests provided by property
- - Face masks for guests available

More photos

4 July 2026
Amazing clean hotel friendly staff