For us, Zurich has always been a special place: a visit never quite feels like a city break. You stay by the lake with mountains all around, nature everywhere, pretty little houses with big gardens, and even CEOs take the tram to work rather than their Aston Martins (well, some do).
And in a prime location in the leafy Seefeld district, a short walk from the opera house and the lake, there is a boutique hotel called Signau House & Garden. Much to our delight, the “Garden” is no marketing gimmick: the former private villa has a garden of parklike proportions, where, when we arrived, a well-dressed crowd sat sipping aperitifs.
The House
To get a feel for the neighborhood, just look across the street from the villa, built in 1912: there stands the French Consulate General. Yes, this is one of Zurich’s finest residential areas, with real estate prices that rival Malibu or Montauk.
If you arrive by car, you drive straight into a spacious underground garage and take a stylish staircase up to the foyer of the former private residence, a listed building converted into a boutique hotel with great sensitivity.
Talk about first impressions: grand is the word. Lounges with beautiful, expensive furnishings stretch in every direction. Stroll through the conservatory, where breakfast is served, into the private park, and you instantly feel like an aristocrat. The former residents must have had a wonderful time here: there are little nooks everywhere for a chat over an aperitif (or apéro, as they say in Zurich).
Another pleasure: you are welcomed by the two friendly women who run the house and know a great deal about hospitality.
The cinema
For this, you have to go back a few years, when the house served as the office of a major American film company, which built a private cinema with about 28 seats in the basement. It is still in use for press screenings and film nights for guests and companies, followed by banquets or festive dinners.
Special I
In summer, the house hosts regular Chef’s Table evenings: the ground floor turns into a restaurant, and the team of a renowned guest chef (or rising talent) cooks a carte blanche surprise menu. A team from another Pretty Hotels member has already cooked here: in July 2021, Peter Fetz and chef Jonathan Burger came from the Hotel Gasthof Hirschen in Schwarzenberg, Austria.
The rooms
There are just nine guest rooms and one two-room suite, which works well for a family of four. All are very stylishly furnished, with high-quality beds and bathroom fixtures. Some bathrooms are on the small side, but we can recommend every room. The highlight, of course, is the suite with its own terrace facing the garden.
Breakfast
Apart from the Chef’s Table evenings, Signau House & Garden “only” serves breakfast, but the emphasis is on served: you sit in the beautiful conservatory overlooking the park as the morning sun streams in, and a lovely array of small, handmade dishes is brought to your table. Carefully chosen, delicious and beautifully presented: pretty all around.
Prices
Doubles from 350 Swiss francs per night, including breakfast.
Booking & Contact
Signau House & Garden
Signaustrasse 6
8008 Zurich
Switzerland
