Vienna has no shortage of luxurious – literally – hotels, and it has undergone a spate of spectacular luxury openings over the past five years, with brands like Rosewood and Anantara joining stalwarts like Hotel Imperial and Hotel Sacher Wien. But in late 2023, a boutique hotel quietly opened inside two of the city’s beloved palaces, which took years to restore.
positively beautiful Almanac Palace Vienna Almanac is the hospitality group’s third property (the other two being in Barcelona and Prague). It was something of a homecoming for the owners, the Hasselbacher family of Austria, which is probably why they spent so many years ensuring the 1871 buildings were properly preserved. The original neo-Baroque façade and heritage marble doors recall the glamor of the original palace, which was built for two of the city’s most prominent businessmen: German-Austrian industrialist Hugo Henkel von Donnersmarck and textile magnate Baron Friedrich von Leittenberger.
Courtesy of Sivan Askyo/Almanac Palace Vienna
Award-winning Chilean designer Jaime Beristain was tasked with renovating the property, transforming the historic palace into a grand hotel filled with Viennese heritage. While the façade remains intact, the interiors emanate a refined elegance with rich woods, creamy beige, and shades of silver and gold; Sculpted accent; and a rotating collection of paintings and photographs by emerging local artists.
When my family and I entered the tall marble lobby inside the hotel’s glass-covered atrium, we were immediately awestruck. The design choice of preserving the historic moldings and yet installing a modern, painted screen is an interesting choice, and it sets the stage for identifying the hotel as a historic landmark and a center for contemporary art. The lobby is so spacious and minimalist that I immediately feared my children running through it would bump into the modern sculptures displayed in partnership with the Galerie bei der Albertina Zetter, but thankfully they were well away from our red-eye flight. were tired. A lot of loss.
Courtesy of Sivan Askayo/Almanac Palace Vienna
The hotel’s passion for art is everywhere evident and is cemented with its latest collection, also curated by Galerie bei der Albertina Zetter. The all-Austrian art collection includes works by greats including Gustav Klimt and Hermann Nitsch, and it is the first time that a work by Klimt will be displayed in a hotel. The drawing, Klimt’s “Sitzende Dame von Vorn (Seated Lady Face-on, 1912-1914)” is inside the palace suite.
I loved starting each morning with coffee from the ground-floor third-wave coffee shop Elias and then joining my family for a delicious breakfast inside the airy Donnersmarkt restaurant before heading out to explore the city for the day. On our return, we headed down to the spa’s indoor pool to relax, which is somewhat of a rarity in the city, and the art-inflected bar was ideal for pre-dinner drinks. Overall, the Almanac Palace Vienna is an excellent modern addition to the city’s growing hotel roster, bringing it to the forefront of Europe’s urban destinations beyond Paris and London.
Here is my review of the Almanac Palace Vienna.
Almanac Palace Vienna
- The hotel is clearly committed to the arts, with various partnerships and rotating artworks on display.
- Its central location is right on the Ringstrasse, overlooking the beautiful green Stadtpark.
- The original palace preserved here is a perfect blend of details and modern design.
- The hidden underground Oasis Spa offers true tranquility.
rooms
Since I was traveling with my husband and two kids, we booked two adjacent rooms. We arrived early in the morning after taking a red-eye to Vienna from New York, so our rooms weren’t quite ready, but after a few hours in the on-site coffee shop and park, one of them was ready for us to relax in.
When we walked into the first room, it was so big – with a sitting area and a king bed – that I thought it would be for adults. Little did I know that when we saw the second room, a suite, I would find it ridiculous to believe that the first room was larger. The suite easily spanned over 1,500 square feet, with a bed so big I think it would have been two kings pushed together. My husband and I joke that we could sleep horizontally on it and it would still have plenty of extra space; There was a large sitting area and a separate bathroom and closet. The ceilings were a bit low – I discovered that as floors went up, the ceilings got lower – but since neither of us are very tall and they apparently compensated with more horizontal space, we were thrilled. Both rooms overlooked the hotel’s interior atrium lobby and received sunlight from the openings above.
The hotel has 111 rooms, 80 of which are suites, offering spacious accommodation in a city where that can be a rarity. While neo-Baroque details are preserved in other parts of the building, the rooms are undeniably modern. The ceiling and some of the walls have antique gold mirrors, and behind the cream-colored leather headboard is a wooden wall carved with circular patterns. The gray sofas are shapely with modern patterned pillows, and the minibar has a bright red countertop. The bathrooms are covered in Austrian white marble with gold decorations, and the rest have gold handles, sconces, lamps and doors for luxury, but not over-the-top, luxury.
Food and Drink
On the ground floor with an outdoor area in warm weather, the Donnersmarkt Restaurant & Bar is located inside a bright and colorful dining room with a wall of large-scale modern murals of Vienna’s flora and fauna. The menu includes plant-forward alpine dishes, such as celery confit with chervil and pistachio béarnaise sauce and oven-roasted and marinated local pumpkin with black radish, honey and black aioli. The wine list has a local focus, featuring a selection of biodynamic and organic bottles from vineyards in the hills of Vienna. The Donnersmarkt bar had a showpiece circular gold bar and maroon velvet seating, decorated with modern paintings by artist-in-residence Martin Lucas on the walls.
Vienna has a serious coffee and café culture with lots of history, so any new coffee shop is bound to impress. Thankfully, the on-site Elias coffee shop has no trouble doing just that, with its bright white tile, high ceilings and minimalist design. It serves third-wave coffee and local pastries.
Activities and Experiences
In 2024, the hotel began offering several monthly workshops with local experts. These include a gua sha and face yoga workshop, a flower arranging class, and a four-hour art therapy session with Petra Krasnitzer, certified holistic art therapist and founder of Create Art Therapy. The sessions promote the flow of energy and stimulate sensory perceptions through a mix of meditation and creative exercises, such as kneading clay, painting on canvas or writing.
The hotel also has several gallery and museum partnerships. One is with the Belvedere Museum, which allows all hotel guests to enjoy a complimentary entrance into the museum’s contemporary art building, Belvedere 21, and guests of the Vienna Art Suite can enjoy access to the museum’s other two sections, the Upper and Lower Belvedere. You can enjoy a complimentary entrée. , Guests can also enjoy special guided tours of the Galerie bei der Albertina after hours, which is inaugurating its new exhibition space, Zetter Projects.
Spa
Courtesy of Almanac Palace Vienna
Bathing culture in Vienna dates back some 2,000 years, and the hotel’s underground two-story wellness sanctuary pays homage to it. Open only to guests, the beautiful marble-clad oasis features a sparkling 45-foot indoor thermal pool, as well as spa and sauna facilities and a fully equipped gym.
Signature treatments include the Viennese Lift & Glow Ritual, a combination of gua sha and cryo-massage techniques, as well as facials using botanical skin care products. Couples can book a nightly spa experience, where they will have access to the pool, sauna and steam room for three hours, as well as a couples massage, sparkling wine, specialty dishes, flowers and two embroidered robes.
simple use
The Almanac Hotel has four accessible rooms: two Almanac Rooms, one Almanac Deluxe, and one Junior Suite. They all have a wide entrance to the bathroom and room, emergency cords and buttons, and an open sink in the bathroom.
Place
The hotel is located on Vienna’s famously beautiful Ringstreet and just across the street from the Stadtpark, one of the city’s original public parks. It is within walking distance of local landmarks such as the Vienna State Opera House and the Museum of Applied Arts (the MAK).
How to get the most value from your stay
Part of the Almanac Palace Vienna Visa Signature Luxury Hotel CollectionVisa cardholders who book through The Collection’s website receive an automatic room upgrade upon arrival, if available, complimentary breakfast for two, a $25 food and beverage credit, late checkout, and VIP guest access if available. Will get status.
