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Park Hyatt Vienna - REVIEW - MASTER THREAD

Park Hyatt Vienna - REVIEW - MASTER THREAD

Old Jun 6, 2014, 3:36 pm
  #16  
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 226
Full Report - June 2, 2014

As expected the property is still getting its bearings - but overall its certainly on its way to being a wonderful option for Hyatt loyalists. The building is classic yet sophisticated. It doesn’t have the “datedness” that PH Tokyo does, or the “modernist” feel that PH Seoul does, or the “too fancy to touch” feel that PH Paris does. It sort-a sits somewhere in between those three. The blend of the original features and newly added features really is seamless. The older items have been deeply refurbished, while the new items were constructed to be timeless. There are just a handful of small details that do feel off/cheap though.

Entering through the main entrance the check in desks are to the left to the right and to the right is “Living Room” lounge and “Pearl” bar. . Up the stairs straight is “The Bank” restaurant, up the stairs to the left are the conference room/ballroom, and up the stairs and to the right is the main elevator and grand staircase to guest rooms. Check-in is typical Park Hyatt, your name is captured by the bell/doorman (the door is a modern revolving door so no “holding open” by the doorman), and as you approach the front desk they have your folio ready and check-in is completed in your room. (I assume it was an opening glich, but my name was attached to someone else’s reservation, but it was quickly sorted).

There is a single main elevator runs down the middle of the central guest staircase, its extremely fast, and all glass - albeit with a pesudo stained-glass effect (one of the off/cheap looking items). There are two other elevators (and a 3rd service elevator) tucked away left of the front desk that is handy for those staying in the “back” of the property. The elevators all required key access to reach the guest floors - funny as someone nefarious could just take the stairs without a key. The guest hallways are long, with few adornments. The carpet is a deep brown with simple design, walls are soft, and room doors in inset with a deep dark stain. There are just a few “art elements” inset in the halls that look like blown glass - but they’re cheap plastic. Door numbers are to the side on brass plaques alongside a small hook, doorbell, do not disturb light and the RFID key sensor. Its worth noting the doors take some getting used to 1) they’re heavy and thick, 2) there’s a good 2-3 seconds between when your card is “read” and when the lock retracts.



In our suite (144) you enter into a marble foyer with floor inlay. There’s a european style “keycard switch” to the left, which doesn’t power the room, but rather senses the time of day and sets the lighting/blinds/HVAC to a “welcome” setting. Removing the card does cycle the lighting/blinds/HVAC to an “away” mode, but doesn’t power-down the room as you can turn things on manually without keycard present. The celling was 14”+ the rooms are quite tall.



To the right of the foyer is the large closet. Along one wall is a built-in closet unit - there’s the normal Park Hyatt umbrella/robe/iron/safe. The safe was just large enough for a 15” laptop, any bigger and it wouldn’t fit. (Again I’m sure it was an opening quirk but our safe was locked when we got to the room - it took a few hours before someone could come up to unlock it). In our room, the connecting door was actually though the closet (I have no idea if the room on the other side was though the closet as well)

To the left of the foyer is a massive bathroom. Two vanity areas each with their own sink. A TV embedded in the wall, and speakers in the celling. A separate toilet room - with poo phone and Japanese style bidet/washlet. There’s no instructions and the buttons are tucked on the side without labels. There’s a large soaking (non-jetted) tub with separate shower wand, the tub uses “touch” sensors to control water flow, which like the front door take a second to register each button “press” before they react. Lastly there’s a large shower room with bench, a rain shower and adjustable handheld. Water pressure was quite good, and the hot water got very hot. There is a double door into the bedroom between vanities. Toiletries are Blaise Mautin and everything is packaged in oversized shiny silver packaging.



Straight ahead from the foyer is the living area which has hardwood floors but a large throw rug under the couch/coffee table. There is a TV hidden behind a mirror (funny enough this wasn’t motorized/automated and required manual intervention to lift up). The mini-bar/coffee machine is tucked away in a small armoire. The coffee machine is an Illy Y5 Iperespresso, and the minibar is really more of a cool-box than a true refrigerator (its I believe the same one used in the PH Maldives). The working table is not moveable and not particularly large. Embedded into the desk is the “mediahub” to allow VGA/HDMI/RCA inputs to the television. There are 3 power outlets and a wired ethernet. The phone system appears to be an IP based. We had internet and phone issues during out stay but it just might be opening gremlins. The wireless network “hyatt” had WPA2 security turned on so I couldn’t login (oddly there were open “Hyatt_Employee” SSIDs), while on the wired network I only averaged 1.2mbps down and 3.5 mbps up. When using any of the “quick dial” buttons to the concierge/spa/housekeeping they all went busy. When trying to dial the front-desk “0” the phone rung endlessly (for giggles I let it ring for 7 hours to see if anyone would ever pick-up…) so the phone was relatively useless.



The bedroom can be entered either through the living room or the bath. The king size bed was comfortable but nothing special (it was labeled as “Simmons Suite 612” which the googler says its a “3-star hotel mattress”). There are 2 outlets on each side of the headboard as well as control panels for the drapes/lights, one one side was a Bose SoundLink, but there was no alarm clock (although there was one in the bath). One bottle of still, one bottle of sparkling water was bed side when we came in, but they were not replaced/refilled throughout our stay. There’s a small table and seat by the window, and another seat and lighted mirrored vanity tucked away against the bathroom wall. There’s a TV identical to the one in the living room behind a sliding mirrored door. The TV system is quite nice, extremely responsive, not overwelmingly intuitive but useable. It features an interactive hotel/vienna guide, visual tv listing/movie guide/radio station selection. Oddly the menu showed an option for a “Blueray” (sp?) option but we couldn’t find it in the room anywhere (there were hidden cubbies under the TV so perhaps its a planned enhancement)



The pool/spa area was the highlight of the property for us - its open 9am to 11pm and the money definitely seems to have spent here. You can enter the pool from floor -2 using the “side elevators”, but to properly capture the experience enter using the main elevator to -1, at the spa reception desk you’ll see the old bank vault door and the pool below. The spa receptionist will then take you down to the locker/changing rooms. The lockers all have digital combo locks, and each has a bottle of water, slippers, robe, laundry bag and a hanger. Also in the locker/changing room there was a dry sauna, steam room, rain/message/ice shower, 3 private showers, and a heated bench. It may have just been opening night - but there was no one else in the area for the hour my wife and I spent at the pool (as a bonus that let me get some photos). As you exit the changing/locker rooms there is an area with a dozen chaise lounges, paired up into little nooks to be semi-private, from there you go up about 10 steps to the pool. The pool itself is small (I believe 15m), so anymore than 4-5 people and the pool itself could feel crowded (in fact poolside there are only 4 recliners). I”m sure its just an opening ‘feature’ but the water depth was noted by a printed piece of paper taped down near the pool’s edge.



Service was good - English was solid (in fact even though we greeted everyone in German, nearly universally we were responded to in English), there are separate menus in English and German in all the bars/restaurants and the in-room literature was all English/German (the TV had a dozen other languages to choose from). I assume we were upgraded to a suite as a Diamond, but it was never mentioned (paid using Cash+Points). During check-in there was no fruit/ammenity in our room which the check-in clerk noted and said they’ll bring something up. When we came back there was a fruit bowl and a letter from the GM inviting us for a free drink at the “Pearl” bar). But looking back FD1971 was correct fresh fruit is listed in the standard amenities of each suite on the site so that couldn’t have been the amenity so looks like we got nothing. We did visit the “Pearl” for a drink - there it was pretty busy around 21:00 with lots of locals, the bartender was a sweetheart and offered us a drink “for free as a grand opening welcome” not knowing we were staying at the hotel and that we had an invitation from the GM. Our second round was rung-up and I signed it to the room - but it wasn’t taken off at check-out so I still need to reach out to see if they intended to comp this per the card in our room. Also worth noting our bill said that our purchases were “Not point earning eligible, and Not point redemption eligible” - so this we’ll see if they post if the drinks are indeed not comped. The “Pearl” does seem a little out of place compared to the rest of the hotel - its tucked away with a separate street entrance and seems much trendier than the rest of the property. We also stopped by the “Living Room” to grab a smoke - its a nice space, but even with just 4 people smoking in there, you can tell ventilation is going to be a problem. There are bottles of scotch/congac/rum lying around (and high-end bottles at that, of Louis XIII, JW Odyssey, Pyrat 23) - I’m curious to see how long that lasts before a bottle mysterious walks away… We walked around the conference room floors quickly just to see them, and they’re beautiful but extremely small.



Lastly, we had early flight out of VIE (7:05am) so ordered room service for 4:45am. Unfortunately it didn’t get delivered until 5:10am. But the person delivering room service also, ended up being the bellman who came to retrieve our bags at 5:30am, and was ALSO the person at the front-desk checking us out and calling a cab for us. So perhaps they’re still not fully staffed up. Overall for being the first day, the property shows real promise and is definitely a nice addition to the Hyatt portfolio. Is it worth 350euro a night, location isn’t as great as some of the other high-end properties in Vienna (that are actually on the ring itself), but if it can distinguish itself with a beautiful spa/pool, an amazing dining room (in the “Bank”), and being closer to high-end shopping it maybe a good fit for some.
peetahvw is offline  
Old Jun 12, 2014, 2:23 pm
  #17  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Frankfurt
Programs: MR Plat.
Posts: 95
I spent a weekend at the PH Vienna recently and was quite impressed. The rooms are very nicely appointed (Loewe TV, huge bathrooms). While the interior design was not fully my cup of tea, it was very luxurious and overall practical to operate (window shades, lights, air condition). Given that this hotel is brand-new my room had some teething issues, but those have been resolved by the hotel team very attentively and generously.

The main restaurant is gorgeous, the food nicely done and presented, and staff as attentive as you would expect.

Overall I was very pleased with the my stay. The location of the hotel is very central, about 200 m from Graben, and with it's side entry across the street of "Das schwarze Kameel".
starlicious is offline  
Old Jun 23, 2014, 8:35 am
  #18  
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: RDU
Posts: 735
Anyone had luck booking P&C here? I just called and even on a date that is available for points, nothing for P&C.

edit: Points and MER available, so I don't imagine it's high capacity?

Last edited by Gunner14; Jun 23, 2014 at 8:45 am
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Old Jun 24, 2014, 6:23 am
  #19  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Frankfurt
Programs: MR Plat.
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My stay was on points and cash.
starlicious is offline  
Old Jun 25, 2014, 12:44 am
  #20  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: Virtuoso, Marriott Stars/Luminous, Hilton Impresario, IHG Luxury & Lifestyle, Hyatt Prive etc
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I have a 2 night stay arriving Friday booked points+cash.

Edit: just arrived and upgraded to a Deluxe View room (as expected for diamond upgrade). Good size and beautifully done. Offered choice of welcome amenity - points, something sweet, wine... there may have been other options but we took white wine and an Austrian option soon appeared perfectly chilled. Breakfast is in restaurant on through room service up to €33pp, which gets a pretty good spread. Took the S-bahn from the airport to Mitte (around €4pp) and then a taxi (€10). So far so good.

Last edited by price123; Jun 27, 2014 at 2:05 pm
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Old Jun 30, 2014, 7:22 am
  #21  
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: FRA
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Originally Posted by Gunner14
Anyone had luck booking P&C here? I just called and even on a date that is available for points, nothing for P&C.

edit: Points and MER available, so I don't imagine it's high capacity?
I have a confirmed C&P stay with DSU Aug 22-25 :-)
FLe1977 is offline  
Old Jul 11, 2014, 9:25 pm
  #22  
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I'm just a few weeks away from my stay and quite excited
My sincere thanks to peetahvw for the exceptional review and photos
This will be a special trip indeed as it marks my very first time in Vienna as well as having the pleasure of turning Lifetime Diamond with Hyatt Gold Passport after check out.
What a great way to celebrate
I expect the red carpet rolled out upon my entrance and everyone form Hyatt corporate including the Pritzker family to fly in and meet and greet me upon my arrival

All kidding aside In particular I'm touched that General Manager Monique Dekker is running the show here ^
Ms. Dekker is one of the nicest people I have had the pleasure of knowing in all my years staying at Hyatt.
Some of you may remember her from many years ago when she was rooms Exec at the Park Hyatt Chicago.
Until approx. 2013 I believe she was GM at Hyatt Regency Dusseldorf a property I have never visited
She always was personable in the past and truly heartfelt in generosity to make sure as elites were recognized upon arrival with nice upgrades when possible as appropriate.
I wish her well in her new position
777 global mile hound is offline  
Old Jul 12, 2014, 12:32 am
  #23  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
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We had a great stay here a week or so back for 2 nights booked on cash+points. As usual, the full review with lots of pictures is on our website. Below is a briefer version (although some is copy and paste).

Getting to the hotel
We took the S-bahn from the airport (much cheaper than CAT train) to the Wien Mitte and then a taxi from there. Taxi was more expensive than we anticipated for such a short journey, but it would have been possible to connect to the U-bahn to Bahnhof Herrengasse and then walk.

Initial Impressions
The building is beautiful and has been very sensitively restored. Public areas are impressive - the lobby, lounge, bar, smoking rooms all welcoming places and the cigar room doesn't even smell despite heavy use the night before. On arrival, we were shown to our room for check-in, which is always welcome. Staff were very friendly and professional throughout the stay.For diamond amenity, we were offered points, something sweet or wine (we chose the latter and requested white, which was delivered within 30 minutes). We asked about breakfast and were told it was included downstairs or through room service (up to €33pp).

Rooms
We were advised that we had been allocated a Park Deluxe View King (and that this would be the standard diamond upgrade). To be honest, on our later tour, we viewed a Park View King and it looked identical. There isn't much of a view, so I wouldn't worry too much about upgrades, although it's often nice to not have a courtyard room. Regardless, the rooms we saw were of a good size. A small entry hall has a very useful walk-in wardrobe on the right hand side and entrance to the bathroom to the left. Straight ahead was entry to the bedroom, which had a small seating area with sofa and chair. On the table was a fruit bowl with some ripe plums (not exciting but tasty) and the minibar was housed in a drinks cabinet. The TV was elegantly concealed by a sliding mirror - the best place for it in our opinion! Behind the comfortable bed was a large desk. Unfortunately no international power outlets were available, although an universal adapter plug was in the wardrobe. Curtains and blinds are electronically controlled from a switch by the door or by the bed, but also are set on entering the room depending on the time of day. One other problem was that the air-con was somewhat feeble - we were too hot at night despite turning the fan up and the temperature down as far as possible.

The bathroom was a highlight of the room - twin sinks, beautifully packaged Blaise Mautin toiletries in silver (and a better aroma than many) and a wonderful temperature controlled bath. The rain shower was set in a large enclosure, although our shower flooded the floor the first time we used it. After mentioning this to Monique Dekker (GM) during our interview with her, this was fixed within hours.

We also saw a Park Suite, which would be worth the upgrade if entertaining or travelling with children. The walk-in wardrobe area was much larger and the room had a completely separate lounge area complete with dressing table. Bedroom was on the small side, but with a decent-sized lounge, that doesn't really matter.

Dining
Breakfast in The Bank restaurant was better than through room service. The restaurant itself is beautiful, service was very good and there was a wide range of high quality food available. Sencha tea is on the menu, but I was served jasmine after asking for it - turns out they didn't have any green tea and were hoping I didn't notice!

Room-service breakfast was fine, but the menu card was confusing. At the top it says the breakfast is €33 (the included amount if I remember the numbers correctly) and to choose 1 food item and 1 beverage from the list. Thus, if you choose orange juice and a bread roll, that would be your breakfast. We phoned to check and were told we could order fruit and an egg dish (although they had to check with someone and phone back), but then nothing else came, not even a bread basket. The portions were on the small side, so in all, we would recommend going downstairs for breakfast. Perhaps the card will be changed to say you can choose one food item from each section, which would help.

One night we shared a Create your Own meal (chicken, rice, mushrooms, tomato salsa) through room service (supplemented with salad and cheese from the nearby supermarket). This was delicious and highly recommended. Also, value was ok.

Leisure
The spa and leisure facilities were a real highlight of the hotel, especially for a venue in the centre of a European city. The gym is a decent size (although lacks a rowing machine) and offers cooled water and refreshing moist towels. Technogym provides a quality work-out experience and there is a range of weights and cardio equipment. Workout gear is currently not available to borrow.

Unfortunately, the sauna facilities are in the changing rooms and thus segregated. The hotel are considering bringing in times for couples to be able to use these facilities together, so request this if interested. Two dark, cocooning relaxation areas are available - the upstairs one has beds perfect for first class - so comfortable we could have fallen asleep in moments. Something missing was a bowl of fresh fruit, a selection of dried fruit and hot tea on demand. The piece de resistance is the stunning swimming pool situated in the old bank vault. The curved ceilings are atmospheric and day beds arranged in perfect symmetry. It's a pity there is no jacuzzi, but the water in the pool was warm and we always had the space to ourselves (room occupancy was 40%).

The spa offers a range of treatments and has a nice couples' treatment room, although the tariff seem a little on the high side. Perhaps offers will be introduced with time that will make the prices more reasonable.

Overall
Overall, a wonderful stay in a stunning property with surprisingly few problems for a young hotel. Monique Dekker has once again done a great job with the opening. We are already planning our return and look forward to seeing the new terrace, which should be open within a few weeks.

Areas for improvement
Air-con in rooms needs to be more effective at cooling
In-room breakfast menu needs clarifying
Allowing couple's use of sauna area
price123 is offline  
Old Jul 12, 2014, 2:42 am
  #24  
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Originally Posted by price123
The gym is a decent size (although lacks a rowing machine) and offers cooled water and refreshing moist towels. Technogym provides a quality work-out experience and there is a range of weights and cardio equipment.
Thanks for the review. I also like to have a Concept2 in the gym, a shame that like a lot of gyms they seem to standardize on a purely Technogym or LifeFitness package.
RTW1 is offline  
Old Jul 12, 2014, 3:14 am
  #25  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
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Originally Posted by RTW1
Thanks for the review. I also like to have a Concept2 in the gym, a shame that like a lot of gyms they seem to standardize on a purely Technogym or LifeFitness package.
This is something we mention to hotel staff whenever shown a gym, in the hope that if enough people ask for a rower, it will catch on. Concept 2's aren't that expensive and it isn't necessary to carry running shoes in order to use one. They don't take up much room and are a much better offering than a third bike (or similar). It is about the one thing going to The Churchill's gym! At least GH Bangkok and Singapore have one in the personal training studio.

I do like a nice cooled (preferably scented) towel though.
price123 is offline  
Old Jul 19, 2014, 7:34 am
  #26  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
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I am booked and eagerly waiting my stay!

C+P got snapped up for for my dates when I finally called in to make the booking.

In any case has any one gotten more than the Park Suite using Diamond certificate?

I've gotten multiple upgrades above standard suites at a few other Park Hyatts so wondering how it is like at the Vienna property.
lsed is offline  
Old Jul 19, 2014, 2:59 pm
  #27  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Programs: Hyatt Diamond, southwest A List Preferred, American Platinum
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My 40th wedding anniversary is next May and Vienna is one of the cities we are going to hit on our European trip. No Cash and Points for the entire week we will be there. Seems strange there is on availability this far out. Just booked a room at 25,000 points, but was hoping to do P & C so I could use one of my Diamond Suite upgrades.
joey965 is offline  
Old Jul 20, 2014, 12:50 am
  #28  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
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Originally Posted by 777 global mile hound
All kidding aside In particular I'm touched that General Manager Monique Dekker is running the show here ^
Ms. Dekker is one of the nicest people I have had the pleasure of knowing in all my years staying at Hyatt.
Agree whole-heartedly with this. An extremely competent GM and a lovely woman as well. We were lucky enough to meet with her during our stay and wrote a little article on her here.
price123 is offline  
Old Jul 24, 2014, 6:35 am
  #29  
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
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Originally Posted by price123
Agree whole-heartedly with this. An extremely competent GM and a lovely woman as well. We were lucky enough to meet with her during our stay and wrote a little article on her here.
Have to disagree, at least during the opening days in Düsseldorf, we had a very differnt impression of her.
peter42 is offline  
Old Aug 11, 2014, 4:05 am
  #30  
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Location: Baltimore MD
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Any ideas of the cost of hotel transportation to/from the airport? I would normally book a car but just curious how the hotel's offering compared... Since we have a late arrival I thought the hotel car might be a better idea... Someone up thread mentioned trouble connecting with wifi? Is that still the case? I ask because most of the devices I travel with these days don't have ethernet connections....

Thanks
FDW
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