Vienna Travel Guide
Gay Hotels / Hotel Saunas / Vienna Hotels / Hotel Spas / → All Tags
This Hotel In Vienna Isn't Doing Such a Great Job Staying In the Closet
With everyone talking about New York's upcoming gay-themed hotel, The OUT NYC, we thought we'd take a look at some of the world's gay-friendliest hotels and resorts. Keep an eye out for that later next week. In the meantime, we thought we'd share a tip we received yesterday from a HotelChatter maven about a place called The Wild in Vienna.
Despite its evocative name, The Wild is in fact just a family-owned (Wild is their last name) European pension hotel located in Josefstadt, with free breakfast buffets, reasonable rates (from EUR 41), and close proximity to Vienna's sights. Interestingly, what their website chooses not to mention is Sport Sauna, a thriving sports-themed gay bathhouse, bar and general "cruising area" located in the basement. Oops. Guess we just outed them.
Hotel Hype / Park Hyatt Hotels / Vienna Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Park Hyatt Will Open in Vienna in 2013
Park Hyatt Hotels are on an expansion whirl this year. The Park Hyatt Maldives debuted the other month, the Bermuda location is later this year or early next and even NYC will be getting a Park Hyatt soon. And now come 2013, the Park Hyatt will open its doors in Vienna.
Hyatt Hotels made the announcement this morning, saying the hotel would open inside a historic building in the city's Innere Stadt, or First District.
Park Hyatt Vienna will feature 143 rooms, including 35 suites. In addition to an all-day dining restaurant, lobby and cigar lounges, and a hotel bar, the hotel will include a premier meeting facility with 640m2 of conference space, a fitness center, and a spa. The world-class luxury hotel, which will reflect the intimate and understated elegance of the Park Hyatt brand, is being designed by architects Neumann & Partners and interior design firm FG Stijl.
Shangri-La Hotels / Abandoned Hotels / Vienna Hotels / → All Tags
The Intended Shangri-La Vienna ISO of Love, Companionship and an Operator
While the former Mandarin Oriental Marrakech recently got snapped up by Taj Hotels, the planned Shangri-La Hotel Vienna is still searching for the perfect companion. We reported that Shangri-La shockingly pulled out back in February and since then, the hotel has been sitting empty.
A tipster tells us that the local media refers to it as a "ghost hotel" and that despite everything being finished and furnished, there's been no takers from the operational standpoint.
That sounds surprising for a completely finished property with 207 rooms and an indoor swimming pool but then again the Shangri-La dumped it because of poor construction quality. So that probably rules out any other luxury brands like Four Seasons and Ritz-Carltons to come in and snap it up. But perhaps there is a "lifestyle" brand that would consider it? (Since they've been known to open up in former Holiday Inns and the like.)
Hotel Woes / Hotel Closings / Shangri-La Hotels / Hotel News / Vienna Hotels / → All Tags
Shangri-La Dumps Its Vienna Plans, Will Never Open
Wiped off the map. Gone but not forgotten.
Sometimes, with all these hotel openings, we forget there’s that small matter of wavering economies. But today we’ve been brought back to reality with a jolt, with the news from a tipster that the Shangri-La Vienna will never open.
The hotel has already been removed from the Shangri-La website, as if it never existed. Very secret agent.
It was originally down to open in 2009 and Shangri-La had bought up an entire city block on the 19th century Ringstraße in order to turn it into a 207 room hotel. But things haven’t gone to plan, because, according to our tipster:
Shangri-La has terminated the management contract with immediate effect due to poor construction quality
Shoddy work in precise Austria? Wow. Also, that’s a pretty major step to take – things must really have been dire.
The move has left about 70 pre-opening staff laid off (saddies). And there’s no word yet on what will become of the property instead.
Hotel Technology / International Hotel WiFi / Vienna Hotels / WiFi Heaven / → All Tags
Grand Hotel In Vienna Grandly Gives Us WiFi
When you turn up to stay at the Grand Hotel Wien in Vienna, you'll likely be thinking along the lines of "old elegance" and "grand luxury" rather than "high technology" – but you might be pleasantly surprised.
This grand old dame of a hotel has just got itself hooked up to a WiFi network system which claims to be one of the best. (Well, actually it claims to be the best, but we think that's hard to prove). The NonStop Wireless Networking, a Belden brand, has been installed in 140 different access points within the hotel – we assume that means that most or all of the guest rooms now have WiFi. The system has actually been extended to the hotel across the road, The Ring, which is owned by the same company.
Austria Hotel Guide / HotelChatter Reviews / Vienna Hotel / Art Hotels / Design Hotels / → All Tags
Wein and Design Hotel Has Fanciest Breakfast Spread in Vienna
HotelChatter's Eric Rosen recently spent some time in Austria and Germany. All this week, he'll be rounding up his hotel observations. Any tips, suggestions, questions? Let us know.
The key to “doing” Europe properly, is to start your day with a sensible breakfast at the hotel.
For a long time we resisted taking breakfast at the table d'hôte, rejoicing in the five euros we were saving by foregoing bad coffee, stale rolls and a few greasy cold cuts, while saving our ducats for a leisurely lunch instead. But as we’ve grown older, we’ve come to see the logic of shelling out a little extra cash for a hearty breakfast so that we don’t get cranky scouring the continent for a decent cup of coffee, or fainting from hypoglycemia and cutting out of a museum early for lunch.
No need for such a strategy while staying at Vienna’s Rathaus Wein and Design Hotel, though.
Hotel Video Tours / Austria Hotel Guide / HotelChatter Reviews / Hotel Baths / Le Meridien Hotels / → All Tags
Shower Power at Le Meridien Vienna
HotelChatter's Eric Rosen recently spent some time in Austria and Germany. All this week, he'll be rounding up his hotel observations. Any tips, suggestions, questions? Let us know.
If you’re anything like us, the first thing you want to do after a transatlantic flight is to wash all the grit and grime of airports and planes off your fatigued body. That’s why, for the first installment in our Austria-Germany Field Trip guide, we’ve decided to tell you all about the fabulous showers at Le Meridien Vienna, the first stop on our trip.
Killer View / Westin Hotels / Vienna Hotels / → All Tags
Room With a Killer View :: Bristol Hotel Overlooks the Vienna State Opera House
We are suckers for a room with a killer view. We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.
Vienna is an artsy city -- and, above all, a city of music -- so we figure a hotel that can offer this view over the beautiful Vienna State Opera House is right on the money.
The view is actually from the balcony of a penthouse suite at Westin's Bristol Hotel. Obviously the location is central, on the ring roads that circle central Vienna, and perfect if you pop out for a night at the opera. The rooms also seem to fit the mood, and the penthouse suites have special star-shaped ceilings which definitely intrigue us.
As you'd expect, it's not exactly cheap to sleep right next door to the opera house. They offer a "Taste of Luxury" deal with a 3-night minimum, and a fourth night free, for €308 (US$450) a night, including a good Austrian buffet breakfast. The penthouse view over the opera house is, of course, a few euro more.
[Photo: asmythie]
Vienna Hotels / Hotel Openings / Luxury Hotels / BabyMoons / → All Tags
Unlike the Horror Movie, The Ring Hotel Will Pamper You
Any idea what a "casual luxury" hotel is? We're not sure either, but apparently Vienna's new The Ring Hotel is a shining example of one. We have a feeling it doesn't mean that you can run around in your oldest shorts and flip-flops, but instead it sounds like they're trying to saying The Ring is a place where you can get everything you want but without any snootiness. Sound okay?
It's called The Ring--not the name we'd choose thanks to the scary movie franchise, but there is a reason--because it's located on Kaerntner Ring, one of the streets that forms a loop around the center of Vienna. Actually it's in a great spot, almost opposite the Opera House and that means you can walk to many places around town, and also have easy access to public transport. And it's still a relatively small hotel with 68 rooms and suites.
Their current seasonal special has a catchy name: "Enjoy Spring at The Ring!" and rates start from €199 (US$310) per night (not including breakfast), which is a lot cheaper than their rack rates. They also have a "Luxury Before Birth" package which is a BabyMoon for couples about to expect their first child--for €549 (US$860) you get 2 nights' accommodation, energy wellness breakfast, a pre-natal massage for Mom and a beauty treatment for Dad, a limo tour through Vienna and a few free gifts.
In the interests of single parents-to-be they even offer the same if you pay a single supplement. Figure that one out.
Cublice Dreamin' / Vienna Hotels / Hotel Bars / → All Tags
Cubicle Dreamin': Find Me at the Onyx Bar Inside the Do and Co Hotel
Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.
In this episode, editor Juliana fantasizes about the perfect place for a drink. Enjoy.
Lately, I haven't had time for much Cubicle Dreamin' but today it's finally Friday and I've had a few moments to spare. So I hit the internet at first looking for shoes. Don't know why. I don't need 'em but I always like to see what's out there. It's sort of a compulsion I guess.
Anyways, when I got bored (translation: upset that the shoes I really want are priced at $760!!), I decided to get back to work. Tired of the mainstream hotel news, I headed over to the Cool Hunter, a site I really enjoy mainly because they have the greatest photographs. Although, the high-res makes it a pain to load up on your browser.
Still, when I saw this photo of the ONYX bar inside the Do and Co Hotel in Vienna, I wanted to go there now. Like NOW. Like beam me up and over what have you. I don't even have to stay over night, I just want to get in there. And I haven't got this way about a hotel in a loooong time.
I definitely need a vacation and although I can't get to Europe just yet, I'm considering stopping here next Fall.
What you see from the Haus is a straight-on, full-size, real-life panorama of St. Stephen's Cathedral - Stephansdom -- that has defined Vienna since 1147 AD. It is the sound of this Cathedral's massive Pummerin (big bell) that announces the official arrival of the New Year in Austria.
And that's a way more fulfilling experience than designer shoes, right? Right??? (Note: I grabbed this shot from the hotel website but go to Cool Hunter for high-res glory.)
Hotels-Near-Eurail-Stops / Vienna Hotel Reviews / → All Tags
Eurail Hotel Stop: Location, Location at Wien Mercure Westbahnhof
Depending on your destination, a number of Eurail trains in and out of Vienna stop at Wien Westbahnhof, loosely translated as the West Vienna rail station. Directly opposite the Europaplatz side of Westbahnhof, you can find the Mercure Wien Westbahnhof which as well as being handily located to a main train station is also served by the underground train, airport bus and trams.
Apart from the great location and reasonable price (you can often get a room for around $100 a night), the Mercure Wien Westbahnhof isn't really a special hotel. There are about 250 roooms and sometimes large tour groups are put up there, and the central transport location can mean it's sometimes a bit noisy. Breakfast is the usual Austrian-style buffet feast, which means it can be a matter of timing and chance to get the fresh or hot versions of whatever's available that morning.
Related Stories:
· Hotels in Vienna [HotelChatter]
· Travel Stories in Vienna [Jaunted]
Vienna Hotel Reviews / → All Tags
Fit for a Prince But No King at Prinz Eugen
Visiting Vienna, Austria's attraction-crammed capital, is a good way to dive into either an Eastern European trip (it's less than an hour from Slovakia's capital Bratislava, and also right near Hungary, Slovenia and the Czech Republic) or to start an alpine-style Western European holiday (you could take in the rest of Austria, Switzerland and Germany).
Reaching all of these destinations is perfect by train, and staying near the South Railway Station Südbahnhof is ideal. Enter a number of accommodation choices: a popular one being the Prinz Eugen Hotel directly opposite the station.
The staff are often heavily-accented foreigners, but that doesn't matter as even if you speak a little German, the quirky dialect of Vienna is something you can never learn from a textbook. Some of the double and twin rooms are a bit cramped, but if you book a triple you could have enough space for a small orchestral performance (now that's life in Vienna!).
The Prinz Eugen tends to feel a little dark inside, but if you're visiting in winter it's no different outside. As in most of German-speaking Europe, a pretty elaborate breakfast is included, with more types of cheeses or bread rolls than anyone really needs. You can wheel your suitcase to the station or use your feet to get to the city center; if you're not feeling so fit or Vienna's under snow, the tram and subway are also right nearby.
But beware of the hotel's sketchy pink balconies.
[Photo:I am Jacques Strappe]
Related Stories:
· Prinz Eugen reviews [TripAdvisor]
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