I stayed three nights at the Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom. The minute I stepped out of the taxi the staff addressed me by name welcoming me to the Sofitel (very nice touch and I assume based on my luggage tags and not some intelligence conspiracy).

I hardly got to the reception when a staff member offered to check me in in my room which was fine but first I was given a brief tour of the lobby and the design features. The lobby is very stylish and this style extends to all areas of this fantastic hotel. I was upgraded to the black suite (one of the prestige suites). The suite was fantastic, very nicely designed featuring a living area, large (and I mean large) bathroom and a large work/dining area. Fruit basket, welcome drink voucher, flowers and sweets were waiting already. The suite has three flatscreen TV, one in the living area, one for the bed and another one in the bathroom. The bed, as always with Sofitel, was heaven. Rounding off the amenities was the most extensive selection of Hermes toiletries I have ever seen at any Sofitel.

WiFi is free throughout the hotel and the turn down service includes sweets and a specially prepared herbal tea for the evening. A Nespresso machine and free soft drink mini bar (water and juices) were also available.

The restaurant and bar are located on the top floor and offer spectacular views over Vienna. Breakfast (at €30 pricey) offered a wide variety of cooked to order options and a buffet which also included Champagne. On one of the days I had lunch there as well which was very very good (more about that later).

Throughout my stay the staff could not have been nicer or more accommodating. Having stayed at many Sofitels over the years this was definitely the most service oriented body of staff at any of them.

Late check out was no problem.

The design of the hotel might not be for everyone, it is very stylish and cool. If you are looking for chinzy old world style this hotel may not be for you but I loved it. Out of all European Sofitels this is the best so far.


For transparency's sake I should mention that the lunch I had at Le Loft (the restaurant) was hosted by the GM of the Sofitel Stephansdom. We had a long engaging discussion about Accor, Sofitel, A-Club, especially expectations of elite customers, and social media.