livefromtuscany

oh, and hands down, the Imperial Torte is way better than the Sacher Torte. In fact, most Viennese know many places where they serve a better Sacher Torte than at the Sacher Hotel. Their pastry chef once told me they had to make so many compromises with the ingredients to make the cake last longer (and ship it around the world) that today's Sacher Hotel version is very different from the original recipe, which is still served at other Viennese cafès

luxury

I did enjoy the Sacher torte at Demel.........

number_6

There are only a few rooms like that and in fact they were not used as guest rooms for many years (they were servants rooms originally). The renovation in the 80s converted them to guest rooms, in order for the hotel to be able to offer some cheaper rooms (they are less than half of the outside room price). The Imperial is oriented towards suites, there are more suites than rooms or so it seems. Every room is different and personally I like the lack of uniformity in the hotel, quite refreshing compared to modern hotels. It does mean that some rooms are much better than others. The Imperial does a great job of remembering you from past stays.

Mr. Strong

I would also second the recommendations for the Le Meridien Wien. I enjoyed my stay there especially since I tend to prefer a more modern aesthetic. The location is central, the rooms were bright and spacious and the service was great. The indoor pool is quite nice too.

Amanjunkie

They're totally different. The Sachertorte is made with apricot jam, but the Imperial Torte is made with almond paste. From what I understand, the torte served at the Hotel Sacher is the original recipe.

BTW, the Imperial Torte is also shipped around the world. And I highly doubt the cakes they prepare to be shipped are the same ones they serve at the hotel.

BLV

Big thanks for everyone who contributed to this thread. I am now deciding between a new year's stay at Salzburg OR Vienna OR something entirely different all together, but that would be a topic for an entirely different thread & forum :-).

livefromtuscany

They certainly are the same ones - why would they want to make two different versions, especially if they also sell it in the shop without knowing if people take it to South America or eat it right in Vienna.

The Sacher pastry chef once took me on a tour through their kitchen and huge pastry facility in the basement, and explained the process to me. He also explained that in order to make the cake last (especially to survive the dry airplane environment) they had to deviate from the original recipe, especially for the chocolate coating, which is normally soft and shiny.

SunGoddess

The Imperial Torte is disgusting. Then again I hate almonds, but I wouldn't normally trust local tastes anyway. I like the Sacher Torte especially with a bit of cream; otherwise it's too dry. It's definitely the best torte in Vienna.

Frequent_Flyer1

Okay, I admit, imperfect expression. Didn't want to offend you ... Just put "sorry" into my answer because I know many people who think that the Sacher is THE hotel in Vienna. However, I disagree. So my vote goes to the Le Meridien!

BTW: Do&Co (company in VIE that owns some famous restaurants & also does the catering for NG - Lauda Air) just opened a new (small) luxury hotel in VIE (opposite of the Stephansdom). Judging from what I heard it should be really nice...

BLV

So far Sacher has gotten back to me with rates & availability, but I have to wait til mid-July for the 2007 rates to be posted in their system, so that I'd be able to reserve through Amex. I'm still waiting to hear from Imperial, and am looking into Le Meridien. I know Non-NonRev (thank you, btw) posted a link with a map, but despite that I still don't know which hotel has THE best, central location :-D

Threy

The best central location is always worth a long discussion, but the Ambassador is rated as a 6 * property and is between the Sacher and the DO&CO

http://www.ambassador.at/

The Imperial is still top notch, but at the moment I would rate the Palais Coburg as the better property, at least based on the rooms/suites...

www.coburg.at

BLV

Ambassador probably likes how the 6 stars look on their logo/emblem/shield/whatever, but it is a 4* rated hotel :-D

Threy

The rating in Austria is always tough to figure out, but the Ambassador is a notch above some of the properties in town , which are rated as 5*.

It was rated by some agencies as a 6 star property and is a pretty good hotel. The Sacher is overrated, but has improved after the latest renovation/expansion.

Talk of the town is the Palais Coburg...

BLV

I appreciate your suggestions. I checked out the Ambassador even heard from them via email within 2 hours (available practically for any day in Dec/Jan), but would not want to stay there especially after checking out their rooms.

Sacher might be overrated, but it is practically sold out, and at higher prices, and so is Imperial.

Search for an nye celebration spot continues :-).

Non-NonRev

I have to apologize for missing the original reference to NYE (is there a "d-oh" smilie)?

That would explain the difficulty in getting rooms (especially) at the Imperial. The Imperial, as you can see in the zoomed-in map, is across the street form the Musikverein. It is from the Golden Hall of this building that the annual Neujahrskonzert is televised live every New Year's Day. Many dignataries and even some heads of government/state come in for this event (for example, Helmut Schmidt and Gerhard Schroder attended sometimes when they were the German Chancellor).

And since the Imperial (not all that huge to begin with) is the official diplomatic hotel for the Austrian government, I'd guess that availability for the NYE nights would be pretty scarce.