I stayed here in January - it was really nice and the minibar was fab.

Good question. They do have instant awards as I got the little sheet when I checked but didn't even look at it.

So, I have no idea about the Imperial Torte. :(

I stayed here on the weekend and it was fabulous.
Used points (11000) as the least expensive room was 414 EUR.

The staff were wondeful in general- also when I checked in I asked the valet to park my car- he advised there was street parking available which would save me 36 eur- and proceeded to park the car for me- very impressive.

The room was smaller than other rooms I have had at the hotel- however to be fair occupancy was 100%- and it was still a comfortable room.

Free minibar is a very nice touch.

Internet (slow speed) is free- if you want high speed it is 10 EUR per day- note the slow speed is OK for email- however I think if I needed anything more I would have selected the high speed option.

The bar had a very "interesting" special event going on- there were people in animal costumes with chains- gave the hotel an edgy feel to say the least.

The Lifeball took place on Saturday and right now the Amfar conference is in town and Starwood was the official hotel partner for the Lifeball.

Therefore, I assume they put the Super-VIP's in the Imperial, the VIP's in the Bristol and the still important celebs in the LM. Congrats on snatching a reward night there over the weekend, very good value ^

Chances to get a suite upgrade in Vienna on Saturday were probably below zero, even for Platinum Plus Deluxe members, tough to compete against Clinton, Gates etc.

I didn't expect an upgrade- however there was very good stargazing to be sure- and I thought the award was an excellent value! BMW also must have been a huge sponsor- they had 50 cars as vip shuttles only at the LM.

The Imperial had a ton of paparrazzi out front- glad I didn't stay there for this reason alone.

I just returned from a stay at LM-Wien (will comment in a separate post) and suggest, along with craz above, simply taking the Schnellbahn 7 instead of the CAT, which I believe is more than twice as expensive for a minimal travel time benefit. And the S7 ticket from the airport (3,40 Euros, a real bargain) is definitely valid for onward travel on tram/U-bahn within the core city (zone 100, which is quite big).

Either way, the main drawback to public transit is that the U4 from Landstrasse-Wien Mitte to Karlsplatz leaves you about 3 longish blocks from LM. Once you exit the train, you walk north ~2 blocks in the underground passageway, which you exit at Opernring. It's a little bit of a schelp if you have more than one bag, although our family of 4 managed fine. OTOH, being underground is a plus in that you avoid street crossings & rain/other furchtbares Wetter.

Will be here in September and really looking forward to it as the hotel has been very prompt and courteous in all communications thus far.

We just returned from a trip that included 3 nights (x2 rooms) at LM-Wien. This is a great property in an excellent central location. For a C&P stay of $60+4k points, I felt like we were practically stealing from *Wood.

Front desk: Prompt and courteous; as other noted above, there's none of the W bad attitude occasionally encountered elsewhere. (For the record, the female clerks were quite, um, decorative in addition to being capable & pleasant.)

One SNAFU was that I had specifically reserved 2 C&P rooms -- one queen bed, and one room with 2 singles -- so my sons could have a room to themselves. For some reason, the hotel "upgraded" the latter before arrival to a second queen-bed room. (I think this is an example of trying to be helpful without paying enough attention to what the guest has clearly indicated s/he wants.) Fortunately, the clerk was able after a few minutes to give us suitable rooms on the same floor but not near each other other. I didn't much care about the separation, although others might.

Rooms: Mrs. Beltway and I had a standard queen; the boys' room was larger, but not a suite. Both rooms felt quite spacious (especially in comparison to our stay at a non-SPG hotel in notoriously cramped Paris a week later), and were in excellent shape. I would disagree with the suggestion (made up-thread) that the decor is IKEA-standard; among other things, the bed's headboard is attractive etched glass with switchable backlighting.

The bed itself was very comfy -- a bit softer than I prefer, but still quite pleasant. The free minibar is definitely a nice touch.

We had no issues with the bathroom. Roomy shower worked (and drained) beautifully. Stylish ball/claw-foot tub easily fits 2 adults:D, and the handrail is a floor-to-ceiling bar if you're looking for a little pole-dancing action to boot.

Some aspects might not work for everyone. Most obviously, the design may be a bit spare for some travelers, in that there is limited bathroom counter space and essentially no wardrobe/drawers; we had a closet for hanging items and a few open shelves above the fridge/minibar.

Also, although housekeeping was generally good, we found that restocking of the minibar/free fruit/bath supplies was a bit erratic. A polite note left with the daily tip seemed to correct that.

Miscellaneous: Nice pool in the basement with swim-current generator. Lounge looked very chic, although we didn't hang out there. Elevators all worked, and quickly.


On balance, we were extremely pleased with our stay. The shortfalls were minor, and soon corrected, and in any event felt more than offset by the subtle touches elsewhere (such as the heated/nonfogging bath mirror). I would go back to this property in a heartbeat, and it is a real bargain at category 4 (which I suspect may not last).

That last part sounds very odd. Our brew product earlier this month (replenished daily in both rooms) was Ottakringer Helles, which is ~5.5% ABV.

For those who care, the water bottles are large (1 liter) and made of glass (hence unsuitable for tossing in your backpack for the day). The OJ is sweetened, which may offend purists; the Cokes are in glass bottles, much to the delight of traditionalists everywhere.

Ok, perhaps it was alcoholic beer. Again, I'm not 100% sure as I didn't drink it.

If someone's looking to get some cheap bottles of water, there's a Billa hidden in the Shopping Arcade connected to the Bristol.

Maybe you got out of the wrong exit? It's about a block and a half at the closest exit. I'm not sure I'd even call them "longish" blocks, either.

Nope, correct exit, due east along the Ringstrasse. (Other than taking the S7 instead of CAT from the airport, we followed the excellent directions on the LM-Wien website.) I'm referring to the full distance between the exit platform and the hotel; there's an appreciable distance within the station even after you exit the fare gates -- some of it at a slight uphill grade -- before you reach the Opernring exit.

As I said before, it is eminently doable, but those with a lot of baggage (or small children in tow, or both) may want to consider other options.

Restocking of minibar is not performed by the maid who cleaned your room, but by a dedicated attendant who goes round refilling coffee/tea sachets and mini-bar items. I wonder who took your tip ......

I did notice the division of duties. The note was about bath supplies, and was left in a place where housekeeping -- but not the minibar servicer -- would have reason to go. Given that I got more bath supplies as requested, I think it all worked out as hoped for.

Re minibar, the inside of my fridge was not cold or even cool when we checked in. It took some effort to find the temp control knob, which future guests can find hidden behind the contents on the bottom of the rear inner wall.

For people with small children and a lot of baggage, I'd suggest they just pay the 10 EUR for a taxi and avoid problems. ;)

IMO, going on the tram in that situation is just as bad. Tight walking quarters (you'd be blocking everyone) and lack of seats isn't going to make everyone happy, either.

I will be here on an award stay in September. The hotel is fully booked and says no free SPG gold upgrades will be forthcoming, but are happy to upgrade one category for 1500 Starpoints per night. Is it worth it to upgrade from a deluxe room to an executive room?