If you’re visiting Vienna and consider yourself an adventurous, independent traveller – who also just happens to enjoy the finer things in life – then staying in one of the city’s many five-star hotels may not necessarily be for you. The Austrian capital has recently pioneered a new hotel concept which will take you far beyond the typical tourist routes – without scrimping on luxury. If that sounds appealing to you, it’s time to get acquainted with Vienna’s Grätzl Hotel.
Style & Character
First things first: Grätzl Hotel isn’t really a hotel. It’s a collection of suites and apartments, each one possessing their own unique style and character. Designed by The Urbanauts, a group of young and innovative architects, Grätzl Hotel converted empty ground-floor shops into charming, stylish rooms and apartments that are packed with personality. Spread around several of Vienna’s coolest districts, you’re right in the middle of the action. The city centre, with its baroque beauty and imperial attractions, is within easy reach, but you’re also perfectly situated to explore the less-touristy spots too. One of the best things about Grätzl Hotel is that you don’t feel like a tourist; you feel like a local, and quickly become seamlessly integrated into authentic Viennese life.
Rooms
Because each loft or suite is designed to be so different, there’s no determined ‘norm’ for look or character – except that all rooms are modern, chic and cool. Suites are themed and named; if the room was once a shop then it’s named after it, be it ‘Seamstress’, ‘Tobacconist’, ‘Blacksmith’, ‘Sugar Baker’, ‘Galerist’ or ‘Artist’. Other rooms are also themed; I stayed in ‘El Capitan’, where the the beautiful parquet flooring and green-blue wallpaper convey up images of ship planks and rolling waves.
Rooms are light and spacious with a hint of industrial style – think exposed pipework and slick lines – but furniture and styling is luxurious, with king-size beds, powerful rain-showers and large TVs. There’s also a desk, safe, hairdryer, fluffy bathrobes and slippers, and indulgent toiletries; also a selection of snacks, a well-stocked mini-bar, a Nespresso machine and kettle – in short, everything you’d expect from a top-notch hotel.
Service & Amenities
As we’ve established, Grätzl Hotel isn’t your usual hotel, and as such there’s no lobby and no real ‘staff’. There is, however, a group of local “fellows” – a friendly network of people who live in the area and are happy to show you to their favourite restaurants and bars, or tell you which under-the-radar gallery you absolutely must go to. Each room also comes with two new bikes, which – considering Vienna has over 800 miles of cycle paths – is an enormously beneficial addition. You’re given a bespoke guide to the area that’s determined by whichever district you’re in, and each suite has its own individual contact in the immediate vicinity – so should you need anything, it won’t be long before someone pops round.
Address: URBANAUTS Hospitality GmbH, Favoritenstr. 17/G3-5, 1040 Vienna, Austria
T +43 1 208 39 04
