Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom

Review of Sofitel Vienna (3 parts) - General Mostly pictorial review of the very modern Sofitel in Vienna. This first post is of the general building and my personal thoughts on the stay. The next post will be of the black suite I was upgraded to and the third post will be some pictures of a luxury room to show the differences for those interested. I have divided it up into the three parts due to image limitations. I hope this is of use to those considering hotels in Vienna. The stunning view from the 18th floor restaurant and bar, looking towards the Stephansdom:



Stephansdom view from 18th floor breakfast area General comments: The hotel is very centrally located and within 5 minutes you could be at the Cathedral or any inner city bar/restaurant. The underground (and streetcar) stations are just across the river from the hotel so again very easy to access and convenient. There is a taxi stand just outside the hotel and I always saw at least 3-4 taxis waiting whenever I looked. I did book a car through the hotel twice and although this was a bit more than a taxi, it was a bit more discrete. (Euro 50 from hotel to airport, compared to roughly Euro 35 if using a standard taxi). The hotel cars were E class Mercs if that is important to some.

When entering the hotel, the main door is a revolving door which is fine if you are alone but did cause some issues if you were a pair, due to space in each area. The door is automatic. There is also two side doors for people with luggage or kids, etc.. When you enter the hotel, the reception is to the left (as is the main foyer seating area and concierge desk). To the right is a small coffee bar area.

There are two elevator banks, the one closest to the entrance is for those people just heading up to the 18th floor restaurant and bar and does not require a room key to activate (and does not stop at floors with rooms on them). This elevator is quite dark inside with black shiny panels and very little lighting. The second set of elevators are a bit further back and there are 3 elevators which are better lit and require a key card to be pressed up to a RFID reader and then you can press the floor you require. These elevators also go up to the 18th floor.

The whole hotel is very modern and definitely is not for those looking for old world styling as one poster above mentioned. If you like minimalist style and very modern black, white or grey design this is the hotel for you. Hotel rooms are on floors 6 to 17 with meeting rooms and the spa on the lower levels which are also lit up during the evening. I didn’t go to the spa or the lower levels so can’t say how they look or are arranged.

The 18th floor is exclusively for the restaurant and bar and is where breakfast is served as well. Stunning views can be had day or night from the restaurant and less so from the bar (as the bar is in the middle area and the seating tends to look towards the bar in the middle). The best seats for the restaurant are right on the window edges around three sides of the upper floor. If you wish to have these seats it is wise to go just before the main breakfast rush as they are the most popular and people tend to be seated with the view to the city Cathedral first, then around the sides and back (towards the ferris wheel) and then seated in the second row, back a few feet from the window in the same order. At night time the upper floor is lit with a multi colour ceiling and with some video displays which make it a bit more night club feel.

As a platinum member I received a voucher for a drink free of charge at the 18th floor bar. (usual beer, house wine, etc…no special cocktails). I did book breakfast here and found it worthwhile for the views and the food but at Euro 29 / person / day it is not cheap by any means. The coffee was great, you could order waffles, eggs, omelettes and more from the server and / or enjoy the buffet. There was a good selection of breads, rolls, croissants, and such with homemade jams. There was also a healthy section which had few calories, a section for cold cuts and cheese, another for musli and cereals and finally around the back a section for fruits, yoghurts and such. I usually spent an hour enjoying breakfast and trying different dishes and would recommend it for the person that has time to enjoy the various dishes and a bit of a chat with the staff. For the busy traveller, maybe worth while trying to get something at a cafe instead for less money. I did get offered champagne one morning but declined as I was about to head to a work meeting so I assume this was free and included in the breakfast fee but am not sure. It was not mentioned most days… All of the staff were wonderful and indeed trying to ensure everyone was dealt with quickly and to a high level of satisfaction. Particularly, I found the night manager to be one of the best customer facing people I have ever met. He really went out of his way to help me out one morning at 04:30 when I had to catch a flight and provided me with some water and was willing to even go and get me some fruit or such. I will let the pictures do some of the talking for the rest of this post: By day, the fairly standard modern facade of the hotel:



Sofitel Vienna The hotel by night from across the river:



Sofitel lights by night A zoom in picture (sorry for the blurriness) of the 18th floor lighting from street level across the river:



18th floor night view Hallways in the hotel are lit with low level mood lighting:



hallway 8th floor The areas around the elevators are all tiles and black shiny panels:



Hallway sofitel Pictures of the room(s) to follow in next posts… Review of Sofitel Vienna (3 parts) - Black Suite I had booked a luxury room on a decent rate (private sale) for 5 days and realised that any upgrade would be very nice indeed given that I would be here for more than a day or two. Also, I was pushing my luck as I was arriving quite early (around 11:00 AM) and wanted to get a late check out. I am happy to say that I did indeed get an upgrade (two level I believe if I look at the rooms on their website) from the luxury room I booked to a black suite (junior suite) which is one level up from the white junior suite they also have. There are two further level of suites they have but these are considerably more money and much larger. I will say that I was very polite when checking in and mentioned that I was early and just wanted to check if I could get my room a bit earlier but if it would mean that I would not get an upgrade I would happily just leave my bag and come back later. The check in clerk was very friendly and helpful and said that a room was available on the 15th floor and I was soon on my way…unfortunately, this was a luxury room only and although it did have a lovely view to the Cathedral, it was not an upgrade (even if I did get the room early)…so I took a few pictures quickly and then headed back down to the lobby…I then again politely enquired if the hotel was fully booked and if it was possible to check if they could upgrade me as the room I received was the room I had booked and I was hoping that I would receive a one level upgrade if at all possible (and that I was willing to wait if an upgrade would be possible)…maybe pressing my luck but the person politely did look and was almost pained to say ‘we do have some junior suites, however, they are all on the lower floors…’ now, I don’t know about you but I will happily stay on a lower floor if I can get a nicer room! So, I was soon on my way to the pictured black suite below which was on the 8th floor.

The room is very flexible and has several methods to close off an area such as sliding doors or curtains, etc…Everything was either matt black or shiny white which I found looked very nice. Some may think it too dark or dull, however, for a modern, minimalist design and for a short stay, I loved it. There is a living room area with decent seating options for 4 -6 people (including the stools), a work/dining area that has seating for four and a bedroom with a king bed as well as the bathroom area with a separate loo. The room is accessed by pressing the key card up to a wireless reader on the door and then you need to place the key card in the holder once in the room to activate the lights. (so get an extra card). I like the do not disturb / make up room switches which are electronic and produce a red / green light by the door for housekeeping staff instead of paper cards you usually see to hang on the doors. The room had some interesting features, like the window blinds…they are moving panels that slide up or down on rails to block out light and were indeed absolutely perfect for producing total darkness if you wished. A bose sound wave radio is in the bedroom, slippers and bathrobes of course provided and many other smaller amenities for shoes, etc… An opening window is also present in each room which is a great feature IMO, I am not a fan of AC where possible and although the road was too noisy to leave it open over night, it was great for keeping fresh air in during the day. There was a Nespresso machine in the room and a mini fridge with free juice and water that was refilled each day. They also had a nice selection of teas in the room with herbal and green teas in addition to the usual black teas. Each turndown service I received a special blend herbal tea and cup waiting by the bedside. Hermes bath amenities are in all rooms and they also placed a nice eau du toilette and moisturiser in the luxury and junior suites.

The furnishings were all very modern with no handles per se, so you had to grip the edges to open a door or drawer. There were a bewildering array of light switches and more than once I had to go around to press different ones to get the lighting I wished…too much choice is a bad thing sometimes! I’ll let the pics do the rest of the talking and hope this shows the room appropriately. Main living area / work area: View from living area towards the wardrobe / entrance (with mirrored door to loo closed):



Entrance area wardrobe suite View from entrance to work / dining area:



view towards work area suite View towards the living area from the work area:



view to living area from work desk View from bedroom towards the wardrobe area:



view to wardrobe from bed sliding door open Coffee machine / mini bar:



nespresso and fridge suite View from window towards Stephansdom and news building across the street:



Stephansdom view from suite Floor plan (8th Floor):



8th floor planBedroom: King bed with vanity seating area to one side:



bedroom area suite Bose Radio and shelf behind bed:



lit shelf behind bed with bose radioBathroom: As seen from bedroom area:



suite bathroom view from bed Lovely, deep and wide bathtub, heated towel rail:



suite bath Shower (both rain shower, and hand wand):



suite shower Dual sinks and counter area (power points, also rubbish bin in lower cabinet):



suite sink area There were three TV’s in the room (one in living room, one in bedroom and one in the bathroom). The bedroom and living room TV’s had several inputs available below the TV to connect your source and display using the TV.



bathroom TV Separate loo (off the wardrobe area):



suite looReview of Sofitel Vienna (3 parts) - Luxury Room For those interested, this is what a luxury room looks like here (all grey colour): 15th floor view towards Stephansdom from room window:



view from 15th floor window luxury room King Bed with Bose radio (even bedding is grey!):



Luxury room bed Work desk area:



work desk LR Bath/Shower area:



bath shower luxury room Sink area:



sink area luxury room Hermes Amenities: (including moisturiser and eau du toilette):



Hermes amenities include extras Only the separate loo is white in the luxury room:



separate loo luxury room End of review. Hope these pictures and review show how great this hotel is!