Primestay Apartmenthaus Zürich Seebach

A straightforward budget place for a night near the airport. The bus stop is two minutes from the entrance, with direct airport service starting at 4:50am, which worked for my early flight. I found the place and key box easily using the email I'd received, but I arrived after 6 and think they should make it clearer upfront that there is no staffed reception. Keeping it that way is clearly a choice to hold costs down. The bathroom was fine and not dirty, as you'd expect for a shared one. My room was nice, the bed comfortable, and I didn't find the queen room too small. But the comments about the smell are right. The room had a stale odor, perhaps because of the carpet, and despite the clean sheets, the bed smelled of years of other people's sweat. I think the mattress and blankets need a deep clean. Some Febreze might at least make it feel a bit fresher. Fine for one night, but I wouldn't recommend it for a longer Zurich stay. The Wi-Fi is a joke, clearly set up by non-professionals.

You’ll manage if you pack for a hostel: bring earplugs, flip-flops and a hanging toiletries bag, since there’s nowhere to put things in the showers. The place feels like an office converted into basic accommodation, and it’s cheap enough if you don’t expect guest services. The shared spaces were cleaned each morning, but the first worker we met seemed pretty clueless. Noise carries through the thin walls, and the corridors don’t get much airflow, especially after someone’s used the kitchen. Also, our “queen” bed was really a king single. Still, it was a bed.

I wouldn’t recommend Businesshome. There were about 70 people living there, but the toilets and showers were cleaned only every two days and were dirty. The old carpets made both the rooms and the floor smell. There’s a gym over the rooms, and it was really loud. Staff entered my room without permission and went through my things. I only noticed because I came back early and found them there. Police were there often, there was a lot of violence, and people would drink and get aggressive. The company didn’t seem to keep things under control. It took four months to get my deposit back, and some money was missing. They couldn’t explain why, especially since there’d been no complaints about my room when I handed it back. I only got all my money after my lawyer got involved. Never again.

The beds were uncomfortable, and the shower and washroom facilities were pretty laughable. Staff also couldn’t sort out basic problems: the noise issue went nowhere, and vomit stayed in the women’s bathroom for more than 10 hours after they’d been told about it. I probably wouldn’t stay here again.