Park Hyatt Vienna

We stayed in a Park Suite, having been upgraded from a base King Deluxe room using a suite upgrade award. I had high expectations given how luxurious and opulent the pictures were, and while the room was quite spectacular, I will say the pictures made it look a little grander than it was. One drawback was the ceilings: high, but not incredibly high. We stayed on the fifth floor, and I'd read beforehand that rooms on the first floor have exceptionally high ceilings compared with the rest of the hotel. Ours weren't low by any means, just not big enough to make the space feel bigger than it was.

That said, there was more than enough space for my wife and me, and the closet space was humongous — one of my favorite things about the layout. The bedroom was a decent size, with just enough walkway on either side of the bed that I didn't feel like I had to climb over it, though I wouldn't be able to stretch my legs out on the wall side. The TVs are hidden in the repurposed fireplaces, revealed by sliding a mirror panel upwards — a nice touch I enjoyed. All the finishes were high quality, blending plaster, wood, marble, mirrors and metal. I never felt like I was staring at empty, purposeless wall space either, a subtle thing that adds that premium "designed" feeling to a room.

If you've stayed at a Park Hyatt before you'll be quite familiar with these bathrooms, as they're standard across most Park Hyatts — not that that's a bad thing. Our Park Suite had double vanities, a nice standing shower, and beautiful marble finishes throughout. The main standout is the marble paneling framing the area behind the bath, which is both beautiful and a signature of this hotel; if you've scrolled through their room galleries, you'll have seen it as the centerpiece.

My two knocks: the toilets don't have many of the modern amenities you'd expect, like an automatic bidet or heated seat — quite standard, and almost a bit flimsy-feeling compared with bathrooms at other luxury hotels (they did flush well, so no problems there). And the bathroom just didn't feel grand or spectacular in any way. It felt like a great bathroom fitting for a great hotel, and no more.

Park Hyatt hotels always carry quality linens, pillows and mattresses, and this was no exception — my sleep was excellent. I didn't hear any noise penetration through the walls, and our room sat at the far end from the doorway, insulated by two or three sets of doors, so hallway noise would have been very difficult to hear anyway. The blackout shades did their job wonderfully and were fully automatic, and the HVAC made very minimal noise. The only downside was that humidity control in the room was just a touch lacking — it felt a bit more humid than I personally prefer, with no way to control it besides turning up the AC to dry the room out.

For me personally the tech implementation was perfect, because I always bring a universal adapter. Had I not, I would have been very annoyed that all the outlets only accept European plugs. I'm sure the hotel carries adapters for this scenario, but the outlets also lacked USB-C ports.

Aside from that, the wall controls for the room were perfect and had everything I could want and then some — lighting adjustable to many different levels, automatic curtains, and even options for night lights and reading lights. Keyless entry was flawless and the Wi-Fi was available and stable.

The pool and spa might be among the most stunning I've seen in a city hotel. Just look at it — it feels like swimming in a Roman bath fit for an emperor (I didn't swim, but I was there). I used the gym every day and it was well equipped compared with average, though it lacked heavier free weights and there was no barbell or Smith machine. I didn't ding it for that, since it isn't always expected, but it's something I wish it had; it did have plenty of treadmills, bikes and ellipticals.

There's also a "lounge" on property that I think is used for cigar smokers, since it reeked of smoke when we went to check it out. We didn't use the spa, but we looked around and it seemed to have most of what you'd expect, at high quality — the sauna and steam bath both looked well equipped and spacious.

One of the strongest aspects of the hotel. The atmosphere and design truly make you feel elegant and high-end, giving a sense of place in the best way possible. The building used to be home to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy bank, built in 1915. The exterior is beautiful and immediately familiar, with the iconic Park Hyatt logo and font above the entrance. Upon entering, the lobby is understated but grand; perhaps the weakest area of design is the check-in area, which appears quite standard, if not a little boring.

Where the hotel really shines is the centerpiece of the building, the Bank Brasserie — formerly the cashiering hall — now the main breakfast location, also housing a restaurant and bar. The ceilings are magnificently high, the walls are finished with thick, high-quality marble panels, and the rest of the space is lined with decorations, sculptures and design elements that enhance the feeling without tipping into tacky. The restaurant is an open-kitchen concept and you can watch the cooks prepare each meal; the dishware and silverware are high quality as well. I've already touched on the pool, but it really does add a layer of awe, with perfect mood lighting throughout the pool and spa area and classical music pumped through the water for an extra touch of class. The sense of place this hotel invokes is world class, especially for a city hotel.

Despite all this, one area where the hotel falls short is its hallways, which is surprising since Park Hyatts tend to put a lot of effort into the experience on each floor. The hallways here really feel dated — the walls aren't decorated well, the carpets are old and worn, and the windows are dirty and unclear.

The hotel opened in June 2014, and while it's generally well maintained, it can be apparent at times that it's over 10 years old and hasn't gone through a refurbishment. For me this tends to be most obvious in the flooring, where areas of the hardwood just seem to have more give than freshly laid boards. Some of the finishes and decor also have a slightly time-worn appearance — not the fault of property management, just age showing.

I noticed the furniture in our room felt a bit worn too, with scuffs on the console and in the closet space. Cleanliness was generally very good, especially in the Bank Brasserie area, but I did notice dust left on the curtains in our room, and the windows are quite dirty on the outside (I know they're hard to clean, but still). I think they did a good job with what they control most — vacuuming and dusting — but some things may need a refresh in the near future.

The location is perfect, on Am Hof, right in the center of the Innere Stadt. For us it was right next to the main high-end shopping street and close to several sights we wanted to see, including the Imperial Treasury, the Sisi Museum, and the historical museum. The Innere Stadt also holds the majority of the beautiful architecture you associate with Vienna, so just walking around outside the hotel was a joy.

Am Hof sits slightly off the busy street where some of the other high-end hotels are located, so while this may add two or three minutes of walking, it also shields the hotel from most street noise and foot traffic, giving a more exclusive, isolated feel without actually being isolated. If you visit during the holidays, the Christmas market is also very close by, making this a prime location at that time of year.

Our check-in was a bit marred by a bad personal experience, so your mileage may vary. When we arrived there was one single bellboy, already occupied helping the family in front of us with their luggage — the problem being that he didn't bother to acknowledge us or let us know he'd assist. We carried our luggage inside and the concierge at the desk barely looked up or offered to help. I began the check-in process while my wife awkwardly waited by the entrance with our three large suitcases, while the concierge and bellboy stood around without offering a trolley or a hand.

I understand this may sound entitled, but at a high-quality hotel — especially one at the calibre of a Park Hyatt — luggage assistance is a baseline expectation at check-in. We can perfectly well move our own luggage at a Holiday Inn, but not at this type of property. It took me asking the check-in agent (who was wonderful, by the way — a special shout out to Freya) before someone bothered to help.

Aside from that fiasco, the check-in desk is very standard and a bit bland, with no welcome drink offered. The agents were all very pleasant and professional, though, especially the one who helped us; she went through the details of the hotel and gave us excellent recommendations for nearby restaurants.

Aside from that first impression with the bellboy, service at the property was very warm and professional. Staff were always friendly when they approached us, and we never felt like we were bothering them when we made requests. Service was especially great at breakfast, where the whole team was friendly and attentive, coming by constantly to help us order more coffee or clear the table.

On the surface the service is more or less perfect, but I did feel it lacked in anticipating our needs or going the extra step to fulfil requests — things that would be done at an ultra-luxury resort. No one really remembered our names besides the person who checked us in (Freya).

Operations were generally good, with a few hiccups. Most of the time it felt smooth: the room was ready almost immediately when we arrived, with the welcome amenity waiting for us. There was very little downtime for the elevator despite there being only one, and staffing levels were excellent throughout the hotel and at breakfast, where service was on point and there right when you needed it.

There were a few times we made requests to our room — an extra hair net, a toothbrush — where the request was never fulfilled or we needed to call twice. That was surprising, since they were very delightful over the phone in taking the request, but they never followed through.

Housekeeping was excellent, coming around twice a day — once in the morning and once for turndown service. A trademark of Park Hyatt housekeeping is that they tie and organize your cords, which I particularly enjoy. Our shoes were placed into compartments to keep them organized and our bed was made excellently each time.

The food at breakfast was outstanding, one of the best I've had at a hotel anywhere. The quality of each dish was very high and there seemed to be no expense spared in sourcing good ingredients. The standout for me was the truffle scrambled eggs, and most of the dishes we ordered were very tasty. All the pastries were excellent, and there was self-serve caviar as well (though the blinis were stale from sitting out). The orange juice was very fresh and most of the fruit was sweet and ripe.

Sparkling wine is served with breakfast, though we didn't partake since it was early in our trip and I wanted to save the drinking for when we got to Prague.

The hotel was never crowded and the staff-to-guest ratio was excellent at most times. I'm sure it can get busy and stressful during the holidays and Christmas market season, but when I went in the summer it felt great. A good portion of the travellers seemed to be there for business. Although there is only one main elevator, it was never occupied and we could get to our room with ease.

Departure was standard, easy and fast. Our bill was accurate, we were helped with our luggage, and we were offered assistance in calling transport to the train station for our next destination, Salzburg. We were offered late checkout as a Globalist, which I didn't need since our train was at 8am. We also took the time to thank Freya in person, since she was so lovely at check-in and made a great dinner recommendation on our first night.