Hotel UTO KULM car-free hideaway in Zurich

What an amazing view and the personnel are very kind, professional and cheerful. The food at the restaurant was absolutely outstanding and overall we have the time of our lives there. The coffee is also very good! The only minus is that there's no airco in the room but we got a ventilator instead which was acceptable. We'll be coming back for sure.

We celebrated our wedding there ten years ago and thought we would celebrate by staying there again for a weekend. The location is as usual breathtaking. But the experience was unfortunately moderately good for the price. We only found out after booking (without option for cancelling) that the usual train that takes one up conveniently was not working for months-and the replacement bus to get up there took several connections and 1h30 from Zurich downtown. This resulted in us hiking up the mountain at midnight to get back to our room because the event we had in Zürich went later than 22:30... It was also very hot and there was no air conditioning in the room, and when opening the door one hears loud people speaking from the restaurant. The staff was quite unfriendly at times, one is not allowed at breakfast to sit where the view is nice, while the tables remain empty and supposedly reserved. I would say for the price the whole experience could be improved.

I had a disappointing experience at Uto Kulm in Zurich. The service was far from what I expected. 1. Luggage Handling they don’t deliver luggage to your room, and if your room is on the second floor, be prepared to carry it yourself as there’s no lift. 2. Ironing Services : There was no iron in the room, and they charge you to iron clothes, which is uncommon in most hotels. 3.Parking and Transport: The parking process was frustrating. I had to take a bus and then wait for someone to pick up my luggage from the bus stop. 4.Customer Service I found it extremely difficult to get answers to my questions. I had to call multiple times just to receive basic assistance. I genuinely hope they improve their quality and service to better meet customer expectations in the future. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend this hotel.

We had high expectations for this hotel, especially because of its location and the views shown in the photos, but unfortunately, our experience was disappointing. We arrived at night with our children, tired from the trip, and went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. It was a frustrating experience. Our children have food allergies, and there was no allergen chart available. We asked the waitress for information, but she was unable to give clear answers and showed little willingness to help. To make things worse, we later overheard her complaining about our questions to another staff member. That was our “welcome” to the hotel. Another very negative point was the spa, which turned out to be a small sauna with a strong, unpleasant smell — similar to urine — that made us leave immediately. The room itself was comfortable, but it was very hot. We called reception and were told the air conditioning was central and not adjustable. Only on the last day did we find out that it could actually be regulated from within the room — a simple piece of information that would have made a big difference. On the positive side, the view is truly beautiful, and the breakfast was varied and delicious. We would also like to highlight the staff member Sônia, who was incredibly kind and pleasant to us throughout our stay. She was a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing experience. Unfortunately, given the overall experience, we do not plan to stay here again.

The hotel is lovely, the room was clean and spacious. The staff were really friendly and the food in the restaurant was excellent. The hotel is a bit out of the city, but it's easy to get to with the train and the amazing view is well worth it!

If you are driving, DO NOT even think about booking this hotel !If you are looking for friendly or helpful staffs at the hotel, there is NONE !If you are looking for fresh drinking water refill each day, there is NONE !Bed bugs on the bed !This hotel is ONLY suitable for hikers or someone who doesn't have any expectations of services, for a so called "4-Star" Hotel. ### *Critical Service Deficiencies* 1. *Deceptive Parking Arrangement* - The hotel advertises "parking facilities," yet the actual lot is *5 km away*, accessible only via paid public buses (EV1/EV2 lines). - Despite arriving past midnight on Day 1 (when staff reluctantly provided an electric shuttle), we were later forced to *walk or pay for buses daily*—a cost and logistical burden never disclosed at booking. 2. *Nighttime Abandonment & Staff Hostility* - Staff imposed an *unreasonable 11 PM curfew* for shuttle service, claiming post-11 PM pickups "inconvenienced" them. - On Night 3, when I missed the bus due to this restriction: - I called the front desk *8 times* with no answer. - Upon finally reaching staff, I was *blamed for "missing the bus"* and told to *walk uphill alone at midnight*—despite carrying heavy bags and expressing fear of the dark mountain path. - Only after *30 minutes of argument* did staff dispatch a shuttle. 3. *Check-Out Humiliation* - At departure, staff refused to shuttle us or our luggage downhill, instructing us to: - *Self-load bags onto an unmanned electric cart*. - Walk 15 minutes to the bus stop. - Load our luggage and ride two buses (EV2 → EV1) to reach the distant parking lot, which needed us to pay by ourselves.4. *Facility Failures* - *No elevators*: We hauled luggage up/down stairs, 3 floors to Room 39. - *Bed bugs*: Evidence of insects in bedding (photos attached). ### *Broader Impact* The hotel’s practices contradict Switzerland’s image as a tourism leader: - *"Zurich’s highest hotel"* is a *misleading marketing gimmick*—only the location has value. - Staff behavior (*blaming guests, refusing assistance) is **un-Swiss* in its hostility. - Without immediate staff retraining and policy reform, the hotel risk both *business collapse* and *damaging Switzerland’s tourism reputation*.

My advice is don’t stay here, to get here is a nightmare even when the train is working which it isn’t at the moment. It’s a 35 minute 2 x bus with 8 minute walk the other end up a gravel road with steps, so if you’ve flown like us it wasn’t great having roller cases. They do offer to collect your cases but not you! There’s no shops local so you are completely captive to the hotel or the burger van opposite which are both crazy expensive (9CHF for a German beer) The room didn’t have air conditioning (room 30) so we were absolutely roasting alive at night as it was 30+ degrees, they offer a fan if they have any spare but a 4 star hotel common? Oh also if you have the window open mosquitos will also get you! Lovely! My advice is by all means go to the top of Zurich on a day trip as the views are great (take drinks / food), there’s local restaurant 23mins walk but it’s cash only.

Superb views, particularly at sunset and memorably professional and personal service at the bar / restaurant. A great place to stay or even just to visit (S2 train from Zurich is less than 20 minutes) for the remarkable views and good service.