stimpy

I'm at the LM now. It is VERY nice and great Plat recognition. Plat's seem to get free mini-bar and free internet. At least I did. I booked two rooms with points and both were upgraded to large Executive suites. Very nice health club too.

The hotel has a great location across from the Opera. ^

Keith009

Aborted??
I love the Arts and Tech series.
Is that because it's too similar to the W and so Starwood put a stop to the A+Ts after they acquired the LM brand?
I always enjoy my stays at the LM HKG, one of the A+T LMs. But I did note striking similarities with the W, most notably the minimalist chic design and the 'Anything/Anytime' line (ala 'Whatever/Whenever').
Hopefully there'd be more Ws around the world very soon then...

james1

[QUOTE=Zorro]The room was not what I understand under Junior Suite, pretty small. Separate bathroom and toilet, but shower had little pressure and one could hardly turn in the bathroom. Free champagne, house brand, tasted actually very good. Fruit plate, and 50% discount voucher for one drink at the bar.
QUOTE]

Just got back from the Bristol, and I too was upgraded to a junior suite.

Everything quoted above was true except for the small bathroom. It is a little on small side, but you can definitely make 360 turns easily. The stay was very wonderful - staff was very friendly and treated me well.

Imperial looked really nice from the outside, but I wasn't willing to spend the extra 2K for the room. If you have never stayed there, Bristol will not disappoint you.

stimpy

Maybe because the designers went too crazy? The rooms at the LM here are nice, but the bar is hideous and the lobby isn't much better.

It was only my over-riding desire for alcohol that got me past the first step into the bar.

MIKESILV

There is NO Club Level at the Bristol as many have stated ( had two stays there earlier this year)

mike

number_6

No club at the Imperial, there isn't a need for one as the more expensive rooms come with butler service. And the suites include a club, inside the room (if you have seen any of the suites, you will know what I mean).

stimpy

No club at the LM either. However there IS a nice club at the IC Vienna where I am now. ^

smat

Am planning a trip to Vienna in late April/early May.....considering either Le Meridien or Bristol (as I'll be paying and not using points). The Imperial is a bit out of my budget.

Both Le Meridien and Bristol seem to be in the same general area. Price difference is about 25-30 Euros.

Any recommendations?

I travel alot for business and generally stay in Westin's. I like a bit of luxury for vacations, and the Bristol seems to be more historical palace look vs. the more modern Le Meridien.

Any comments on resturaunts? Also, best way from airport to these hotels?

Thanks in advance......

Eagle_Eye

i always prefer the more modern hotels like the westin and also the new style of le meredien. the meridien in vienna is one of my favorites.

it's in the middle of the city, so you will find many nice austria style restaurants and coffeehouses in that area.

best way from the airport:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...eridien+Vienna

cheers

Braindrain

Tough call.

The Bristol is in an excellent location, right beside the opera house and smack in the middle of the ring. However, it is an older hotel and many complain about that as a result. (Try reading some reviews on Tripadvisor.)

The Meridien is on the fringes of the ring but certainly not that far away and easy walking to the center. As Eagle Eye said, its rooms are much more modern.

Personally, in-room comfort ranks high and above for me so I'd also choose the Meridien.

ContinentalFan

I'd go for the Bristol; the staff is great. I like the location.

Shanghai

We definately like the Bristol. Have stayed there on five visits. It is well located as mentioned earlier. You can walk to the shopping district and many local restaurants. The rooms are classic, large and comfortable. I have never stayed at the Meridien. I stayed once at the Sofitel.

The Bristol is the only hotel where I have stayed that had a working fireplace in my room!!

Most of the time we took the train to Vienna and a taxi to the hotel.
I hope you have a wonderful visit to Vienna, it is one of our favourite cities of the world. If you have time, take the rivership on the Danube to Bratislava.

smat

Am currently at the Le Meridien in Vienna. Very modern hotel with a few quirks, but very happy with the property. Staff is very helpful. They fixed a problem with my mini bar at once (it wasn't cold at all). The location is great, and only about a block from the Bristol.

From the outside the Bristol looks pretty old, and it surrounded by heavy traffic, so I'd be concerned about noise.

The Le Meridien is also on the Open Ring, so noise could be a problem, but many of the rooms face onto an interior courtyard, which doesn't give you any view, but it is certainly quiet.

Room has nice high ceilings, windows that open, huge flat screen TV, small settee, chair side table, desk, free mini bar (stocked with a beer, 2 cokes, 4 waters, and 2 juices), free high speed internet, a bathtub, and a separate shower (sort of a tower with 3 different shower heads.

One block from the Opera House, trams around the ring in front of Hotel, near to Hofbug Palace and all the Museums.....

Vienna is fabulous.....like a mini-Paris

damon88

My cousin lives in Vienna and during our last visit he told us that he has had friends stay at the Meridien and that the rooms have "great showers." He was surprised we hadn't chosen it and highly recommended it.

We stayed at the Imperial and walked past the Meridien and Bristol every day.
All 3 hotels are literally less than 2-3 blocks apart.

We meant to try and see rooms at both the M & B bc we know we'll be back for a visit. Out of all of our European Starwood stays we were most disappointed with our room at the Imperial. The hotel was nearly empty (October) they fibbed and said it was full-- and they gave us a tired, rather worn room.

We didn't stop at the Meridien (6 days fly by) but we did make a quick visit to the Bristol.

The manager was MUCH friendlier than the staff at the Imperial. He did not show us the interior of any rooms but spent 20-30 minutes showing us around the hotel and touring the dining room and public spaces. He encouraged us to stay at the Bristol next time- telling us it was much more
"gemütlich" (homey, congenial?) which was comforting and scary at the same time (I know in real estate that those type of words can be euphemisms)


I think I'll read more trip reports here and/or send my cousin by for a personal inspection before I reserve next time.

number_6

The Imperial is one of the 10 best hotels in the world, in my opinion. It has a few cheap rooms (cheap means under EUR 500 per night), but these are about 10% of the hotel. The regular rooms are much bigger, nicer, and expensive (EUR 1000 and up, though prices vary a lot seasonally; summer is low season, christmas is high season). This leads to great reluctance to give you a better room, as the next category is often more than double the cost. About half of the rooms are suites, and the larger suites are stunning (their bathrooms are in the 500 square foot range, bigger than most rooms, and the major suites have touches like chandeliers in the bathroom, etc.). The building was built as a residence, not a hotel, originally, hence some of the lavish touches. While the Bristol was built to be a hotel (serving the Opera, actually). A ground-breaking hotel in European history, but a bit dated by modern standards. The Bristol does benefit from having staff who have been there forever, and at least one concierge who is well connected (can arrange anything, literally). The LM was a clever renovation, part of the LM Art&Tech series, sort of the LM answer to W (but higher quality). So the LM has both very modern interiors and room amenities, combined with artistic merit and an expensive historical renovation. Three very different hotels for Starwood, despite being close to each other and maybe appearing the same at first glance. The Imperial really shines at the high end, while the LM is probably the best value.