Jrichardf

Oh, I'm really glad you've cooled down a bit!!!! But yeah, can totally understand your initial anger.
Re other hotels, I've stuck my head into the lobby of Do & Co, and also the Topaz (though it might have been the Lamee). I'm always quite interested in hotels that are part of Design Hotels brand. They looked nice, though maybe nothing particularly special. But yeah, I only glimpsed inside. I have stayed a couple of times at Das Triest, which I liked a lot, especially the little bar there. And also one night at the 25hours hotel. This was nice, quirky like all the 25hours hotels but not particularly 'luxury' and the rooms were v small. The rooftop bar was closed, so couldn't try that but it had a great spa. But the next day, we transferred to the Sofitel and that was the start of our love affair with the place. It's in a completely different league to any other hotel I've seen. It might be worth checking out Hollman Belatage. That that looks quite interesting. I think we might also spend three nights at Hotel Daniel over New Year. This looks quite industrial chic-ish, though not 'luxury' at all, and to be honest I'm only thinking of it because it is cheaper than anything else over New Years. Everything is sooooooooo expensive. The So Vienna goes from being around £170 a night from the 26th to 29th Dec, which is brilliant. But after that it goes up to over 300 and we really just cannot afford. But If anyone has any top tips on how to get a cheaper rate there, so we don't have to change to the Daniel, which I think might be a bit of an emotional trauma, would be much appreciated!!!

BotB

Thanks, I've noted the ones you mentioned (25 hours and others) but agree they are mostly boutique and not the great minimalist and modern luxury concept the Sofitel has, will likely give the Do & Co and Topazz a try next April when I'll likely be back next.

Re: how to get a lower rate, I tend to book a flexible rate separately covering the 'higher' priced nights as a block and then simply watch for any sales that may come along (there are sometimes the 3 for 2 nights promotions that can help) and also do consider looking for single nights and see how the prices can vary sometimes so that you can get that night booked separately and then just keep the others flexible until either they come down in price during a sale or if they don't, you'll need to realise that you'll have to move house a bit but at least maximise stays, and value for money (but at a loss of time having to move and pack a bit...I tend to not mind moving once during a trip, we don't tend to move twice any more as it is too much of a time waster and hassle, obviously we try to only move after the first night or the last night to keep the disruption down but this does sometimes help with getting better rates. (An exception can be particularly with the Accor 3 for 2 rates, so staying for 3 nights then move somewhere for a night and come back for another 3 nights if that works for you..and you can get the rate during those dates as they become available. I think the Accor site still needs one to check all the sale and special deals available and not count on the general page bringing up the best rates for that hotel or period...so do check out the main offers page or any sales rates that you see here on FT using specific links where possible.

Of course, booking a few separate reservations that happen to be continuous (in terms of nights, so no night away) will not give extra stays or any benefits for points and may indeed mean you have to check out and then back in, however, if you really want the lower rate, that can be the way to get the maximum value, however, at the expense of hassle and time.

Hope that helps, safe travels.

BotB

Actually, there is a 3 for 2 going on right now if you are not aware or haven't checked it out yet...the SO Vienna is participating according to the list of hotels.

The website link is here: https://www.accorhotels.com/promotio...50898#mentions

The T's and C's are at the bottom and are:

Customers who book the "Stay 3, Pay 2" offer agree to have read and accepted the following conditions:
This offer is valid for bookings:
- made from 09th October to 26th November 2018 for Le Club AccorHotels members
- made from 11th October to 26th November 2018 for subscribers to AccorHotels-brand newsletters and subscribers to certain AccorHotels partners and Le Club AccorHotels
- and made from 16th October to 26th November 2018 for the general public,
- prepaid online at the www.AccorHotels.com website or on AccorHotels Group brands sites,
- and applicable to all stays between 31st October 2018 to 17th February 2019 included, at participating hotels.
*Exceptions:
- Hotels in United-Kingdom : stays from 31st October 2018 to 28th February 2019.

Offer valid on three-night stays only. The free night is calculated by applying a 33.33% reduction per night – based on the FLEXIBLE unrestricted RATE for the dates requested upon booking – for stays of exactly three nights.

The offer is available for bookings made at least 15 days in advance.

Le Club AccorHotels points can be earned in participating hotels during this promotion.

Payment must be made online by card at time of booking.
This offer cannot be changed, cancelled or exchanged after booking and cannot be combined with any other discount (s) or special offer(s).

Offer valid in AccorHotels Group's participating hotels subject to availability of allocated rooms.

Breakfast may be included in some hotels. Please refer to the hotel’s terms and conditions for rates.

Hope that helps with your New Year's Plans!

Safe travels, BotB

Jrichardf

Brilliant. Thanks so much for all that info BotB. Will explore further. Yeah, there's a 3 for 2 on the nights of 26th to 29th Dec, which is why the price is so reasonable, I guess. Unfortunately, it goes right up from 29th onwards. Guess that's the New Years Eve effect!!! But will explore to see if I can stay there, though have a feeling it's just not going to be within our budget. Do you know if high prices would ever come down nearer the time, if they aren't in a sale. Or if during a peak period time such as NYE, they'll just stay around the £300 mark or possibly go higher.

Also, a couple more hotels to check out that I'd forgotten to mention. One is Grand Ferdinand, which looks quite nice, though I've never seen in reality. The other is the Aldstadt, which a couple of people I know have stayed at and loved it. Not particularly modern in design but very chic and lovely. And afternoon tea is included!

Jrichardf

Any news yet?

Also, I have a question. I want to book So Vienna for 3 nights from 26th Dec. Accor have a price of £590 inc breakfast that is non-refundable. I've found prices elsewhere for around £515-£520, some with free cancellations until the middle of Dec or suchlike. What shall I do, in terms of trying to do a Best Price Guarantee claim? I've got 80 euros of Accor points that I would like to use, which is why I'd quite like to go through them. And if I could get a 10% off the lower rate would be just great, because this New Years trip is turning out to be more expensive than I hoped! I don't want to book their non-refundable rate, for Accor to say they will not match it. But I wonder if I book their refundable one, they will say the conditions are not the same. Slightly Catch 22-ish, and am sure there's probably many posts about this. But is there a way of booking the refundable rate but say I'm only doing this because of the BPG claim and wanted the non-refundable rate. Or should I call them and say to them about the price before I book? Or any other ideas? Any thoughts about this would be much appreciated.

Julian x

BotB

Hey Jrichardf, sorry about the delay in response. Not contacted them yet to be honest but do have the intention to.

Mostly responding on your question. I'd not want to book a non-refundable rate and then try to cancel it, I imagine that wouldn't fly well most places...so I'd personally just phone and discuss or email them with screenshots and see what you can do that way, it may not bring any success but at least you wouldn't be stuck with a reservation you don't want at too high a price.

Hope that helps or that you have sorted it otherwise. Safe travels, I'll post about the reply when I get around to sending it and assume they'd get back quite quickly.

Safe travels.

EcotoneHR

I've just had a one night stay at this hotel and I must admit I was a little disappointed, most likely because I thought that SO Sofitels were supposed to be better than regular Sofitels. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely the best Accor property in Vienna and it's a great hotel, but there were some things that bothered me a little:

- no turndown service (I asked about this at check-out and was told that they don't provide the turndown service, but can put it in my profile that I want it, so we'll see when I return next month)
- no Hermes amenities (they have switched to Comfort Zone amenities, which are actually very nice, but Hermes is Hermes )
- I didn't like the minimalist design nor the grey colour of the So Comfy room... It just felt cold (metaphorically speaking), impersonal, clinical and not cosy at all. The fact that there is no carpet doesn't help either. I'm not saying it needs to be kitschy or old-Vienna style, but it just didn't feel cosy as I would expect from a luxury hotel
- the welcome amenity was quite generic, an apple, two Macarons and a couple of chocolates
- breakfast inexplicably missing lots of the usual items, plus I personally prefer having hot items as part of the buffet and not having to order them
- the two "spacious jacuzzis", as they are advertised, in the SO Spa only fit 3-4 people, which can hardly be called spacious
- the whole hotel is bordering on pretentious, especially the bar on the top floor

However:
- the view from the room is simply amazing, it was a real pleasure to wake up to such a fantastic view of Vienna
- the bed and pillows excellent
- all the Gold member perks were provided: room upgrade, welcome drinks, welcome amenity

To sum up: I would and I will return. It's quite pricey, but it's possible to get a great deal during a Super Sale. And I'm sure I won't be disappointed next time, now that I know what to expect.

wkndtraveler

I have stayed at this hotel several times, previously last summer, and unfortunately it seems going downhill.

I agree with you that the welcome gift is pretty pathetic, even for platinum members. Removal of Hermès products is very sad.

The hotel has become an annoying party place. I felt last time that they value more bigger venues than individual hotel guests and loyal customers. For example in July, one day the whole spa was closed due to a private party and the next day the restaurant was closed due to same reason. Neither information was provided nor proactive compensation offered. I found out the closure of the spa when trying to enter it wearing in bathrobe.

EcotoneHR

This is exactly the impression that I got! It seems that they want to establish themselves as the ultimate party destination for hip and trendy people and that's all they care about. It's obviously working as there was a loooong line of trendy people waiting in the lobby to get up to the Loft bar. I preferred to have a drink in the bar in the lobby.

starflyergold

Who has ever heard of Comfort Zone? A shame they dropped Hermes.

As for the bar, last time I stayed there I felt hotel guests are an afterthought compared to Vienna's Schickimicki. Not a crowd I want to hang out with.

EcotoneHR

Apparently it's an Italian brand. I asked the receptionist whether it was possible to get Hermès amenities on request, but she told me they didn't have them anymore. There was, however, a small bottle of Hermès Eau de cologne in the bathroom. Maybe it was a leftover.

Oh and another thing: I was surprised to see that the welcome drink voucher wasn't valid for champagne and millésimes. I don't know what the standard practice in Sofitels is, but in Frankfurt you can get a nice glass of Veuve cliquot as a welcome drink. This is why I asked whether Sofitel SO hotels are supposed to be better than the regular Sofitels. This one clearly isn't.

JTCz

I wish Accor dropped those pretentious "branded" amenities and offered solid-quality ones instead. I must say the Hermes ones I got (the last time was at Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, all others seem to have switched to Lanvin) were the worst-quality of all the branded ones I got. It's time Accor went eco and took a leaf out of the 25hours' book (or looked at Scandic hotels), and offered quality cosmetics in refillable containers in the room. I really don't feel luxurious generating all the plastic waste, I try to take the unused open ones home but end up not using them anyway because they are of poor quality (plus I like to use a gommage / peeling under the shower, which Accor last provided in some Novotels before they decided nothing says "sustainable" like a bunch of plastic bottles with a bubblegum fragrance).

And if they want branded, I guess any of the lesser known brands would fall over themselves to have their products featured in their hotel rooms. That way, they could also offer some variety by having the brands change every quarter or month.

BotB

For the reasons listed in my previous stays and the recent posters’ experiences, I’ve moved my custom in Vienna to the Melia Vienna. Also very modern and has a lounge and bar on top floor. (A bit further out from city centre but worth it personally). Good value for money compared to this a Sofitel and where I stay when in the city now. A shame as I loved the Sofitel before it changed to a SO (or should that be so/so)?

safe travels.

starflyergold

The new GM, Peter Katusak-Huzsva (coming from W Hotels) claims the Sofitel was "depressing": “HOTELSMag.com (requires free registration)

I'm not sure I'm impressed with what he did to the hotel but that's just me.

wkndtraveler

I had a chat with him last time I was there. The hotel had been rebranded already. He seemed like a very nice guy but I have to agree that I don't like at all what has happened to the hotel after he was appointed as general manager. Approachable person, though. Said he prefers whatsapp messages instead of long emails.