Hotels
Signau House & Garden A guesthouse in a class of its own
Signau House & Garden | Foto: Rafael Palacio Illingworth
If you seek peace and secrecy in Zurich instead of the ostentatious luxury of the big five-star classics Baur au Lac or Dolder Grand, you will find the Signau House at Signau Strasse 6, a tasteful oasis of discretion and self-determination. Surrounded by other Wilhelminian villas, it is a 15-minute walk from the bustling Bellevue and the fashionable Bahnhofstrasse.
The house, built in 1912, has nine spacious guest rooms with tastefully renovated bathrooms, a mix of antique and modern wooden furniture and valuable textiles. Those who wish to rent the suite can look out from the spacious terrace into the wonderful Wandelgarten with its water lily pool.
Guests have breakfast in the Orangerie. In the evening, you can help yourself to a classic long drink in the Honesty Bar or enjoy it in one of the ultra-comfortable leather armchairs in the Salon or Herrenzimmer.
An adjoining room is equipped with a five-metre-long wooden table for conferences or private dinner parties. In the basement, a cinema beckons for private screenings, a remnant from the time when the villa was a dull office building with commercial tenants, Universal Pictures among them.
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It has to be said here: the way Signau House has been carefully restored by the architectural team Emi is incomparable. In an act of archaeology, wood panelling and staircases were uncovered again, windows were built according to original models, yet Signau House is not a museum-like villa of past glory; modern art, designer furniture and a contemporary interpretation of hospitality make up the mix.
Instead of a gym and spa, the Signau House offers its guests a culture of "sophistication", elegant seclusion and immediate familiarity.
This spirit is due in no small part to the two managers, Regula Brucker and Suzanne Gross, both internationally experienced hoteliers, who have been running the house, which opened in 2018, for two years with a lot of verve and enthusiasm.
From summer onwards, they will regularly organise Chef Tables with young successful chefs, ideally in the garden at long tables where hotel guests mingle with gourmet-savvy Zurich residents.
There is so much more that could be said about this extraordinary guesthouse, for example, about the prominent guests at the Zurich Film Festival. But we will refrain from doing so. Last but not least, we would like to point out that there is no 24-hour concierge service at Signau House, but a house key allows you to come and go as you would in your own home. Exceptionally private and discreet.
