jaejaez

I stayed here for a short stay during the last week of May and was generally impressed with the hotel. It was a comfortable stay although there were a few mistakes that appeared very ‘amateur’.

The hotel is fantastic location-wise. It is a 5-10 minute walk away from the hotel Bristol and is within walking distance to all your central Viennese spots (i.e. the Staatsoper). There are also some very good restaurants nearby (an Italian restaurant 5 minutes walk away from the hotel comes to mind – forgot the name – where they had amazing pasta dishes). It is also near a tram stop and Karlsplatz station for the U-bahn. We loved the convenience.

The physical product is perhaps of the best value of all the *W properties in Vienna. It is modern (especially if you are coming from the Imperial or Bristol) and very well appointed. THIS PLACE HAS THE BEST SHOWER EVER. I would stay here just for the shower, it really is that good. There are massage nozzles and the pressure is so strong that you will almost be pushed forward. They also have a little stool you can sit on in the shower booth… there’s nothing like sitting under rays of hot water to massage yourself after a long day of walking.
The lobby is an exciting place but does get very crowded. There is modern art everywhere and they are all displayed in a pretty professional way. If you are interested in this sort of stuff you can easily spend an hour or so going around the lobby looking at the different exhibitions.

The rest of the hotel feels like an ‘extension’ of these art exhibitions. The common areas are also done up with an aesthetic touch, including the infamous Le Meridien elevators (frogs ribbit-ing and birds chirping), the restaurant (done up with a purple color scheme) and the bar (contrasting colors & shapes). Check-in was very efficient (I arrived before the crowd appeared towards 2 PM) – was upgraded without asking and amenities given without prompting. No escort to the room or queries on newspapers though.

I spoke a bit about the bathroom above, the rest of the room is also very spacious and comfortable. You can swivel the TV around to be able to watch it either from the dining area or the bed. One of the lights was not working – which we had trouble getting it fixed – but if this is the biggest complaint I had with the hotel then they did a really good job.

The biggest upside about the Le Meridien is the friendliness of its staff, two of whom I had complimented to the FO manager upon checking out. Without being obtrusive, they try to talk to you and to get to know you on a personal level. They actually smile at you and appear genuine when they say things like “is there anything else I can do for you?” When I asked the FD agent to recommend me a good place to have pasta, she actually consulted her colleagues before bringing out a map to tell me how to get there. Overall, the friendliest and the most courteous service out of all the hotels in Vienna (Imperial has the worst service in my experience).

A few mishaps include my wife finding that the coffee mug that was on her table during breakfast had lipstick on it, very limited choice for breakfast (contrary to some posts above), occasionally finding a throng of Asian ladies (on group package) all hanging out at the lobby talking loudly, dirty bathroom on lobby level (it was dirty about 75% of the times I went there).

But overall a great experience and arguably the best value amongst the 3 starwood hotels in Vienna, and a special thumbs up for friendliness. I would stay here again on my next visit and I would confidently recommend it to my friends and colleagues^^

SFOTurtle

Love the location of this hotel, and the rooms are very clean and modern. We stayed in a double room with a king size bed and it had plenty of space, although the bathroom was a bit on the small side with not much room to put toiletries for two people. One comment on the shower -- it is a great shower, although the design of our bathroom and shower caused water to spread out all over the bathroom floor unless we spread a towel out over the entrance to the shower. In other words, the drainage from the shower floor isn't great. But this might have been the worst "problem" the hotel has, so that reflects a very good hotel property. One other point -- the housekeeping knocked on our door at 7:30 a.m. the first morning. I commented to the reception and they were surprised and annoyed and said this should not have happened nearly so early. We made sure to put the do not disturb sign on our door the next two nights.

sombrachinesca

I second all of jaejaez's positive comments above. I was upgraded from a basic room to an Executive Suite. Staff were friendly and pleasant - despite my pitiful German skills... The hotel served as an excellent base for exporing central Vienna.

lucky9876coins

I stayed at the Le Meridien Vienna a few weeks ago and had a fantastic stay. I booked an executive room for 11,000 points for the night (it was the cheapest room available) and didn't receive any sort of a Platinum upgrade. Despite that I loved the room, loved the balcony, loved the free minibar, and loved the free upgrade.

While I'd hope for an upgrades next time, I really did like this hotel and would return in a heartbeat the next time I'm in Vienna.

I wrote a full trip report of my stay with pictures, which can be found here.

khkchan

Stayed there for 2 nights in August. The room is fabulous, but it is on the small side. The Bathroom is impressive with the Victorian tub and shower jet. I like the hotel provides all the freebies - free minibar drinks and free coffees at the Le Moet restaurant.

I told reception that the room needed to be serviced while we are having lunch and the room is promptly serviced in less than 1 hour. Impressive staffs.

Pitero

I was again very satisfied with my recent stay at the Le Mer. Vienna. Most of the time I get nice plat.-upgrades without having to inquire about it.

Consistently friendly front desk staff.

I agree with previous posters that breakfast is rather expensive and quality is good but nothing outstanding. It can get a bit crowded and loud in the breakfast room. But I had the feeling that they improved service there (in terms of friendliness and prompt delivery of my cappuccino).

By the way, I was surprised to find delicious little snacks (salmon, avocado, prawns etc. on a very tasty type of bread) at the Le Moet bar/lounge next to the elevators. Around 4 Euros. Quite convenient. Took some directly to my room one evening as a substitute for dinner.

svajcarac

No doorman at 21h when we arrived. OK we could manage with our luggage. At reception, a slightly surly girl handed us the keys. When I asked what kind of room it was, she replied a deluxe. Since this was exactly what we had booked and paid, I did not quite agree. Availability showed exec rooms, junior suites and exec suites with and without terrace to be available.
Only when I wanted to speak to the Manager on Duty, the receptionist "managed" to find a corner executive room. The suites, she said, were all full. Sure, that's why so many different suites show as available on spg.com...

andrewpartyman

I stay here maybe once a year. It's a cool Le Meridien, nice and modern. They are also generous with the upgrades. Everytime I have come, I have always been upgraded (and not just a higher floor, but a real upgrade--the thing if all hotels did it would make SPG great). The staff has always been friendly and helpful.

famtravlworld

Have sung this property's praises in the past, but after a very disappointing Christmas stay, I will stay elsewhere when I return to Vienna. Other than Julian at the concierge desk, the staff was aloof and acted like they were too cool. They really need a reminder that they are in the customer service industry. They need to be told when guests are waiting in line at the concierge desk that you shouldn't start an extra person at the end of the line helping. It really pisses off the guest who is next in line at the front (me).
Sebastian at the concierge desk totally screwed up our Christmas Eve dinner and we ended up stuck with room service. Did they comp it for a returned Plat since they made such a big mistake?? No. Not even an apology.
The Sebastian at the breakfast buffet had no clue what the smoothie choices he was offering were and seemed annoyed that I would ask. His colleagues weren't much better. Never did get a coffee refill. What a disappointing Christmas breakfast.
And yes people, the free minibar is great, but there is less in it than there was on my last stay. And it's only really great when they refill it each day. I had to request they come replenish it the second day and it took multiple times before someone did it.
The smoke smell in the elevator is terrible. I know the rooms are non smoking, but they allow smoking in some of the downstairs area and as aloof as the staff is, I have no doubt they turn a blind eye to guests who finish up that last few puffs in the lift. All three elevators were disgusting.
I'm really upset I wasted our Christmas stay on this place especially after I've recommended them for the past two years.

truequant

Any recent Plat recognition experiences? I have stayed there many times in the past with very modest upgrade success. I am back there this week and wondering if i will have any luck.

More importantly, i am there on C&P. Anyone know if they will comp me the full buffet breakfast?

Leumas

I booked the cheapest rate and got an 'exec room'.

Only continental breakfast. I took the points.

truequant

Really? I am surprised because that property does not really have a continental breakfast from what i remember. They have a great full buffet breakfast!

seaflyguy

How specifically did they recognize your status? I'm staying there over the Christmas holidays this year and and am curious about what to expect.

Braindrain

Upgraded to a monster suite the first stay and a regular sized suite the 2nd stay. They made a point to mention that I should choose the "paid internet" option but won't be charged. Gave me a pretty thick welcome material thingy.

Not much more they could've done other than give me free breakfast (which wasn't a Plat benefit when I was last there).

truequant

I just got back from a weekend there. I used C&P.
Was "upgraded" to an executive room, but looking at the room schematic, it seemed the same as a normal room and definitely alot smaller than most of the rooms on the 3rd floor (SPG level). I like the property alot, i am just complaining about plat treatment.

Was very disappointed in the new free continental breakfast for Plats.
Stingy. No yogurt or cereal. Coffee, OJ, soft-boiled egg, and nice bread and butter/honey/jam.

I was not told to select the paid faster internet option.