EkekoBWI

Just stayed at DO & CO exclusively using points (20k / night) for a 3-night stay in Vienna. As Gold who's not on pace to make Gold next year, I wasn't expecting any special treatment. Instead, without making any request, we received one of the larger rooms, and, IMO, one of the better layouts. It had a courtyard balcony and, unlike the other rooms, did not have the bathroom in the middle of the floorplan.

Pros:
Location: Next to St. Stephen's Cathedral and U-Bahn-Station Stephansplatz. You could not ask for a more central location in Vienna!
Front desk staff (6th floor): Fluent in English and very helpful in making reservations around town.
Street noise: Surprisingly negligible, in part owing to the hotel being located in a pedestrian zone.
Porter service: Very helpful in getting bags to cars in a pedestrian zone.
Toiletries: Good but not great quality.
Maid service: Room was spotless when we returned for the evening.
Turn-down service: Chocolates and waters nightly.
Electronics: Good channel selection on TV, and charging stations / plugs conveniently located throughout.
Jacuzzi: Huge!

Cons:
Very few rooms, so book early (esp. during high tourist season)
Light switch placement makes no sense at all, and "what turns on what" was nonsensical.
DO & CO restaurant: Must make reservations well in advance, and I didn't find the menu appealing.
Wear and tear: Could use a touch up on paint and polishing in some spots, but that's being very nit-picky.

All in all, we'd stay here again in a heartbeat.

Keyser

so he is my dilemma....i have a 5 night trip coming up to vienna next month over the christmas holidays....my family will be traveling with me....this is mostly a vacation & i just need to be in bratislava for work for one day during this trip....i have been to vienna before but never to bratislava....my family has not been to either place so we want to see both....

i'm using points & do not want to change hotels during these 5 days because changing hotels with 2 infants is not easy & i get the 5th night free if i stick to the same property....

the guesthouse, do & co hotel, bristol & imperial are not available on points during my dates so that leaves me with either the le méridien & das triest in vienna or the grand & sheraton in bratislava....

if staying in vienna then i would prefer the le méridien since i want to use suite nights....unless folks here recommend the das triest for any other reason....

if staying in bratislava then which one would be better between the grand & sheraton????

hardworking21

As someone who's stayed at the Le Meridien Vienna for two months now (work stay), highly recommend. Team is very professional, providing consistent upgrades to suites (I'm P100, and naturally, my consistent stays help them know my tastes better). Newly renovated lobby, restaurant, and bar are all quite nice. In the heart of the First district!

Keyser

thanks for the update....how would you rate their breakfast????

hardworking21

It's good! Hot foods buffet bar (with make your own omelette station), nice cold spread (cold cuts, salad, fruit, yogurt, cereal, etc.), multiple bread selections, five juices, and cappuccino/espresso all included. No St. Regis, but hey, we're at the Le Meridien

MSPeconomist

It's too bad that you can't stay in the Bristol or especially the Imperial as the historic hotels at Christmas would be so much fun when they're decorated.

Keyser

would have loved to stay at the imperial....but unfortunately both are not available during my dates....

Keyser

sounds good....thanks again....

Keyser

while the imperial remains sold out, the bristol is now available, albeit at the peak award level so its 16k points a night (5th night free brings that down to 12,800 points per night)....so its either the bristol for 64k points or the le méridien (which i already have booked) for 40k points....

is the bristol worth the extra 24k points????

MSPeconomist

It depends on the style you prefer. Location is almost the same as LM is across street from Bristol, on the outer side of the ring.

christianj

Just got back from the LeM and as an FYI they totally renovated the lobby and the restaurant and bar area. IMHO a nice improvement which changed the overall layout of the first floor. Old check-in area is now a very nice bar area, old tiny bar area near the restaurant entrance is now the check-in area and the main entrance to the hotel was moved to the side entrance so you come into the new lobby off the side street. Restaurant was updated a bit and now has a nicer feel. I asked the front desk if the rooms would see some improvements and was told it was next on the list.

Superorb

DO NOT stay at the Das Triest in Vienna. It's cheap for a reason. They're adding a huge addition to the hotel and they don't disclose this when booking. at 8am Monday morning they started with the jackhammer right behind our heads in bed behind the wall. We checked out almost a day early and took an earlier train to Bratislava. If you want to stay here make sure the construction is complete.

Keyser

in that case i think i'll stick with the le méridien....besides sleeping at night, we don't plan on spending too much time in the hotel in any case....once we leave in the morning, i doubt we will be back till late in the evening....

Keyser

checked out of the le méridien a couple of days ago after a 5 night stay....all in all the stay was ok....

lets start with the positives first:

1. was pre upgraded to an executive suite 10 days before my stay....this was thanks mostly to my ambassador who had been communicating with the property on my behalf....

2. the suite was nice & spacious....there were 2 bathrooms, a spacious seating area, small dining table & ample storage space....

3. staff was friendly & always willing to help....the concierge helped me get a great rate when we wanted to hire a car with a driver for the day....

4. breakfast was great....lots of choice & service was good....

5. we ordered room service a couple of times....service was prompt & the food was good....

but there were a number of things that didn't work the way they should....here are the negatives:

1. we checked in around 4:30pm & our room wasn't ready....the agent at check-in apologised for this & gave me a voucher for free snacks & drinks at the bar while we waited....unfortunately the bar was a smoking area & we didn't want to go there with our 2 infant kids so we went to wait in the restaurant next to the bar....i let the check-in agent know we were sitting there so that he could come get us when the room was ready....about an hour later i went back to check on the room & it turns out that it had been ready for a while but the agent forgot to inform us....but he said the hotel would pick up the tab for the meal at the restaurant....

2. we needed one bag right away when we got to the room so i called the front desk to ask them to get our luggage to the room....half an hour later it still wasn't there....i called the front desk to request it again & was told it would be sent up immediately....another 15 minutes passed & still no luggage so i went down to the front desk to let them know i need one of the bags right away....i got that from storage & went up....it finally took them another half hour before they delivered the rest of the luggage....

3. the internet was extremely poor....half of the time it wouldn't connect & when it did it was very slow....i complained about this a number of times but they couldn't do much about it....

4. the airline misplaced one of our baby strollers & were supposed to deliver it to the hotel the next day....i called the airline & they said the stroller would be at the hotel before noon....since we couldn't take the kids out without the stroller, we decided to wait at the hotel till we got it....i let the front desk know that we were waiting for it & asked them to inform us the moment they got it....around 1pm we still didn't have the stroller so i called the airline again only to be informed it was delivered to the hotel at 11:30am....i went down to the front desk & asked whether they had received it....i was first told that it had already been delivered to my room....i told them i just came from my room & it wasn't there....they then proceeded to locate it since it wasn't in storage....another 20 minutes passed before they found it....seems like the person who received it left it in the room behind the front desk & they forgot to inform me it had arrived....

5. when checking in i was not informed about breakfast so i asked whether it was included or if i needed to give up the 500 amenity points for it....i was told it was a choice between the 2 so i decided to opt for the breakfast....but every morning when we got to breakfast we were informed that it was not included....i had to inform them all 5 mornings that i had selected it as my platinum amenity & the agent had to go check with the front desk before allowing us through....

we loved the location of the hotel & the hotel itself....the upgrade was great & the food was very good....we would stay here again if the price was right but there were some problems that we hope would be taken care of the next time we are here....

myperks

Seeking feedback on planning a trip to Vienna.
Between the following three rates, which option is the best for platinum members:

#1 - Hotel Bristol Vienna - $110 cash + 6k points /night
#2 - Le Meridien Vienna - $75 cash + 5k points / night
#3 -Le Meridien Vienna - hotwire price of $115 / night (cannot BRG)

Seems like both hotels are fairly close to each other.