Starwood happens to have excellent luxury hotels in Vienna, with the Imperial being one of the finest hotels in the world (generally makes the 10 best list). Expensive though, depending on season (and fall through Christmas is high season in Vienna), but worth the price if you can afford it. The Bristol is cheaper but 2 notches down (still in the top 10 for Vienna, a city filled with great hotels).

Stayed at the Bristol in Jan. Fantastic.

Great Plat upgrade ( Large suite)

Can Highly reccomend. Imperial probably better, but after looking at , and eating at, not too keen on the Goldener Hirsh ( Not sure about spelling)

Try Hotel Bristol.

Very nice location, nice resturant, very good rooms and not much expensive.

^

I've stayed at both the Imperial and the Bristol and my vote goes to the Bristol. Gorgeous as the Imperial is (and our junior suite had a jacuzzi), it feels like you're inside an overdecorated birthday cake.

I've lived in Vienna, so if you would like any more pointers just let me know

Well, I'm actually going to apply for a Master Degree at the Diplomatische Akademie Wien, so I though it would be a good idea to visit the city beforehand. Any other interesting facts I should know? Or any info about the "Akademie"?

I am much obliged!

Can't help you with the Akademie, I was working for a headhunting company when I lived in Vienna, but I can tell you that the city is lovely to live in and the Austrians absolutely charming in their own old-fashioned way. Mind you, you'll freeze your a**s off in the winter, but that has a charm of its own and they provide lots of hot punsch to help deal with that ;)

I find it's the only place where you can truly breathe what it felt like when the biggest chunk of Central Europe was under the same Imperial banner

We just stayed at the Bristol for 4 nights in September and loved the hotel, location and staff. Excellent service from Concierge ( I think his name was Ludwig!). His dining recommendations . ^
NO experience at the Imperial.

Imperial, Bristol, or save the points for miles
 

I have a bit of a dilemma; I have 36K+ Starwood points and a planned trip to Vienna for three nights after a 20th anniversary cruise. I was originally planning to stay at a budget (i.e. Rick Steves style) hotel/pension then discovered I had enough points to stay three nights at either the Bristol or the Imperial.

Is it more prudent to save the points to convert to 50K airline miles (after a few more purchases) or burn the miles for a stay at either of these fine hotels?

I quote Bristol. :-: :-: :-: :-: :-:
Very good experience ! ^

Agree Bristol is great...
 

...it is only the second time I got the Presidential Suite for my plat upgrade...rack rate on the back of the door said 1700E...3 bathrooms and a butler.....woohooo! Awesome place, great consierge and great location...highly recomended :)

So what about a lowly no status (just have the *wood AMEX) type like me?

The Bristol participates in cash & points during low season, so if there is availability for your dates, that is the way I would go.

Otherwise, you can try using priceline (check out www.biddingfortravel.com or www.betterbidding.com). People have reported getting the Marriott, etc. for $70/night.

Also, I tend to think SPG points are best used for hotel nights (in specific locations) or room upgrades (for non-platinums), since miles are relatively easy to accumulate if you do any sort of flying.

We stayed at the Imperial for three nights on points back in April (our first anniversary). As I recall, we spent 14,500 for the Specialty Select award, which was a junior suite. The going rate was something like $900, so from my perspective, I'm glad we used the points to save $2700.

But it gets better...we got there at about 9 a.m. and asked if by chance we could check in (realizing we were early and being fully prepared to wait for our room). Our junior suite wasn't avalable, but they said "Since this is your anniversary, let's see what else we have available". We ended up in a 3 room, almost 1000 square foot room, overlooking the Ringstrasse (room 85)! It was amazing! The rate on that one was about $1500 a night, so again, I felt the points well worth it.

All in all, we loved the Imperial and would recommend it to anyone!

An interesting point. This will be our 20th anniversary and we will be arriving early in the AM on the overnight train from Venice (where the cruise ends). I'll be sure to mention it.

How do you go about obtaining a Specialty Select award?

Call the Customer Contact Center nearest you.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]