The Dolder Grand

A city hotel that behaves like a mountain resort

The Dolder Grand opened in 1899 as the Grand Hotel Dolder, a curative house built for guests who came up the hill to take the air. After a closure and a comprehensive redevelopment led by Foster + Partners, it reopened in 2008 with two new wings curving away from the restored historic core. That contrast — turreted Belle Époque centre, glass-and-steel flanks — defines the experience. You are fifteen minutes from the Bahnhofstrasse and yet the only sound at night is wind in the trees.

Approach matters here. The romantic route is tram 3 to Römerhof and then the Dolderbahn, a cogwheel railway that hauls you up the slope in a few minutes. By car it is a twisting climb through residential Zurich. Either way, arriving feels like leaving the city, which is precisely the point.

The spa — the real headline

The Dolder Grand Spa runs to roughly 4,000 square metres across several levels, and it is the single strongest reason to choose this hotel over the four others in our selection. The circuit includes indoor and outdoor pools, a sunrise pool, whirlpools, a snow paradise, a Finnish sauna, bio-sauna, hammam, Kneipp basins and quiet rooms with hillside views. There are eighteen treatment rooms, plus dedicated couples' suites, working with a range of high-end skincare houses.

Crucially, the spa is large enough to absorb a busy weekend without feeling crowded — a problem most urban five-star wellness areas cannot solve. Day passes are available to non-residents but are capacity-controlled, so book in advance if you are visiting without staying.

Dining and the art collection

The Restaurant, under chef Heiko Nieder, holds two Michelin stars and is one of the most technically ambitious kitchens in German-speaking Switzerland — long tasting menus, heavy on precision and aromatics, with a pairing programme to match. Saltz, designed by Rolf Sachs, is the more relaxed all-day option with a terrace that catches the afternoon sun and a menu that swings between Swiss classics and international dishes. There is also a garden restaurant in summer and a bar with an exceptional view over the lake basin.

Throughout the building, the Dolder's owner has installed a genuinely serious art collection: Salvador Dalí, Andy Warhol, Joan Miró, Takashi Murakami, Fernando Botero and Camille Claudel among more than a hundred works. Guided art tours run regularly, and the collection is one of the few in Switzerland you can view while wearing a bathrobe.

Facilities at a glance

• 4,000 m² spa with pools, snow room, hammam and 18 treatment rooms
• The Restaurant (two Michelin stars), Saltz, Garden Restaurant, Bar
• Adjacent nine-hole golf course and extensive forest running trails
• Ballroom and event spaces for up to several hundred guests
• Dolderbahn cogwheel railway connection to tram 3 at Römerhof
• Kids' club facilities and family suites during holiday periods

Indicative rates

Indicative, excluding city accommodation tax and spa access supplements where applicable. Verified January 2026.

Getting there

From Zurich Airport allow 25–30 minutes by car. Using public transport, take the train to Zürich Hauptbahnhof, then tram 3 towards Klusplatz to Römerhof, then the Dolderbahn funicular to Dolder. The hotel also operates shuttle services into the city centre at set times — check on arrival, as this saves considerable expense over repeated taxis.