The Imperial Torte prepared by the Imperial Hotel and sold as gifts as well as served there is widely considered to be better than Sacher Torte. Of course a taste test might be in order. As Starwood owns both hotels (the Sachertorte was invented at the Bristol) it is rather easy to do. Finally no trip to Vienna is complete without a night in Grinzing visiting a heurigen and eating schnitzel that is larger than hummer hubcaps.

I believe the Sacher Torte was invented at the Hotel Sacher, immediately behind the StaatsOper.

I have tasted both and the Imperial Torte, in my view, is better and more sophisticated -- more nuanced flavours and textures. It is also very rich so they are cut into small pieces (about 1.5 inches square) but should be plenty.

Vienna, like most old European cities, is a wondeful walking town with lots of hidden courtyards within the various buildings within the Ringstrasse. Vienna struck me as a most elegant city but with a certain undercurrent buzz or energy. The coffee's, pastries (Viennoserie, even the French conceded that the Viennese are the best at this!!), and the food, from Wiener Schnitzel, to tafelspitz, I am sure you will come away with a love for Vienna.

The Hofburg, the Winter palace of the Hapsburgs is not too far away from the Bristol, and a little farther away from the Imperial. On Sundays, in the Royal Chapel, the Vienna Boys Choir performs and the Imperial Hotel's Head Concierge, Mr. Michael Moser, can secure those for you. I believe they are about 45 Euro.

Schonbrunn, the summer palace of the Hapsburgs (they really knew how to live!!) is just outside the central area and also worth a visit. Check out the Danube (Donau, though there is an umlaut over the "o") and it most certainly isn't blue!!

I was unable to get to the Liechtenstein or Leopold Museums but I hear they are quite nice.

For wiener schnitzel the place to go is Figlmuller, near St. Stephen's. For tafelspitz (boiled beef with vegetables -- very tender beef and a favourite of Franz-Josef apparently) is highly recommended, with Plachutta serving about a dozen types and the Sacher Restaurant at the Hotel Sacher, as well as Cafe Imperial and Restaurant Imperial at the Imperial serving more upscale versions more similar to what the Emperor would have had. Demel is known for their hot chocolate and sweets and is nearby. For a treat, go to, arguably, the best restaurant in all of Austria, Steirereck, which features regional cuisine from Styria.

I would suggest you try to catch a concert at the Musikverein which is immediately behind the Imperial. In fact, out the rear doors of the hotel and you are there. When I was there last, I just missed the Vienna Philharmonic, but we were able to see the Vienna Symphony, which was quite spectacular.

Some websites to help you out:

Figlmuller www.figlmuller.at
Plachutta www.plachutta.at
Steirereck www.steirereck.at
Musikverein www.musikverein.at
Hofburg www.hofburg.at and www.hofburg-wien.at
Schoenbrunn www.schoenbrunn.at
Leopold Museum www.leopoldmuseum.org/english
Liechtenstein Museum www.liechtensteinmuseum.at
www.aboutvienna.org

I hope this is of help and I hope you enjoy Vienna as much as I did. I cannot wait to return this June.

Tchuss

I am a Bristol person, myself, due to the location. Granted, they are both in close proximity to each other but being across from the opera house was wonderful!

Starwood Vienna: which one? [Master Thread]
 

I'm only staying one night, so it's not that big a deal, but still...

The Imperial sounds really nice, but the rate for my night is outrageous (€400 just for a day-use room. €500+ for anything else. Right :rolleyes:.) I'd probably use points here. What are my u/g chances?

The Westin Bristol is much more reasonable, but at cat 4, still a bargain on points. I'd like to get the u/g, but am concerned that they'll treat me poorly if I stay on points. I don't know why I think that, I just seem to recall past threads stating something to that effect.

I understand that both auberges are close to the center of everything...

Anyway, pros/cons of both hotels?

go with Imperial
 

I should caveat this by saying I didn't stay at the Bristol - only the Imperial. As just a lowly Preferred Plus member staying on points last week, I was upgraded to a suite. Not one of the huge ones they gives heads of state, but a great room all the same.

Besides that, I did walk through the Bristol - very nice, of course. I read some reviews on TripAdvisor that indicated the HVAC was not too great, and combined with the reputation of the Imperial (where foreign dignitaries stay), I chose accordingly.

The restaurant is really good - expensive, but a great experience. The concierges were wonderfully helpful with suggestions, reservations, etc. The grand staircase and general decore are very impressive, in that palatial kind of way. :)

Either way, you'll have a great time in Vienna - I would suggest a search (or a peek at the FAQs) as I know there are a number of threads on the "Bristol vs. Imperial" debate if you are still going back and forth.

Bottom line - for a 2,000 Euro a night room that I was put in, it was a perfect use of points (for me).

I tried Bristol last year.

Just in the center of the city !

Very very good. ^

I stayed at the Bristol in Jan. I can highly reccomend it. Great Plat treatment and great location.

However , both my wife and I enjoyed Salzberg much beter than Vienna.

Would any one else think the same ??

Imperial is a great hotel. But if you are lazy like me, the Bristol is closer to the Kartnerstrasse (pedway).

You can use 11,500 points at the Bristol rather than 10,000 and be assured of a junior suite.

Imperial
 

Imperial is the flagship hotel where all heads of state stay and is also well located. If you want to live in style where heads of state stay, go for the Imperial.. they even mention that hotel in almost every city tour you take...

I've only stayed at the Imperial.....and I'm afraid it would be too hard for me staying somewhere eles in Vienna. Treatment has always been great, both when paying and when staying in points. Some suites are wonderful, but sometimes a good jr. suite could be better than a small suite. I doubt you would be given something below a very good jr. suite.

I completely agree, though I emailed a few days in advance about the upgrade and the response essentially was "we'll upgrade you to a penthouse junior suite for no additional points." (I was staying on a free weekend night about three weeks ago from last year's promotion).

Room was great, though interesting that someone mentioned issues with HVAC, it was a bit chilly in the room - perhaps because of all the glass windows!?

Location is second to none (ok, maybe Sacher). Overall, I don't think you can go wrong here, particularly if you email in advance about confirming an upgrade. Worst case you pay an extra 1,500 points - big deal.

And just a general comment, I stayed at about 6 Starwood hotels around the world on my recent RTW, all but 1 on free nights of some sort, and I never felt screwed on my room assignment, except maybe the Pulitzer, but I suspect a lot of the rooms there are just plain small.

If you are going for one night I would definatly stay at the Bristol for its location. You will be right acroos the street from the Opera and in the heart of the main street. Two hops away from the Imperial Palace ,Cathedral,and the the Royal Lippizaner Horse stable. The Imperial is farther away ,albeit slightly nicer. As a lowly gold we were upgraded at the Bristol and treated very nice by the staff

Imperial was great
 

Mrs DFWILE and I just got back from 3 nights at the Imperial (4/9-4/12). It was certainly amazing. Stayed on points (junior suite confirmed), but they gave us the "super upgrade" to about a 1,000 square foot 3 room suite (Room 85 FWIW). The parlor alone was about 500 sq. feet and overlooked the Kartnerring on two sides. All marble bathroom, and chandeliers in all rooms (including the bathroom). The service (though seldom used) was impeccable and warm.

The hotel style is neo-rococo (baroque on steroids) as I recall. Some would call it perhaps gaudy and old-worldly, and while that is definitely not our style, it was very cool to stay in for a few days. We could certainly see why heads of state and the rich and famous would stay there.

The location is great. While not across from the Opera House as the Bristol is, it is only about a 3 minute walk to the Bristol, so don't let the "not located at the Opera House" location bother you.

Plenty to do in VIE, and I think going with either hotel would be quite the experience.

DFWILE

If you are attending a performance at the Staatsoper, one advantage of the Bristol is that you can dash back to your room during intermission, should you need to "freshen up" ;)