Crowne Plaza Zurich by IHG — Hotel in Zurich

IHG. Check Swiss management and staff from Top to Bottom of Crowne Plaza Zürich. They are giving the IHG brand a bad name. I am staying here till Thursday this week. My stay altogether around 16 days to visit family. Friday and over the weekend have been hell!!!!

The remote control was not functioning, so I called desk to report. Nothing happened. I brought it down to the Reception to have batteries changed. The woman took it, returned it to me when I went back to hotel only to find it, still not working. I called Front Desk/ Reception and the man asked if batteries needed to be changed. Irritated, I said, how I was supposed to know. He said, he would send technician, who never came. I opened door to wait for technician and I spotted a chambermaid at the hall and asked her assiatance. She called the technician herself and the young technician came immediately, and fixed the problem. He changed the batteries. I commend these two angels. Thank you.

Next, I noticed that the cutlery set consisting of spoon, knife and fork I bought from home went missing from the table on top of minifridge. I called Reception to complain and was connected to the woman responsible for housekeeping. She made excuses for staff but I told her she cannot make excuses all the time for her staff since the hotel had so many guests, staying a night or two....what if their stuff went missing only to find it out later. She said that new staff may have thought my cutlery was part of hotel. I was going to give her the benefit of the doubt. She said, she was going to send me the hotel cutlery they have and I should tell her which was mine. Oh boy. When I returned to my room after being with family, I found an array of cutlery, with all sorts of designs. I know that hotels usually have one design. So, why did she send me a collection of different designs? I found my spoon and brought it to Reception to show them to return the missing fork and knife. The woman at the desk took a photo of spoon and the note that came with the array of so-called hotel cutlery. There were 2 other witnesses there. One was the friend Guest Relation manager who was introduced to me as a Night manager but in fact wasn't. I called the Front desk at around midnight still worried...and my call was answered by the real Night manager. I requested that my own cutlery (the missing set of fork, knife and spoon) be returned to my room by noon today, August 28...and the array of so-called hotel cutlery be removed from my room immediately. I reserve the rights to protect my rights and my name.

Staff at the Crowne Plaza Zürich do not wear name tags with photos.They should. IHG should insist. The staff at the Reception do not give their names when asked. Only when one insists or when I charmed them enough for them to let their guards down. 😁Sure, they will give their names on the phone but guests will not know them if they see them. Oh yes, the woman on the phone who is responsible for housekeeping asked me to describe staff who assisted me with the remote control. Long hair? Or short hair? 😂🤣😂 What a way to run a big, international hotel! Oh yes, she was conveniently off over the weekend, after she left the collection of hotel cutlery in my room...and note. I learned by the way, that she is the mother of the staff at the Reception. Info freely given to me, btw, by her colleagues. 😁

Insist that all Crowne Plaza Zürich staff wear their names and photos proudly. IHG is an international brand. They know their guests' faces and names and room numbers, passport details. We should at least know the names of the General Manager, other managers, and staff directly dealing with guests, too.

And yes, don't get fooled about this being Europe. They do not like giving out their names. Puhleez. They like to say: Trust is good. Worse, "Vertrauen ist gut, aber Kontrolle ist Alles."

They know exactly what this means.

I want to spend the rest of my vacation with my family, and not with this circus.

And I was so happy with the hotel's amenities, breakfast buffet...

Review Title: Disappointing Stay at Crowne Plaza – Not Up to Expected Standards

We recently stayed at Crowne Plaza Zurich with our family and unfortunately, our experience did not meet the standards we have come to expect from the IHG group.

We had initially requested connecting rooms during a phone conversation prior to arrival, and it was confirmed that this would be arranged. However, upon arrival, the hotel informed us that this was not possible. This was particularly inconvenient as we were traveling with a 10-year-old child and a 1-year-old baby, and had planned our stay around easy access between rooms. However upon check-in we were surprised to learn that their definition of a connecting room was simply two rooms side by side with a wall in between -no internal connection

Another major disappointment was the pool access policy. We were shocked to learn that the pool was accessible only for guests aged 16 or above, as it is managed by a partner fitness club. This was not clearly mentioned at the time of booking or in the hotel’s information, and our daughter had been looking forward to enjoying the pool during our 4-day stay. We came fully prepared for pool activities — only to be completely let down.

Additionally, the baby cot promised to us was not provided. Admittedly , wed id not ask again during the stay, as we were already adjusting to multiple setbacks and assumed it was overlooked.

The standard room quality was also far below the expected level for a hotel under the Crowne Plaza brand — including a leaking shower mixer, which caused unpredictable temperature changes (from very hot to very cold). This made it especially unsafe for children.

We also encountered frequent issues with the parking card, which often failed to work, requiring us to use the “i” button to contact support repeatedly. While this may be a minor technical issue, it added to the overall sense of inconvenience.

The front office staff appeared stressed, and at times, especially the female staff, lacked the warmth and professionalism expected in guest service. On the other hand, the male staff members were polite, helpful, and respectful, which we greatly appreciated. Just to clarify — this observation comes from both myself and my family (my wife and daughter), and is not a reflection of any gender bias. In fact, my daughter herself noticed and commented on the difference in treatment.

I’ve been living in Berlin for over 8 years and work as a medical doctor (Anaesthetist) — someone who takes hygiene and service quality very seriously, both professionally and personally. Sadly, the experience here did not reflect the standard IHG usually promises. I hail from Kerala, India — fondly called “God’s Own Country”. Anyone who assumes that we don’t understand what cleanliness or hospitality means is welcome to Google Kerala’s tourism standards — our resorts are known for world-class service and cleanliness.

Yes, some areas in India still face issues with public hygiene — we do not deny that. But to anyone comparing this hotel experience in Zurich with India, here’s a befitting reply:

“Cleanliness is not tied to geography, but to mindset and management. A hotel brand like Crowne Plaza must deliver consistent quality, whether in Switzerland or India. The failures here reflect local management, not the location.”

We are IHG members and also long-time members of Club Mahindra India since 2018 — and in comparison, this stay was disappointing. I would strongly urge the management and IHG to review how properties like Club Mahindra maintain their resort standards, especially for family guests.

To any fellow travelers from India or elsewhere: Please double-check the hotel’s policies (especially regarding family facilities) before booking.

That said, our overall trip to Switzerland was wonderful, thanks to the beautiful people on the streets, in shops, and at tourist sites — who were welcoming, kind, and helpful. This hotel experience was a rare let-down in an otherwise...

Dear Roland Fredersdorf (General Manager of Crowne Plaza Zurich),

It is deeply disheartening for me to write this. As a Platinum member who stayed in various IHG hotels including my recent honeymoon to Switzerland where I stayed in Crowne Plaza Geneva, Holiday Inn Bern and your Crowne Plaza Zurich, I am flabbergasted by the level of hospitality by the front desk team, housekeeping team and the breakfast restaurant team.

Front Desk Team:

There was a lack of smile or warmth during the check-in process. The staff gave the vibe that I'm bothering them. My apologies for failing to take note of the staff's name.

When I came at 2pm, I was denied an early check-in. I was made to understood that the check-in time is 3pm, however the manner of which the staff communicated it is not friendly. "it is clearly stated in the reservation that check-in is at 3pm" while giving an unwelcoming look.

During the check-in, I was declined a room upgrade despite it being my honeymoon and me being a Platinum member. However, credits to the staff for giving complimentary breakfast for a day. What is odd is that not even a decoration was provided. For relative comparison, Crowne Plaza Geneva provided complimentary upgrade + pastries since it was honeymoon. Holiday Inn Bern decorated the room with rose petals and towel origami with 2 swans kissing.

As I'm a Platinum member, the check-in staff asked me to return the next day to check for available room upgrade. However, during the next day, before I could complete my sentence requesting for a complimentary room upgrade, I got cut off by the front desk staff telling me in a not so polite manner that there's no room upgrade. I merely followed advisory from the check-in staff but was surprisingly treated in such a non-pleasant manner.

Housekeeping team:

Faulty hair dryer in room, of which upon complaining and requesting for a separate hair dryer, we were told to "hold the dryer in a certain way by holding the button upwards".

Why is it so hard to provide guest with separate hair dryer when the room's one is faulty. We tried the 'method' advocated by housekeeping but eventually gave up when the hair dryer was still faulty.

Had to personally go downstairs to reception the next day to insist for a separate hair dryer to be provided, which was eventually provided.

Breakfast Restaurant team:

Perhaps its my first time in Zurich or that I'm unaware of how Zurich's hospitality is, but the staffs there doesn't provide service with a smile. Rather it seems like they're unhappy working on that day.

In comparison, hospitality in Geneva and Bern were much better.

Comparison Crowne Plaza Geneva with Crowne Plaza Zurich (both 4 stars hotel and under IHG group), Geneva brand provided sauces and waiters go to each table asking for "coffee or tea". Zurich outlet is purely self-service, of which sauces (ie. ketchup and mayo) has to be specifically requested of which staff will enter kitchen to provide you with A (ONE) packet of sauce. How inconvenient.

In short, Crowne Plaza Zurich (a 4-star hotel) certainly fall short in its hospitality and surprisingly is worse than Holiday Inn Express Bern (a 3-star hotel). I could only speculate that the guest-facing employees in Crowne Plaza Zurich had forgotten that Crowne Plaza Hotel is supposed to come with warm hospitality.

The only silver lining was the check-out where the front-desk personnel (who was also coaching a young male employee/intern). She was friendly and deserved commendation.

Personally, I would never again visit Crowne Plaza Zurich. On the contrary, both Crowne Plaza Geneva and Holiday Inn Bern had certainly left a positive impression to me. For the sake of future guests, I do hope Mr. Roland Fredersdorf and Sr. Mgmt Team of Crowne Plaza Zurich would take this feedback seriously for quality improvement and assurance...