24 Hours at the Hotel Sacher, Vienna
Best for:
City Getaway, Business, Luxury, Sightseeing, Shopping and Culture
Points:
9.0 out of 10
The perfect song:
Human - Rag'n'Bone Man
What we love:
- Perfect location: The main shopping street to the left, the Albertina and Hofburg to the right and the State Opera just opposite
- Amazing views from the suites and penthouses
- Wonderful style after the extensive refurbishment with lots of marble, wooden floors and expensive fabrics
- The breakfast is one to die for if you didn't already fall off the chair
- The most amazing welcome amenities
There are quite a few luxury hotels in Vienna - even more since the last three years (Park Hyatt landed here as did Kempinski and Ritz Carlton), however there is only one hotel that can call itself the "number one" in Vienna: The world famous and still (!) privately-owned Hotel Sacher. The only hotels that are as famous might be the Plaza New York, The Ritz Paris and the Savoy in London. Each of these glamorous hotels (by the way this is one of the best hotels to use this definition for) can write several books of their history and things that happened inside. The Hotel Sacher in Vienna is not just famous because of its history, also because of the "Sachertorte": the best and most famous chocolate cake in the world - in case you don't know. So as an Austrian-born hotel lover, it had to come to that day when I check in at this historical place and to be honest, it was always a dream of mine since I was five years old.
Our journey to the Hotel Sacher started with a comfortable train ride in the ÖBB Railjet from Salzburg to Vienna main station and then continued with a perfect Limousine ride by MyDriver to the Hotel. In fact, the arrival is the most impressive part of a hotel stay and so the Hotel Sacher didn't disappoint in any way: Two bellmen ran around the Mercedes, opened the doors and took care of the luggages. Then they showed us to the hidden front desk where two kind ladies took good care of us (one seemed to be the front desk manager, but I did forget her name). While the room was not ready at 1pm, we were invited for two amazing cocktails which we had in their stunning lobby lounge. Before the drinks even arrived our room was ready and upon finishing the drinks the tour to the room started. As soon as we arrived in front of the "Beatrice et Benedict Suite", the lady from the front desk opened the door and we were speechless.
A bright and airy suite with a super big king bed, writing desk with two chairs, a comfy sofa with fresh flowers, a modern flatscreen television as well as lots of wardrobe space were visible to us and as soon as we opened the doors onto the bathroom we were without breath again: A lot of space, exclusive marble, daylight, an amazing walk-in shower as well as an en-mirror television - in fact everything a discerning luxury traveler needs. What I appreciated most were the lovely welcome amenities including a vast selection of homemade chocolates, a fruit platter, two small versions of the "Sachertorte" as well as bottle of Sacher-Cuvée, a nice Austrian sparkling wine. All in all the suite as a complete 10 out of 10. Not to forget the most amazing view a hotel room in Vienna can have: overlooking the Hofburg, Albertina Museum and the State Opera. Suite number 417 is definitely the one to go for your next stay.
What I would have appreciated would have been complimentary water for turn-down service next to the bed. Furthermore it would have been great to have two big towels per person. However, in addition to above mentioned highlights of our suite, there come these amazing toiletries which we got plenty. It's actually a hotel branded set, tough the smell is so special, it's like bathing in strawberries in combination with chocolate. We already had discovered them at the Sacher Salzburg - to be honest it is nothing less than perfect. Also the chocolates as welcome amenity, and the chocolates for turn-down, you immediately recognize you're not in any luxury hotel. You are in Austria and the Sacher is the place where you should be.
After a successful evening at the Casino Vienna and a short sleep in one of the city's most heavenly beds, we were ready to discover breakfast. To be honest it was the day of the year, the same day we later boarded the Emirates A380 in Dubai to Bangkok, so why not start the day with bubbles? Although I am not the biggest fan of Austrian sparkling wine, Sacher's private cuvée was quite good and a wonderful start into one of the most lavish breakfast buffets I have ever seen. In fact, that's what we Austrians can do better than any other country ;). From the freshest orange juice, best ham and cheese selection (including the famous and out-of-this-world Sacher truffled ham), vast bread choice, egg cooking station to the sweet corner where they have set up a selection of their finest cakes: Including the classic - "Sachertorte".
While we do highly recommend to stay at the Hotel Sacher Vienna (and Salzburg ;) as well) when you are looking for this glamorous, perfect and most unique hotel experience, we need to inform you beforehand that you should - in all cases - plan in some cheat days. Believe us, you simply can't resist these gorgeously looking Sacher petit fours at arrival and even if, after you took a shower with their "Time to Chocolate" bath foam, you can't go along the Café Sacher without even ordering one of their Sacher-Towers. I would say it's simply a must when going to Austria, and as you haven't been to China without seeing the Great Wall, you haven't been to Austria if you have not tried the world famous "Sachertorte". I think this review clearly states that I am a fan and I think I should start buying shares of the Sacher Group now ;)!
Fun aside, our stay was perfect in all ways: Perfect service, flawless interior design, truly luxurious furniture and expensive decoration. Nothing looks cheap in any way and therefore the Hotel Sacher really deserved the title to be Europe's best family owned luxury hotel. Congratulations to one of the most successful women in Austria, Mrs Gürtler who manages such a big and famous enterprise. Furthermore this hotel showed that it is way out of competition on the luxury hotel market in Vienna.
We were invited by the Hotel Sacher Wien for editorial purposes, however this review clearly reflects my own opinion and has not been influenced. A special thanks to the entire team of the Hotel, who made the beginning of our trip so extra special.
