Review: Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten, Zurich Airport (ZRH)

I had a one-day layover in Zurich, and decided to spend this at the Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten. The Zleep hotel chain is a Danish hotel chain that provides low-cost stays for travellers on the go. Their main branding element is “hygge” flair, a Danish word for “taking time away from the daily rush to relax, with yourself or the people you care about”, which generally is commercialised in the form of cosy apparel or interior design. The chain manages 22 hotels, 14 of which are in Denmark, and eight of which operate across Germany, Spain, and Switzerland.

While the Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten isn’t strictly an airport hotel, I’m going to categorise it as such. That’s because most people staying at this hotel will likely be looking at a budget option close to the airport. Although Kloten station is a couple of minutes away, there are likely more compelling options at a similar price point if you’re looking to stay by the city.

Booking the Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten

I booked a non-refundable rate at the Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten for £80.53 (HK$832). I did so via Avios Hotels, where I was able to collect 1,200 Avios from the stay. Avios was running a promotion at the time where I could get 15 Avios per £1 spent on hotels, so I took advantage of this here. I booked the Zleep Hotel because it was by far the cheapest option within a reasonable distance from the airport.

In addition, I was asked to pay a CHF 3.50 (£3.32/HK$34) city tax at the property, which I was able to do at one of their self check-in machines.

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten Location and Exterior

The Zleep Hotel is located around a 20-minute walk from the airport. If you’re trying to get to the hotel, I’d recommend taking the bus, as it can be difficult to find the right exit at the airport that brings you to Kloten in the least time (you can buy a ticket online). While there is a train station next to the hotel with direct links to the city, the trains at this station do not generally go to the airport.

Once you get near Kloten station the hotel is quite easy to find, as it’s quite a large building. There are a couple of food options nearby, as well as an Aldi across the road as well.

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten Exterior

If you’re planning to do the walk to the airport at night or in the wee hours of the morning, Kloten is considered quite safe (obviously be sensible and on guard at all times). There are plenty of people that live near this area, though Google Maps will direct you through a truck parking lot at some point as a critical path to the airport. My late February 5:30 AM walk to the airport was easy enough, and I felt safe throughout.

Walking to the Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten

From Kloten station, straight trains run to the city centre. These run quite frequently, which is convenient.

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten Check-In

Once I entered the hotel, I saw a couple of self-serve check-in machines.

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten Lift Lobby

Despite arriving at around 1:30 PM, the machine let me check in, and spit out my room key which I could use. I was simply asked to scan my passport, and paid the city tax with no issues.

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten Self Check-In

While I’m talking about formalities, you can simply drop your hotel card in a box to check out.

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten Check Out

Once I had checked in, I headed up the lift to the first floor, and passed a modern-looking hallway to get to my room.

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten Hallways

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten Standard Double Room

For a hotel that costs £80 in Switzerland, I was sure impressed by the Zleep Hotel room. While the Zleep Hotel sells single rooms (which I would’ve been fine with), the price difference was too minimal for me at time of booking, so I decided to splurge for a double bed here.

One thing to be aware of – the Zleep Hotel Zurich has a unique open-plan design, where half of the bathroom shares a space with the bedroom. The toilet and shower are still located in a dedicated area, though the sink is in the main room area, right next to the desk.

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten Standard Double Room

The room has a very warm minimalist, feel with a Scandinavian-industrial mix. From the timber slat wall, to the low-profile bed, to the exposed concrete ceiling and soft lighting, the room felt very design-led. I also found the bed to be extremely comfortable, and the sheets crisp – though do note that this was two single beds pushed together, as opposed to a double bed.

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten Standard Double Room

The blackout blinds were electronically controlled as well.

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten Standard Double Room

I also appreciated the tech available at the room. While I would’ve preferred a universal power port, there was a USB-A and USB-C charging port available, both of which enabled fast charging.

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten Charging

I didn’t mind the open plan setup at all, though I suppose the one thing I’d find quite weird is getting some work done next to the sink. I didn’t end up spending way too much time working here, though did get thrown by this setup a bit.

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten Bathroom

The setup isn’t amazing for working, though at least the desk is large, and there’s a very easily accessible power port.

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten Desk and Chair

Meanwhile, the actual toilet and walk-in shower area is quite small. The door for this area also doubles as the shower door.

The shower itself had decent water pressure, though there was a single squeezy bottle for shampoo and body wash.

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten  Toilet and Shower

Since the hotel is a 20 minute walk from the airport, there isn’t a tarmac view or anything. Instead I just had a view of the parking area downstairs (which isn’t free, by the way – it’s 2 CHF per hour, or 25 CHF per day to park here), as well as the surrounding buildings. At least those were fairly nice, and the window also doubled as a balcony – you could slide the floor-to-ceiling window open, and there was a fence stopping you from falling down.

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten View

While the room itself was on the basic side, I loved the minimalist design, and also really appreciated the comfortable bed.

WiFi required a free sign-up to access the high-speed option. I took advantage of this, and WiFi was genuinely the fastest I’ve probably ever experienced, at a whopping 456 Mbps down and 510 Mbps up.

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten Lobby Lounge

In terms of other facilities, there’s a lobby lounge here, which is perfect if you’d like to prop up a laptop and get some work done outside of your bedroom. A more comfortable area with sofas is on the left of the entrance, whereas a more restaurant-style area is on the right.

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten Lobby Lounge

Drinks are steep, as you’d expect in Switzerland. A half-pint of beer will set you back CHF 5.50 (£5.21/HK$54).

Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten Drinks Menu

Everyone I interacted with at the hotel was friendly, though admittedly there isn’t much interaction involved, as check-in is machine-led.

Conclusion: Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten

The Zleep Hotel at Zürich-Kloten is a gorgeous hotel priced fairly reasonably, assuming you don’t mind the fact that it’s a short commute (or interesting walk) to the airport terminal. Given the price point of accommodation in Switzerland, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend staying here, and would stay here myself on a layover in Zurich in the future. It’s also easy to get out from here to the city by train, which I appreciate.

Have you stayed at the Zleep Hotel Zürich-Kloten before? How was your experience?