A Pleasant 8 night stay at Le Meridien Vienna

100   Recommended
Executive Suite
July 4, 2018 by

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Le Meridien Wien
 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended

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Executive Suite

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Executive Suite

Intro

Le Meridien Exterior.jpg

My experience at SPG over the last 16 years has been exceptional.  I can count on one hand the number of disappointing Starwood stays I’ve had. But contrary to the experience of others whom I trust, one of our rare disappointments was at the Imperial Hotel in Vienna. On this trip I really debated whether to give the Imperial a second chance or to try the Le Meridien. In the end we decided on Le Meridien for 4 reasons:  the location (although the two hotels are very near to each other, the Le Meridien is several blocks closer to my cousin’s house), the décor (we enjoy contemporary style), the points savings (on an 8 night stay that was considerable) and the chance to try somewhere new. In the end we were very pleased with our decision.

Check In

But first- Our stay started off on a dubious note.  It was a very long flight for us-an 11 hour overnight flight from the West Coast to London-  a long layover at LHR and then the flight to Vienna, so after 24 hours of traveling, by the time our driver pulled up outside the hotel after 9 pm we were tired and looking forward to unwinding and settling in. To our great surprise and consternation when we drove up to the hotel we saw a huge line of revelers snaking around the building, with a doorman and a velvet rope.

After Work Party.jpg

We have occasionally stayed at W Hotels during parties, but this was a bigger and louder crowd than we’d ever seen. We were especially confused because it was a Thursday evening and we were nervous that we had made a terrible mistake. As guests, the bellman ushered us past the throngs to the lobby which only increased our concern-it was decorated for some type of performance art with police tape around the desks and tape markings on the floor as if it were a crime scene. In the background we could hear a DJ and loud techno music.  At this point we could only shrug and laugh (our preferred way to deal with travel adversity).  Fortunately, our concerns were soon allayed.  The friendly young Front Desk receptionist assured us that the party was a once a month event.  We later heard from locals that this is an extremely popular event in Vienna (“The joy of life starts when business closes with an extravagant afterwork-party: Le Méridien celebrates the happy event once a month for the whole city – with special cocktails, DJ and dinner menus specially created for the special day.”)

The FDC also assured us that on our high floor the music would be inaudible and promised that the hotel is usually a mellow and peaceful place to stay.  He also let us know that the hotel had upgraded us to an Executive Suite for our entire 8 night visit.  He apologized that a Rooftop Terrace suite was not available as they were remodeling all of the top floor terrace rooms. He also confirmed something I had arranged in advance, that we would be able to use our Platinum breakfast credit for room service with a 5 euro service charge.

 

Room

Executive Suite.jpg

 

We were very happy with our spacious (over 800 square foot) Suite on the sixth floor.  It wasn’t fancy but it had the elements that contribute to a pleasant long stay:  a comfortable seating area, a dining table for 4, great black out curtains, a good bed, a shower with excellent pressure, a master and guest bath, good temperature control and nice views from the large windows.

 

Dining Table.jpg

Our welcome gift was a selection of Viennese chocolates, a fresh fruit selection (that was replenished daily) and bottled water.

Sitting area.jpg

The seating area had a comfortable sofa, coffee table and 2 chairs.

 

Minibar.jpg

There was a Nespresso coffee maker and a complimentary mini bar.

 

Desk area.jpg

There was also a small desk area.

Bedroom 1.jpg

The separate bedroom had a comfortable bed 

Bath and Shower.jpg

a large master bath with walk in shower

Master Sink.jpg

 

Tub.jpg

and bathtub.

Blow dryer cabinet.jpg

There was an odd setup with the blow dryer.  

Dyson.jpg

The good news was that it was the nicest hair dryer I have ever had in a hotel room (the Dyson hairdryer is favored by many stylists)  The bad news was that because it sells for 400 euros it was attached to a console in the living room which made for awkward use. Since crummy hair dryers are one of my pet peeves when I am traveling I put up with the inconvenience, but it would be better if they could come up with another solution.  (the only worse set up was years ago at the Pulitzer in Amsterdam when I had to climb a narrow stairway to a second story loft to use the hair dryer there that was permanently attached to a desk)

Guest Bath.jpg

It was nice to have a second bathroom during our stay.

Wardrobe.jpg

There was also a decent sized closet and storage area.

View from our Window.jpg

Our windows looked out onto the Ringstraße

 

Service

Flowers.jpg

The staff at the hotel was very friendly and enthusiastic.  When I had issues with WifI  (which turned out to be a Verizon issue and not a hotel problem) they spent a lot of time and effort helping me solve the problem. Each of our requests was handled promptly and efficiently.

 

 

Dining

Le Moet.jpg

As mentioned, the hotel allowed us to have continental breakfast for room service which was great because all we wanted in the morning was juice, coffee and a croissant or muffin.  We never dined in the restaurant but we did find ourselves on several occasions sitting late at night at the outside tables at Champagne Bar Moet, having a late night snack or a nightcap.  One night, since we had only had late lunch we ordered asparagus soup and fresh asparagus and it was delicious.  Another night our waiter convinced us to try the Kaiserschmarren (Emperor's Mess) a fluffy shredded Austrian pancake. The preparation took 30 minutes, but it was the best dessert we had on our trip.  We were able to walk to all of our other restaurants since the hotel is so perfectly located.

Location

View from Street 4.jpg

As others have noted the location of the hotel is ideal. It is centrally located and close to everything- the Opera, the Albertina Museum (our favorite in Vienna), the Musikverein  and the Museum Quarter. We could walk to the Albertina through a shortcut in the park. And since we were visiting in the Spring we were able to easily stroll over to the Opera house to watch Aida broadcast live on the huge outdoor video screen. We were walking distance to all of our restaurants including a charming new find called Restaurant Grace where we dined at a wonderful outdoor terrace. We were also close to the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra concert hall. One night when we were walking down the Ringstraße we discovered a lovely old cinema called Burgkino very near the hotel which was playing The Third Man in English. The only place we ubered to was the Belvedere. Another nice thing about the location was the nearby parks.  The hotel sits at the edge of  Schillerpark  and is across the street from Park Burggarten. It is a very safe area and we loved walking through the parks at night.

On May Day we were treated to the sights and sounds of the parade passing by-- we could watch right from our window.

Overall

Le Meridien SIGN.jpg

We really enjoyed our stay at the Le Meridien and plan to book there again on our next visit.  The modern rooms, casual atmosphere, friendly staff and perfect location make it an easy choice. The Viennese would call it gemütlich and we definitely found it a congenial place to stay.

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