Up in the woods above Zurich, a five-minute walk from The Dolder Grand, there's a tennis court that has nothing in common with the usual hotel amenity list. It's called Le Club Lacoste Zurich, and the hotel actually built this one with Lacoste, rather than just hanging a logo on a court that was already there. Walking onto it feels closer to arriving at a private club than showing up for a booked hour of court time.
Lacoste's roots in tennis go back to René Lacoste himself, so when a hotel this obsessed with detail decided to partner with them, expectations went up fast. The court they built together treats design and atmosphere as seriously as the tennis. A pool and a treadmill used to cover the bases for a hotel gym. These days guests want leisure that feels put together, with a bit of story behind it, something worth bringing up later over dinner. Lacoste and The Dolder Grand seem to have clocked that early, and gave the court a full identity instead of a gift shop and a branded towel.
Booking one is straightforward. Staying at the hotel gets you a five-minute walk through the forest, and the concierge sets up your court time in advance at CHF 60.00 an hour. Stop by the desk first, and they'll hand you a Lacoste tennis bag, already loaded with rackets, balls, towels, and water. Nothing to pack, nothing to rent once you get there. The court has that same design instinct running through it: covered seating, a lounge that feels members-only even though any guest can walk in, and a green Lacoste smoothie waiting at the Spa Café once the match is done.
One thing to plan around: the court runs seasonally, May through the end of September, and that's weather permitting. And access is limited on purpose. Hotel guests, spa members, and people who belong to Le Club Lacoste Zurich itself get in, which is a big part of why the whole thing keeps its private-club feel rather than turning into just another hotel perk.
Step back a bit, though, and the tennis court is one piece of a much bigger picture. The Dolder Grand is built around the idea of a proper reset, and the spa is where that really shows. At 43,000 square feet, it's one of the largest in Switzerland, structured as a "Life Balance" destination with a 25-meter pool, outdoor whirlpools, snow rooms, meditation spaces, and gender-specific areas, all sitting right next to forest trails and hillside routes outside. A partnership with La Prairie adds a sharper, clinical edge to the skincare menu, with treatments like the Skin Caviar and Pure Gold facials built into programs organized around four pillars: Relax, Vitality, Beauty, and Detox. The current Day & Night Experience package bundles a lot of that into one overnight stay, pairing a signature facial and product set with a full day of spa access.
The food side keeps pace. blooms goes plant-forward and garden-grown, a good match for a day spent outside, while chef Heiko Nieder's Michelin-recognized fine dining, now including Four Hands dinners and a brand-new Chef's Table, keeps the hotel in the running among Switzerland's best culinary addresses. The Spa Café and Canvas Bar handle the lighter, all-day version of eating that summer travel tends to call for. And the Krug Lounge is back this season too, a pop-up terrace with big views that's turned into one of the toughest reservations in Zurich, pouring prestige cuvees in a relaxed, open-air setup that fits exactly how people want to drink outside these days.
The setting ties it together. The Dolder Grand sits minutes from central Zurich, yet opens straight onto forest trails, a combination most city hotels simply don't have. Walk the grounds, and you'll run into a museum-quality art collection tucked into hallways, gardens, and public spaces, so the path from lobby to spa to tennis court doubles as a walk through a gallery. Add up the court, the spa, the food, and the art, and this stops looking like a hotel with a good amenity sheet. It starts looking like a wellness retreat that happens to also be a five-star hotel, and a trip here ends up feeling more like a reset than a stay.
