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Vienna is known as the city of music and the city of dreams, and you can see why when you visit. This city center is as beautiful and ornate as an opulent wedding cake, with statuettes and intricate detailing plastering this elaborate city’s fountains, corners, walls, and rooftops.
Vienna is the second-largest “German City” in the world. Once the capital of the mightiest empire in Europe, it is still the EU’s seventh-largest. This city is half a Millennium older than London, and its charm is maintained because much of it is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
This city was home to Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalysis and has hosted OPEC and the UN at times. Marinated in the elegance of Belle Epoque café culture. It is the perfect destination for a short cultural city break and for a stay at the Park Hyatt Vienna.
Park Hyatt hotels are often the best or among the best hotels in a city. Their elegant design, local flavor, sophistication, and gracious service make them a top pick. This Park Hyatt is definitely one of the best luxury hotels in Vienna, along with the Rosewood Vienna around the corner.
It offers an impressive cultural diversion (the concierge can get hold of excellent opera tickets), is easy to reach, and offers a hotel with the right ambiance for a romantic retreat.
Location
The hotel is located in the heart of Vienna’s Old Town (across the street from the back of the Rosewood Vienna). It is perfectly positioned for exploring this stunning city on foot. The hotel’s entrance is on a beautiful and regal square with a central fountain.
There is parking across the road from the hotel in this picturesque cobbled square, and a cobbled pedestrianized street brimming with cafes and restaurants sits to the side of the hotel, which takes you to the main shopping area with all the designer stores.
Style & Character
The Park Hyatt Vienna hotel opened in June 2014 following the tasteful conversion of the headquarters of an Austrian Hungarian Monarchy Bank, right in the heart of The Golden Quarter.
Everything from the Opera to the Spanish Riding School, museums, cafés, and the best designer-label shops (including Louis Vuitton, Burberry, and Hermes) is within a very short stroll of this palace of good taste. The conversion retains many features of the 100-year-old neoclassical building, including marble staircases polished by the soles of the shoes of scurrying bank clerks who used to go in and out of the bank.
The entrance of the hotel is impressive, with a revolving door leading to a massive hallway with a reception desk and seating area to your left, and stairs leading up to a circular seating area, with the main restaurant and bar sitting beyond, and the stairwell and lift to the rooms to your right.
If you head down the stairs, you will reach the most impressive spa and pool in Vienna, in the hotel’s basement.
Service & Facilities
One of our favorite aspects of the hotel is the spa and swimming pool, situated under the barrel ceiling of the old bank vault. The original vault door (think one-foot thick plate steel like a James Bond movie) is still in place, though you now access the pool via a different route. The pool itself is lined with golden tiles in the shape of gold bricks and with calming piped music under the water. The pool is fairly cool for relaxing but is a good temperature for swimming up and down for exercise.
A plethora of relaxation areas are also available, from dark, cozy corners for two to single loungers that are so comfortable, Segregated saunas and steam rooms are available in the changing rooms – not so good for couples but a welcome relief to many, who may find the German sauna nudity cult a little too foreign!
Staff were gracious, friendly, and professional. From check-in, which took place in-room, to check-out, the front-of-house staff were everything you could wish for. The concierge was also very helpful with obtaining tickets for a heavily sold opera show.
Rooms
The layout of the bank offices determined the shape and size of the guest rooms and suites. Because this bank had important customers, the proportions of the Park Hyatt’s rooms and suites are generous.
We were impressed by the Executive Suite at the Park Hyatt Vienna. The room was generously proportioned, with a stunning entry hall featuring the mother-of-pearl motif mosaic inset into the parquet flooring.
To the left of the hall was a long, thin bathroom that ran adjacent to the bedroom and adjoined the master suite with double doors. To the opposite side of the hall was a walk-in wardrobe. In front, grand double doors lead to a generous lounge complete with a spacious, comfortable seating area and a desk.
The judicious use of mirrors emphasizes the sense of space created by the very high ceilings. They catch the light from the spectacular crystal chandeliers, making the room feel glittery. Through another set of double doors, the bedroom also offered a well-lit dressing table and via a corridor of walk-in wardrobe capacious enough for a more or less permanent stay.
The bathroom enjoys under-floor heating, an enormous rain-shower, twin sinks, and a temperature-controlled bath. Naturally, a TV in the bathroom mirror and top-notch toiletries were also provided.
Double height ceilings and vast mirrors again amplify the feeling of space. From the vast quartz marble backdrop to the bath to the hardwood door frames, no expense has been spared in furnishing the suites. Although the suites are fabulous, the standard or deluxe rooms are also very generous, with a good bathroom and walk-in wardrobe.
All lights, blinds, and curtains can be controlled from touch-sensitive switch panels, which are easy to find, and all important controls are repeated on the bedside table. We did find them a little tricky to use at first and had one small fault in our suite, which the management was highly apologetic about.
Food & Drink
Bank Restaurant is a glorious space with 8-meter-high ceilings and opulent decor. The breakfast offering is of very high quality, with many locally sourced ingredients (try the Styrian honey). We experienced some inconsistencies in service at breakfast time, but in the evening, everything was flawless. The restaurant has a completely different ambiance in the evening, with lower lighting and backlit stained glass panels on the roof.
Starting with a glass of vintage Moet, with our dinner guests we then enjoyed anis bread-sticks with the most delicious sticky date-like balsamic reduction. The medium-rare venison was so tender as to melt in the mouth and was perfectly paired with the spinach, mushrooms, and shaved black truffle that accompanied it. The lamb shank was equally sumptuous, and the presentation of the food was simply fine art. For dessert, we stuck to sorbet – mandarin and cassis were tart and fruity, offset by the sweet, creamy coconut.
Our German friends enjoyed the Sauerrahmschmarn, a local specialty. It’s a kind of light dough cooked with vanilla sugar and served with ice cream, jam, and poached apple. It looked delicious, but we were full. We still found room to sample something local from the simply bewildering array of schnapps on the Schnappswagen. Whether staying in house or not, I can recommend dinner in Bank, although it can get busy, so it is best to book.
Conclusion
Vienna is a perfect choice if you fancy a relaxing weekend away with a few shows or museum visits or just strolling around this beautiful city. The Park Hyatt provides a great base to explore. The history of the building is mindblowing, and the elegant interiors make you feel like a billionaire. Luxury Travel Diary considers both the Park Hyatt and the Rosewood Vienna as the top luxury hotel picks in Vienna.
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