Hotel Regina

In the red light district

Photos:
1. View from my room
2. Hotel Regina

This is the first time I have ever been disappointed with a hotel I booked through www.hotel.de.

The problem wasn't with the hotel itself, which was average, but the location. The English language description gives a reasonably clear warning ("on the border of the biggest nightlife area Langstrasse where Zurich meets to party especially over the weekends") but this warning is missing from the German text, which is the only one I looked at before booking.

In fact the Hotel Regina is in the middle of the red-light district, which doesn't usually bother me so much, but in this case it was really quite crass. Some of the hotel guests were clearly prostitutes or their customers, and in the lobby there was a sign reading "Hotel bar closes at 4 a.m. -- no exceptions."

I returned to the hotel after midnight on both nights I was there, having spent the evenings with lovely people in other parts of the city, and on the way to the hotel the sidewalks were lined with men standing alone or in small groups, some talking quietly but mainly just standing and smoking.

It was not a party atmosphere at all. They just seemed to be waiting -- for what? Maybe for their favorite prostitute to come down and be ready for another customer? They all seemed bored and frustrated, but they were not aggressive in any way, just depressed. I was only approached by one beggar, whom I ignored.

There were a few prostitutes standing in doorways, but they were evidently not the ones the men were waiting for.

Across the street from the hotel there was a club advertising table-dancing (first photo), so maybe things were livelier inside.

But it was not loud at all. I slept with the window open and didn't have any problems with noise.

• Opinion of Price: less expensive than average

Hotel Regina Photo: 1. View from my room

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