1 minute read
Breakfast O'clock
by travel-expert José Berrocoso
URBAN RIVERSIDE CHIC
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Overlooking the River Limmat, Storchen Zürich, member of Preferred Hotels, is a stylish and intimate hub for exploring the downtown area. The hotel has welcomed guests for over 660 years and blends historical character with contemporary style.
www.preferredhotels.com
The only hotel on the River Limmat in central Zurich. Storchen strikes up from the water in a peachy collage of leaded windowpanes and striped sunshades. To its rear lie the old town’s elegant rows of designer labels, as well as sleepy square Weinplatz and nearby Gemüsebrucke, which hosts a small farmers’ market on Saturdays. Across the river is the twin-spired Grossmunster, worth climbing for its 360-degree views. A fun way to arrive is the 15-minute boat ride from the main station/Landesmuseum to the hotel’s pier.
Storchen has been welcoming guests since 1357, but its gentrified heritage is cloaked in the luxe of a multi-million renovation that elevated the hotel to Zurich’s five-star elite – like the ugly duckling emerging as a, well, stork. It's now all colossal vases, marble flooring and a mauve through dove grey palette; there's tangible polish. Look closely, and the motifs are interpretations of the great white birds the hotel takes its name from. There’s an eerie sweep of a wing in paintwork here, and pleated brass as feathers there – as well as plentiful openings onto the river you can sit beside and watch real storks flying past.
River-facing La Rotisserie is the setting for breakfast – a pleasant offering of Bircher muesli in jam jars, breads and patisseries, plus several à la carte options – and evening meals. The menu, which errs towards the traditional in dishes such as beef with fries, has a nice seasonal focus and some vegan options. The showpiece is Barchetta, a glass-fronted café-cum-bar that stretches from the square along the river and is often full of locals. Its live jazz provides a sophisticated ambiance in which to enjoy a cocktail. There is also a venerable cigar lounge with a concave wooden ceiling, which specialises in cigars from esteemed local supplier Wagner Tabak.
