Hotel Imperial vs Hotel Bristol: Luxury Collection head to head in Vienna

I am using the expert review mode to do a comparison and contrast of the Hotel Imperial and Hotel Bristol here in Vienna--both Luxury Collection properties located a mere 350 meters and 5 min walk apart. I stayed at the Hotel Imperial and visited the Hotel Bristol (as well as the Park Hyatt and Hotel Sacher, which are compared with the Imperial in the Luxury Hotels Forum).

For the record, I'm not a TA. I always have loved visiting luxury hotels while visiting any city or location where I may have the time. 

HOTEL BRISTOL

The Hotel Bristol is a lovely hotel in an obviously wonderful central location in Vienna. But its rooms, decor, and overall ambience just aren't in the same league with the Hotel Imperial or other luxury hotels in Vienna (including the Park Hyatt and Sacher). Not even close.

Service was to a very good standard, and the public areas were fresh and modern, but the rooms and suites looked like they were seriously dated and in desperate need for a refurbishment. The layouts and decor in most of the rooms and suites was a bit disappointing, actually. They made this property feel more like a business hotel or for the well traveled tourist who doesn't want to pay top dollar/euro or use too many points. A nice hotel, to be sure, but not close to the Imperial, Sacher, or PH.

The lobby areas are a nice combination of modern and traditional, obviously having been recently renovated. Below is the entry foyer, which includes concierge but not reception (which is further inside), a fairly standard design element for many of the older hotels here in Vienna.

The reception area:

Main restaurant/dining area:

The bar area looked very inviting and intimate:

Rooms were of varying sizes and suprisingly tired decor:

A higher category room was more spacious but still curiously decorated:

A junior suite showed a bit more restraint and style:

A small terrace was nice, if a bit cramped:

A larger suite, with curious layout and decor:

Hallways at the staircase/by the elevators:

Multiple doors into rooms/suites at the landing of every floor, also adjacent to the elevators--a curious arrangement and not one speaking to as much luxury IMO.

The gentleman who showed me around was an intern from Germany, a very nice chap with obvious management prospects. He was quite a good representative for the hotel, despite not really being a full time employee as of yet. 

Service was good. The location was good. The public spaces were nice, even very nice. But the rooms and suites have very dated decor and furnishings that desperately are in need for renovation and refurbishment. 

HOTEL IMPERIAL

I reviewed the Hotel Imperial, where we stayed, in a separate review. I am copying elements of that review for the purposes of this comparison and contrast.

We all were blown away by the Hotel Imperial. I recently on FlyerTalk named my favorite 12 hotel stays of all time; the Hotel Imperial must now be added to that list. It simply was that incredible. The service standard here is as high as I've seen anywhere in the world. 

The hotel is lovely and obviously historic from the exterior:

The lobby entrance really shows how historic and beautiful this hotel is:

The bar was simply breathtaking, one of the most beautiful we've ever seen:

The staircase was, not surprisingly, quite grand:

The mezzanine level, on which our suite was located:

The view from the mezzanine to the lobby:

The cafe/dining room, where we had breakfasts and lunches:

The Restaurant Opus, 1* Michelin dining:

We had two rooms: ours was an Imperial Suite, and my mother's was an Elisabeth Suite (junior suite equivalent).

IMPERIAL SUITE

The long entry hallway, to the right side of which was a large closet and the only toilet in the suite:

It was odd to realize later that the master bath adjoining the bedroom did not have a toilet, and that this toilet was our one and only toilet! It also was odd that the closet here in the entry hallway was the one with the safe. While obviously odd, it didn't in any way detract from the quality of our stay. We chalked it up to the historical oddity of staying in such a grand and old hotel.

Then we walked into the suite living room. We were simply wowed by the enormity of the space, the sheer 20' height of the ceiling, and the incredible amount of natural light:

We thought the smallish TV in the corner of such a massive room was hilarious. But almost any TV in that space would have been superfluous. 

Large mirrored sliding doors opened to the beautiful and extremely spacious bedroom:

To the left side of the bed was the door into the (toilet-less) master bath:

This was when we realized there was no toilet in the master bath. We laughed so hard, I cannot describe it. We discussed briefly whether we should inquire about the availability for another Imperial Suite but quickly decided to just enjoy the peculiarity.

As it were, the odd toilet location really wasn't an issue for us--as the distance to the actual toilet was not any further from the other side of the bed to the master bath, anyway. But I did once or twice go to the master bath when I wasn't thinking...

And waiting for us in the suite also was a truly wonderful welcome amenity:

The air conditioning was excellent. Once or twice, being the freak I am, I did get concerned and asked for a fan to be safe. But I really never used the fan. For such an old hotel, the air con surprisingly worked wonders--especially considering the incredible room volume.

The views from our second story huge windows looked onto the city streets--nothing special for us, but it did offer tons of natural light. The room was completely blackout in the evening, too--shutters closed outside the windows, and the big curtains were drawn by housekeeping.

We loved the suite and all its hisorical pecularities. It truly had a remarkable sense of place. We absolutely knew we were in Vienna. After touring Schonbrunn Palace, we easily could see our suite decor and furnishings truly reflected that bygone era.

ELISABETH SUITE

My mother was surprisingly upgraded from an entry level award room to an Elisabeth Suite--even though there is no stated Platinum benefit for more than my own room. Before we even arrived, my mother had mentioned hoping for a view. So not a few minutes after she arrived in her upgraded Elisabeth Suite with a huge bath but no view, the front desk called to let her know another Elisabeth Suite was available in a short while that had smaller bath but a wonderful city view. My Mom immediately accepted and they moved her to the new Elisabeth Suite. Sorry--no photos of her original suite, or of her bathroom.

My mother also loved her suite. Even though the bath was small, she said she originally had the bigger bath but preferred the view. To each, their own!

Without question, this is one of the most beautiful and historic hotel properties at which we've stayed. While we prefer more modern style, we absolutely adored this hotel and its impeccable and timeless quality.

Service was absolutely and breathtakingly extraordinary. I'm not sure they missed a thing besides perhaps a curtain not entirely closed in our living room the first evening?

Everyone was so friendly, so warm and gracious, so eager to please, and so genuine to do so. I don't think anyone said no--ever.

After only our first night, I posted to FlyerTalk the following:

"Review forthcoming, but we've just had the  first of 3 nights at the Hotel Imperial. It's been absolutely spectacular. Truly one of the best service experiences we've enjoyed anywhere--including Aman, Peninsula, and StR hotels.

Food and beverage exquisite. Had great lunch at the Cafe and a wonderful dinner at 1* Opus. Also was given free tickets to last night's Beethoven concert in the bar. An exclusive affair with award winning pianist. They reserved us front row seats...and awaited our (slightly late) arrival before beginning the performance. Yikes. But what a concert.

Concierge efficiently and graciously moved our afternoon city tour to our final day since it was raining for our first day. No issues. Just taken care of.

Air con in suite--wonderful. Concerns--handled quickly and easily. Just a perfect stay so far. Didn't want to wear a long sleeve shirt to dinner at 1* Opus for fear of being too warm--not a problem."

The rest of our stay was true to that first day and night. Absolute perfection.

We were truly blown away by the Hotel Imperial in a way that very few hotels worlwide ever have. Truly, this is one of the world's greatest hotels.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Both the Hotel Imperial and Hotel Bristol are appropriately wonderful representatives of the Luxury Collection. Yet the Hotel Imperial is a world class historic hotel with a true sense of legacy and grandeur, while the Hotel Bristol is a very nice, comfortable and lovely hotel with a historic feel and location and historic furnishings and decor to match. Once the Bristol gets the room/suite renovation it so desperately needs, I am sure it will again be one of the grand dames of the city--though it never approach the grandeur of the Imperial.

If you value dollars/euros and point more, the Bristol will not steer you wrong. It is a solidly good hotel with very nice service and some dated accommodations--but is also concomitantly cheaper. 

If you value luxury and true historic grandeur, the Imperial is a world class option available to you.