First look: Historic Hotel Baur reborn as Mandarin Oriental Savoy Zurich
The newly opened Mandarin Oriental Savoy combines grandeur, history and luxury in this Swiss city.
What makes a truly great luxury city hotel rise above the rest? That is apart from the requisite bed linen thread counts, the signature scents, the big-name interior designers, the plushness of it all. Which factors conspire to create the perfect place to both plug meaningfully into the buzzing life of a great city, and then retreat in utter comfort to dream of what adventures await tomorrow?
A whirlwind stay in Zurich last winter of less than 24 hours, en route home from St. Moritz, provides perfect fodder for pondering this question as I’m ushered through increasing flurries of Swiss snow by warmly welcoming doormen, into the newly opened, old-souled Mandarin Oriental Savoy, Zurich.
The new kid on this very posh block occupies the original site of the city’s first grand place to stay, Hotel Baur, established in 1838 by Austrian Johannes Baur (who also founded the nearby Baur au Lac). It’s arguably the zenith of Zurich real estate, just a few well-heeled footsteps from the high-end boutiques of Bahnhofstrasse, the endlessly walkable Old Town, and the caterpillar-crawl of trams across Paradeplatz. Nearby are the tolling bells of Fraumunster church, the green steeple of which can be seen from the hotel’s rooftop.
Suffice to say, it has some very smart shoes to fill as a new luxury hotel. And what does that entail, exactly? For starters, an inimitable sense of place, of truly belonging to the landscape outside, both natural and built, and the cultural life that thrives within. Mandarin Oriental entrusted Paris-based interior designer Tristan Auer with the delicate balancing act of a progressive outcome without overshadowing a past storied enough to justify its very own hotel historian. Charles Dickens and Franz Liszt number among famous guests; the hotel’s original1838 rooftop bar was one of the first high-up drinking terraces in the city. Zurich’s shoemakers’ guild has been meeting at a conference room in the hotel since 1923.
It’s the first such room to captivate me with its beautifully preserved wood panelling and original stained-glass windows depicting craftsmen at work. A meeting here would surely bear inspired fruit.
My corner suite with balcony overlooks the to-and-fro of trams below in Paradeplatz, the view becoming especially enchanting around midnight as the snow falls in blanketing drifts, pedestrians pressing dark footprints into the white. Sense of place? Tick. Generosity is key in a superlative hotel, be it room size, toiletries or minibars. The Mandarin Oriental Savoy comprises 80 guestrooms including 36 suites, amongst Zurich’s largest (the Presidential suite has a lounge in its bathroom) and integrating this sense of history and place with an impressive sense of modern luxury. One facility missing is a wellness spa, but in-room treatments, including facials, massages and manicures, are available.
My suite is both sweeping and supremely cosy, opening with a dining table and bar area, a sizeable lounge leading to the balcony, a sanctuary-like bedroom with abundant storage, and a marble-clad bathroom melding elegance (flattering yet effective lighting, fresh flowers, clean lines) with functionality (more hanging space, well-positioned towel racks, double vanity basins, generous amenity kits, iron and board). Mod-cons include intuitively placed multiple charging options and lighting controls, all discreetly nestled. The green disc in the centre of the coffee table mirrors the lichen-like hue of the church rooftops a snowball’s throw away; the dusky pinks and greys of the hand-painted silk wallpaper above my bed head shimmer and shift in different lights (artist Florence Girette, like Auer, drew design inspiration from the surrounding rivers, lake and mountains, as well as the city itself).
Other pleasing details include the bottle opener, heavy in the hand. There’s a properly stocked minibar and fig-scented Diptyque “Philosykos” toiletries. Add the softest of towels, tangerines on a table and wool and cashmere-blend blankets on the couch. A truly great hotel should also emanate a sense of occasion. This can stem from physical grandeur, such as the winding staircase at the internal entrance to the Savoy Brasserie & Bar, its cascading central chandelier resembling a grand dame’s shimmering earring dropping to the floor. But it can, and should, also be subtly inferred by less obvious elements. A hush to the level of chatter, for example, in the intimate, quietly buzzing Mandarin Lounge on the ground level, confers inclusion in some kind of happy secret.
Seamless service is another essential element. Check-in here feels personalised and low-key, happening off to the side of a small, elegant lobby giving way to that quietly thrumming lounge with its warming fireplace. The mood is neither obsequious nor ostentatious; during my visit shortly after opening, staff radiate warmth and seem genuinely excited to be ready for business.
At the Savoy Brasserie & Bar, helmed by executive chef Benjamin Halat, service runs like Swiss clockwork and is oiled with relaxed joviality. Weiner schnitzel comes cloaked in the lightest of crumbs, half-lemon wrapped in muslin for pip-free squeezing; potato salad is properly creamy, cranberry sauce tart and sweet. Sole meuniere is expertly sliced from its skeleton tableside and goes long on the briny capers. A signature souffled egg dish is a cloudlike half-dome topped with truffle shavings, the middle revealing molten yolk that mingles with parsley cream and parmesan sauce. An excellent sauvignon blanc from Swiss female winemaker Nadine Saxer comes recommended; desserts are delicately pretty and well-balanced.
A sneak peek at Italian fine diner Orsini (which has since garnered its first Michelin star; the hotel is also Gault Millau’s Hotel of the Year, 2025), nestled in an atmospheric, adjacent historic building including some hotel rooms and suites above, suggests it’s begging for a romantic date night. Beautifully refracted light bounces softly off modern porcelain artworks by Livia Marin; the menu is overseen by consultant chef Antonio Guida (of two Michelin-starred Seta at Mandarin Oriental Milan). Art is everywhere in the hotel, in fact; from bold, modern collages to photography and pretty watercolours. Women make up 23 of the 25 commissioned artists; seven are Swiss.
A landmark luxury hotel that makes its own mark on a grand city, while paying gentle and imaginative homage to it? Bravo.
In the know
From $1500 for a superior double room ($4300 for a corner suite with balcony). A Swiss Travel Pass provides unlimited access to travel by train, bus and boat, plus entry to more than 500 museums around the country.
Nikki Wallman was a guest of Mandarin Oriental Savoy, Zurich.
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