Hi Cwash –
<<“I will be staying at the Walhalla Guest House in Zurich Old Town City Center on Limmatstr 5, 1 Zurich Old Town.”>>
That is helpful . I entered the name of the hotel in Mapsearch.CH and got the following result:
map.search.ch/?q=Walhalla+Hotel,+Z%C3 %BCrich,+Limmatstr.+5& near=662000,190000
That map shows that your hotel is about 60 meters walk along Radgasse from a side entrance of the main station.
You will need your platform number. It will be on a ticket, if you have one for a specific train. It is on large overhead signs at the railhead. It will be on video terminals throughout the station. Or, it will be available on the website of the SBB as well as the smartphone app. I usually come in to the station at the main platforms and the main building where the rail services ( tickets, information, lockers, etc.) are, so I use the large overhead signs at the head of tracks 3-18. They show two set s of trains….long distance ( Fernverkehr) and S-Bahnen ( suburban/commuter trains). So if you use those signs, look carefully at a both displays.
The map of the station on the SBB website adds some valuable information. There is an underground passage that crosses the station below the tracks, near the end of the roof covering the innermost part of the station:
http://www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/railway-stations/shopville-zuerich-main-station.html
The short walk along Radgasse from your hotel brings you to the entrance to that passage. It connects directly with the tracks 3 to 18 on the main platform. So, you do not have to walk all the way to the railhead, then back out on your platform if your train is in the main part of the station at the street level ( tracks 3-18) .
Zurich main station is very complex. Trains come and go on tracks at lower levels of the station as well as the street level platforms. You can also reach those higher numbered trains, underground, by going in the side entrance at Radgasse, down to the passage, along it, then at some point turning to the left and following signs to tracks with numbers like 21 to 23, 31 and 32, and 41 to 44.
If you go to the SBB website map that I linked above, you can look to the right on the page and find some maps to download. Download the Station Plan A4 *.PDF.
That map will help you visualize the complex layout.
There are extensive signs overhead throughout the station that lead you to the various tracks.
Walhalla Guesthouse –
Friends who live outside Luzern have stayed at the Walkalla in years past when they had to catch an early train. They chose it because it is so close to the station. They reported a clean, comfortable room, and no restaurant. Their room cost included a coupon (ein Gutschein) for use at a nearby Starbucks, so they used that for a quick breakfast before catching an early train.
You have made a good choice.
Slowpoke