Hotel Imperial Vienna

A former ducal palace on the Kärntner Ring, turned into a hotel for the World Exhibition of 1873 and the traditional address of state visitors to Vienna.

The building went up in the 1860s as the city palace of Duke Philipp of Württemberg, one of the first grand residences on the new Ringstrasse. The duke soon sold it, and it opened as the Hotel Imperial in 1873, just in time for the World Exhibition. Its twentieth century mirrors Austria's: Hitler stayed here after the Anschluss in 1938, and after the war the building served the Soviet occupation authorities until 1955. Restored since, it has welcomed queens, presidents and conductors, and it is now part of Marriott's Luxury Collection.

The palace interiors are the reason to stay: a marble staircase, chandeliers, gilded stucco and state rooms that still feel like a private residence, with rooms decorated in a Biedermeier and imperial style. The Café Imperial on the ground floor is a fine coffee house in its own right and serves the hotel's own Imperial Torte, a chocolate and marzipan cake that also travels well as a gift. The Musikverein, the Konzerthaus and the State Opera are all a short walk away.

Honest note: the traditional style will not suit anyone looking for a contemporary design hotel, and rooms facing the Ring can hear the trams. Ask for a courtyard or upper-floor room if you sleep lightly. Compare with the other grand hotels: where to stay in Vienna; all hotels: stay.