(NB: Hotels in Vienna require you to satisfy local COVID status requirements.)
As home to embassies, international organizations (OPEC and the United Nations to name but two), and numerous large corporations, it’s no surprise that Vienna boasts a fair sprinkling of luxury and five star hotels.
- See also: Accommodation in Vienna
I’d write reviews of them based on intensive research involving whirlpools and various selection from the room service menu, but — alas! — time and budget constraints prevent me from doing so.
If you do wish to enjoy luxury accommodation in an imperial city, Booking.com lists around 30 properties* with five stars.
Five star (superior)
As of late January, 2021, the Austrian Chamber of Commerce formally classified four hotels in the city as five-star (superior) locations. These are:
Hotel Imperial
Originally constructed as a city palace for the Prince of Württemberg, the building converted to a hotel in 1873. You’ll find it on the Ring boulevard, and it’s particularly handy for the world-famous Musikverein concert hall.
As well as top-class accommodation, the Imperial has various other claims to fame. For example:
- The Imperial Torte, created for the visiting Emperor Franz Joseph at the hotel’s opening
- The hotel’s Christmas lights, which are one of the highlights along the Ring during Advent. Understated but elegant (a description which might apply to all the Christmas lights in the centre)
- The hotel featured heavily in Season 2 of the Vienna Blood period drama series
Address: Kärntner Ring 16 | Book online*
Hotel Sacher
Also famous as the home of the Sacher Torte and a city landmark in its own right. One of the most central of all the five star locations, on the city side of the State Opera House.
First opened in 1876 by the son of the man who made the original cake. Famous guests include Queen Elizabeth II and President John F. Kennedy.
The Sacher’s coffee house is immensely popular – I cannot remember the last time I passed and did not see a long queue waiting to get inside.
The lovely elegant interiors, classic setting and (surprise) cake within the café all make a visit worthwhile in its own right, even if you stay elsewhere.
Address: Philharmonikerstraße 4, 1010 Vienna | Book online*
Palais Hansen Kempinski
Also on the Ring, this hotel occupies a building that dates back to the 1873 World Exhibition. The original architect (Theophil Hansen) also designed two of Vienna’s most iconic buildings: the Austrian parliament and the Musikverein.
And here’s an insider secret…the Palais Hansen Kempinski is practically opposite the address Schottenring 23, which few people realise was designed by the famous architect, Otto Wagner.
Address: Schottenring 24, 1010 Vienna | Book online*
Palais Coburg Hotel Residenz
A palace completed in the 1840s for Duke Ferdinand of Sachsen-Coburg and Gotha. Stay here and you are literally sleeping on top of history, since the hotel incorporates part of Vienna’s medieval city fortifications.
The palais also has a musical connection (like so many of its colleagues in Vienna). Johann Strauss (the son) premiered a polka and a waltz here, written in honour of Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert.
Address: Coburgbastei 4, 1010 Vienna | Book online*
Five star
As of late July, 2021, the Austrian Chamber of Commerce also classified one other hotel as a five-star property:
Hotel Bristol
Genuinely named after the English port city, Hotel Bristol is another glorious building first built in the late 19th century and then reworked in 1913 (look for Jugendstil architectural elements from the time).
Like Hotel Sacher, Hotel Bristol sits close to the State Opera House, and also has a long list of famous guests that includes Theodore Roosevelt, Mahler, Gershwin, Puccini, King Edward VIII, and Leonard Bernstein.
Address: Kärntner Ring 1, 1010 Vienna | Book online*