I got scolded by the concierge at the Park Hyatt Vienna.
You see, my 3-year-old is a very picky eater. After he ate very little all day long in Vienna, I ordered him a pizza from a food delivery app (think Uber Eats, but a different service called Wolt). I tracked the progress in the app and when the driver was getting nearby, I took the elevator downstairs. I got to the front desk area and saw the driver at the concierge’s desk and the concierge with a phone to his ear. When he saw me, the conceirge hung up the phone and as I confirmed with the delivery person that it was my order he was delivering, the concierge looked at me with playful disappointment in me: “Sir, you are staying at a five star hotel. You don’t need to come downstairs — we would have brought this up to you.” I got scolded for not allowing them to offer the exemplary service that they know how to provide.
There is no doubt that the Park Hyatt Vienna knows that it is a five star hotel, and that’s a good thing.
Park Hyatt Vienna Diplomat Suite (Premium Suite Award) Bottom Line Review
The Park Hyatt Vienna is a wonderful hotel. Set in a building that was originally built as the Bank of Austria headquarters more than 100 years ago, the building feels rich and powerful, is decorated ornately, and exudes luxury and class. More than all that, what I really loved is that employees seemed absolutely intent on not only looking like a five-star hotel, but also providing five-star service. That didn’t end with the (fantastic) concierge. One night, we had a small issue in the room and when trying to solve it an employee suggested a simple solution. When I began saying “I didn’t even think of that”, he cut me off almost apologetically saying “No no, you don’t have to think, it is our job to think of a solution”. I don’t need that level of pampering, but it certainly does make you feel like you’re not just getting a good deal on points but rather getting an entire experience.
I would definitely return to the Park Hyatt Vienna again. Based on the videos I’ve seen of the size of standard rooms and standard suites, I don’t know if I would feel the need to splurge on a premium suite award again, but I would certainly love to get another opportunity to stay at the Park Hyatt Vienna.
The only slight disappointment I had was that there are multiple layouts for these Diplomat Suites (I think they are just corner 1-bedroom suites, but they probably differ a bit). I had seen a video of one with what appeared to be a separate office with a door where I thought I could probably get some work done after the kids went to bed, but as it turned out the desk was part of the living room (where one son slept on the couch and my sister-in-law slept on the rollaway), so I didn’t end up with that late-night work space after all. I can’t emphasize how slight of a disappointment that was, but I note it in case you see another layout of the same suite and/or your room differs a bit from mine).
Overall, this is a hotel that I found to be worth the hype. I’ve always heard great things about the place and now I see why. We originally had a reservation at the Andaz for far fewer points (and there is a Lindner that had rooms for just 3,500 points per night during our dates!), but I do not at all regret the splurge. I was initially hesitant to use so many points, but then (thankfully) realized that one of the reasons I play the game is to enjoy experiences like this that I wouldn’t otherwise buy with money. I was happy with that decision.
- Price: As a Hyatt Category 7, standard rooms cost 25K / 30K / 35K points per night (off-peak / standard / peak), which compares favorably to cash rates which seemed to run around the low $600’s per night for a standard room during my dates. My Diplomat Suite was a Premium Suite award that cost 60K per night for two nights (standard) and 70K for one night (peak). The cash rate for the Diplomat Suite on my dates was north of 3,000 Euro per night.
- Value: Excellent value as compared to cash prices, though I’d personally compare the 60K-70K per night that I spent on the suite against the cost of two standard rooms rather than the 3,000 Euro per night rate of the suite.
- Location: Excellent location in central Vienna. Google Maps says it is about a 15-minute walk to the main Christmas Market (Christkindlmarkt at Rathaus city hall), but I think it really took us a max of 10 minutes to get there. For those visiting specifically for Christmas markets, note that there is also one in the plaza immediately in front of the hotel and another one less than 200m up the road in addition to being a short walk from the Christkindlmarkt.
- Room: We booked a Diplomat Suite as a Premium Suite award. It didn’t look quite like one that I’d seen on Youtube — I think that “Diplomat Suites” are just corner 1-bedroom suites with a little extra space, so it may not be worth a premium over the cost of a one-bedroom suite. That said, the room was very large, with a foyer / entrance way, a large living room that had a sort of open floor plan with a dining table for four and a work desk, and then a separate (large) bedroom that featured a nice-size chaise/lounger and a bathroom with a huge soaking tub, dual vanities, and a shower big enough to throw a party inside (along with a second half-bath and a large walk-in closet along with a second full-size closet). Furthermore, the bathroom floor was heated, so your toes wouldn’t get cold (it got a little too warm — we eventually asked them to turn it off). Windows opened (which my better half appreciated for airflow). Note that the Diplomat Suite officially accommodates 3 people, but we emailed in advance to ask if we could get a rollaway and put 3 adults and 2 kids in the room and they said yes.
- Parking: Valet parking is 55 EUR overnight, but since the garage is actually a public garage, I’m not sure whether it would be free for Globalists on an award stay (we did not have a car).
- Resort/Destination Fee: None
- Internet: Seemed plenty fast.
- Service: Fantastic in our experience. Everyone with whom we interacted was polite, professional, and seemed to genuinely want to be in the customer service field. One particular employee at the concierge desk (whose name we unfortunately missed!) was particularly animated and funny and gave my wife and her sister a restaurant recommendation about which they were still raving on the way home from Europe.
- Turndown service: Someone came in and shut the curtains I think (and probably replaced water bottles?), but no chocolates or anything notable.
- Dining:
- The Bank Brasserie & Bar: This is the main bar and restaurant, located in what I assume was the main bank lobby, which is a very grand space and it looks very impressive. Breakfast was high-quality with variety that was sufficient to satisfy without sacrificing quality for quantity. There were a few hot menu items that could be ordered with breakfast and my wife was thrilled with her Eggs Benedict on 2 out of 3 mornings.
- Cafe Am Hof: There is a cafe within the hotel that serves drinks, lunch and dinner and cakes/pastries, but we actually never passed or saw this place.
- Lounge: Another restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner (along with drinks) that must have been located near Cafe Am Hof (so we didn’t see it).
- Room service: Available throughout the day, but we didn’t order it. That said, when we ordered pizza from a delivery app for a second time, someone took the pizza (and the Coca-Cola I ordered for myself) out of the delivery bag and brought it to the room on a room service tray with a glass for the coke).
- Spa: Update: I didn’t see it, but apparently this hotel has the finest spa in the city according to a reader in the comments.
- Fitness Room: This looks cool in the pictures, but I didn’t make it there (my wife and her sister went to check it out, but there was someone who was staying on our floor who had a constant security detail who was walking on the treadmill and practicing a speech, so they didn’t feel comfortable taking pictures). The pool is in what used to be the bank’s vault, which looks really cool.
- Hyatt Globalist Benefits:
- Room Upgrade: None beyond the premium suite award we booked, but as noted above the hotel allowed us to put five people in the room, so we were very happy with that.
- Free Breakfast: Breakfast in The Bank restaurant was excellent and included both the buffet and the option to order from a few options on a separate menu, which included Eggs Benedict, Pancakes, and some toast dishes (though I don’t necessarily recommend the toast options as they were usually available on the buffet anyway).
- Club Lounge: None
- Late Checkout: Offered, but not needed
- Welcome Amenity: None.
- Would I stay again? Absolutely. The hotel is lovely and the location was perfect for exploring Christmas markets.
Pros
- Terrific 5-star service
- Gorgeous hotel building
- Excellent location
- Large premium suite award
Cons
- Luxury doesn’t come cheap, with a premium suite award costing 60K or 70K per night (and though I didn’t see a standard 1-bedroom suite, I imagine it isn’t far smaller)
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Room tour:
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Nick, I’m jealous. I don’t know how you can still maximize your rewards with 2 little ones. I have 3 myself, all under 11 years old, and I find it very difficult to get a lot of value from my points or at least stretch them far enough to cover airfare for 5 people. I think it’s time you did a new piece about maximizing your points when travelling with kids!
Going to VIE for 5 nights soon, and I chose to stay at Lindner. I saw negative reviews here, but I checked FT and it’s mostly positive sentiment there. I just couldn’t justify 35K/night for a room at PH Vienna. Lindner is 3.5K for one night and 5K for the rest of our stay. I booked two rooms at Lindner, since I could not find availability for 3ppl in a single room, and that’s just 47K total, a bit over what PH costs for one night.
I was about to stay at PH Vienna too, but came in VIE late night, departing in early morning, plus one day trip outside Vienna made me chose the Lindner Hotel. Gonna say I envy your stay – Lindner is fine, has a juice bar at breakfast, but GSM is so terrible I hope I won’t return.
Staying at Lindner in a couple of weeks. What is GSM? Service manager? Any advice or info regarding Lindner? Thank you!
I stayed there for a few nights this summer. I don’t stay at many luxury hotels, but I did stay at the Park Hyatt in Chicago the summer before. I’m only a Discoverist. PH Vienna was so inviting, I was greeted by three or four different people in the first few minutes of being there, was given some history of the hotel, and I was actually escorted up to my room (just a standard room) and shown the space and how to use the electronic control panel for the lights and shades. This was pretty awkward for me, but appreciated. At PH Chicago, I was barely acknowledged.
I think the only bad thing about PH Vienna is that it’s in such a beautiful city, so I spent so little time in the actual hotel.
We just stayed in Vienna recently and strongly considered the Diplomat Suite at the Park Hyatt so it was interesting to see this review!
At the time the other option instead of points was 660 euro plus 9k upgrade. I was leaning toward that vs. 60k points. Curious whether that was available to you and how you look at the math.
(We ended up staying at Hotel Imperial which was running a 4th night free with free breakfast promo.)
Ritzy place. Am I the only one who finds it a little odd when a bathtub is the centerpiece of the bathroom?
My Grandmother had 26 grandchildren and no picky eaters. It’s called eat what is in front of you or go to bed hungry. Believe it or not children can adapt quite quickly if they know you mean it.
Believe me, that’s 100% what we thought. Our first son eats everything. Our second son has been to numerous specialists and has vomited more times than you want to know about trying new foods. I wish it were so easy as let him go to bed hungry. He does (I assume because he barely eats and it’s not for lack of our efforts). It hasn’t helped. Like I said, I wish it were so easy. Glad none of your grandmother’s grandchildren were picky though!
nothing quite like parentsplaining on a travel blog.
My relatives tried to raise me that way, but I was willing to starve for days rather than to eat what I didn’t want to eat. Some kids have much more extreme willpower and tolerance for going without food than most other kids. And it’s not like you can kindly force a horse to drink water when it’s not thirsty — and it’s sort of the same way with some kids.
About the hotel, was there any supplemental charge due for the occupancy or additional bedding for there being 3 adults + 2 kids in the room?
We are clearly not Park Hyatt kind of people. Both here and in Paris, we found the service to be pretty terrible. In Vienna, on our 25th anniversary trip, we arrived at about 2 pm and were told our room would not be ready until 3, so we dropped our bags and headed out to the Christmas markets. Returned at three, front desk associate apologized profusely and said they would give us an upgraded room but it wouldn’t be ready until 4. Returned once again at 4. Front desk associate told us her manager wouldn’t let her upgrade us and our room still wasn’t ready. Finally got into our standard room at 4:45.
And this was better than our experience at park Hyatt in Paris!
BTW, parking in the public garage is NOT free/comped for Globalists staying on points.
Thanks for confirming. I figured as much.
We had a four night stay booked at the Lindner Vienna Am Belvedere last month and before going to bed the first night we disliked it so much that we booked the next three nights at the Andaz in Vienna. The Lindner wasn’t terrible for 5,000 points per night, but the deal breaker was the heater. You could not adjust it or turn it off and it was insanely hot. I had to sleep with a window open.
The Andaz Vienna was very nice, but not as new or nice as the Andaz in Prague was. It also was near the central station, so not as convenient as the Park Hyatt’s location. We are planning to go back to Vienna next year and hope to stay at the Park Hyatt with the Andaz as a back up.
The Lindner Vienna was the first Lindner we’ve stayed at and I am hesitant to try others.
Good to know we didn’t make a mistake on not booking that Lindner!
For what it’s worth, our lone Lindner stay so far (in Frankfurt) was pretty good. It wasn’t luxurious, but it was clean and comfortable.
Lindner Hotel is a great choice if you go for value, almost unbeatable, but service is hit-and-miss. I wholeheartedly recommend Prague Castle though, you could see they’re still adapting to Hyatt system and standard, but they tried hard to make their guest happy. Can’t say so for Vienna and Berlin.
The most overhyped ph i have been at , rooms are great but staff sucks
You got me scared there for a second. PH Vienna is my favorite hotel in the world, truly a 5-star experience all around. Just like LarryInNYC, I went to PH Vendome Paris and compared to PH Vienna, that hotel was just meh.
I’m rarely impressed by luxury hotels (maybe I haven’t stayed in enough of them?) but this hotel was the exception. We got a true suite as the complimentary Globalist upgrade, the staff were excellent, and the breakfast was one of the few hotel breakfasts I’d go back for (in particular, the truffled eggs — I’m guessing you didn’t try those).
We went from Vienna to Paris on that trip and stayed at the Park Hyatt there as well, which was. . . good. But the PH Vienna was great.
We love this hotel, and Vienna itself. We booked standard awards and upgraded to standard suites using globalist upgrades. While that was certainly great value, I find the cash rates reasonable and would probably just book with cash and upgrade next time.
Park Hyatt Vienna is probably my favorite hotel having stayed there three times. On my second visit back in 2019 for an anniversary trip, they upgraded us to a Diplomat Suite from a standard room award booking. I was a lowly Explorist at the time but had emailed just stating that we were returning having enjoyed our previous stay so much.