Review: Park Hyatt Vienna, Austria (World Of Hyatt Gem)

For the next hotel stay of our royal visit to Versailles, I spent a quick night at the 146-room Park Hyatt Vienna. The property first opened in 2014, so it’s a bit over a decade old. I had actually stayed there twice before, though my last stay was in 2015, so I figured it was time to revisit the property.

Well, I’m happy to report that this continues to be a gem in Hyatt’s portfolio. It’s a gorgeous, historic hotel, with great elite recognition, friendly service, a central location, a nice restaurant and bar, and an expansive gym and indoor pool. I’m just sad that I didn’t have more time to enjoy it.

Booking the Park Hyatt Vienna

I redeemed World of Hyatt points for my one night stay at the Park Hyatt Vienna. It’s currently a Category 7 World of Hyatt property, meaning that a free night costs either 25,000, 30,000, or 35,000 points, depending on whether you’re staying during off-peak, standard, or peak dates. I was staying over off-peak dates, so I paid 25,000 points. For what it’s worth, I value World of Hyatt points at 1.5 cents each.

Even if you’re not a Hyatt loyalist, earning World of Hyatt points can be pretty easy. In addition to being able to earn World of Hyatt points with the World of Hyatt Credit Card (review) and World of Hyatt Business Credit Card (review), you can also transfer over points from Chase Ultimate Rewards.

For what it’s worth, the cash rate for my stay would’ve been around €500. If you are going to pay cash, I recommend booking through the Hyatt Privé program. Hyatt Privé rates cost the same as standard flexible rates (not member rates, advance purchase rates, AAA rates, etc.), and include additional perks, like daily breakfast, a $100 property credit, a room upgrade, a welcome gift, and more. Admittedly some of these overlap with World of Hyatt Globalist perks, but at a minimum, the $100 property credit adds value.

So this wasn’t some slam dunk award redemption, but it was the best option for my stay.

Park Hyatt Vienna location & history

The Park Hyatt Vienna has an excellent location in Vienna’s 1st district (“Innere Stadt”), and it’s near lots of shopping, restaurants, and more. The hotel is situated by Freyung Square, looking out over Am Hof.

The Park Hyatt Vienna is my favorite kind of hotel — it’s housed in a historic building, while still having all the comforts you’d expect from a modern hotel. Specifically, the hotel occupies a former bank building, which first opened in 1915, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was initially opened as the Lower Austrian Escompte Bank. It’s always cool to see old buildings like this repurposed.

As far as getting from the airport to the hotel goes, you can expect that it’ll take somewhere around 30-40 minutes by car. Alternatively, you can take the City Airport Train, which takes around 17 minutes. From the main train station, the hotel is around a 20-minute walk, or alternatively, you can take a connection, and get out closer to the hotel.

Park Hyatt Vienna lobby & check-in

Upon arriving at the hotel, I was immediately greeted by the bellmen, and offered assistance with my bags (which I didn’t need). You can get a sense of the hotel’s history the moment you step inside, based on the high ceilings and marble.

Inside the entrance and straight ahead is a staircase, which leads to the restaurant, bar, and some of the other amenities.

Reception, meanwhile, is located to the left. There are a couple of reception desks, the concierge desk, and a handful of seats.

The check-in process was super efficient. The woman checking me in was friendly, and within a few minutes, I had a key to my room. This hotel is great with upgrades, thanks to the percentage of accommodations that are suites (of the 146 rooms, 43 are suites).

On account of my lifetime World of Hyatt Globalist status, I was upgraded to a Park Suite with a view, technically one category above the standard suite.

With keys in hand, I headed to the elevators, located to the left of reception.

Park Hyatt Vienna suite

The Park Hyatt Vienna goes from levels minus two to four. I was assigned room 406, located on the top floor.

The levels with guest rooms are pretty huge, since they have up to 45 rooms, so it can take a bit of effort to find your room. I actually walked past my room a couple of times before figuring out where it was, since the numbering system didn’t make much sense to me, and the numbers are also written quite small, and blend in.

The Park Suites with a view are marketed as being 55 to 65 square meters (592 to 700 square feet), and my room actually felt like it might’ve been a bit bigger than that. The suite had an entryway with a half bath near the entrance.

The living room was spacious, with a dining table that had four chairs, a couch, and a desk behind the couch. I liked many of the design features, like the mirrored walls (which include TVs) and the finishes on the double doors.

The living room also had a minibar, with complimentary (illy) coffee and tea, plus drinks and snacks for purchase.

The living room had a lovely welcome amenity with a bottle of sparkling wine (which I didn’t end up consuming), some fruit, and some tasty chocolate treats.

Double doors separated the living room from the bedroom. The bedroom had a king size bed — the pillows weren’t as plush as I like, but that’s of course a personal preference. The bedroom had a chair with an ottoman in the corner, plus a little table with a stool.

The main bathroom was off the bedroom, and was large. As you walked in, there was a soaking tub right there.

Then on each side of the doors were identical sinks.

Then one side had a large walk-in shower, with a rainforest shower head and a wand, and toiletries from Blaise Mautin, in reusable bottles.

There was also a toilet, in a separate room.

Lastly, there was a large closet space off the bathroom.

In the morning, I had a brief period where I could enjoy the views out the window, before having to go to the airport. It sure was a pretty view (but my gosh it was cold — it was well below freezing during my visit).

All-in-all, what an awesome room! Not only was it luxurious, but it had some character, and wasn’t your typical cookie cutter room.

Park Hyatt Vienna spa, pool, and gym

The Park Hyatt Vienna has an impressive wellness complex located underground, and this includes a spa, pool, and gym. The hotel’s spa is named Arany Spa, and it has six treatment rooms, and you can find the treatment menu here.

The spa has a beautiful indoor pool, which guest are welcome to use between the hours of 7AM until 9PM. The pool is 15 meters long. It’s visually quite stunning, but doesn’t have much in the way of seating directly around it.

However, the spa area has plenty of seating when you go down a level from the pool.

There’s also a sauna and steam room, which is clothing optional, as you’d expect in Europe.

The Park Hyatt Vienna also has a 24/7 gym, which I’d say is an excellent facility for a historic property that doesn’t have that many rooms. It has a large selection of cardio and strength training equipment, and it partly looks out over the pool.

Park Hyatt Vienna Bank Brasserie & Bar

The Bank Brasserie & Bar is the Park Hyatt Vienna’s signature restaurant and bar, and it’s the social hub of the hotel. It’s not just popular with hotel guests, but also with outsiders. You can’t help but be a bit mesmerized when in this space, because it’s mighty impressive.

The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the bar area is open for most of the day, serving drinks and light bites. You can find all the menus here.

While I didn’t have dinner here, I did have breakfast, which is served daily from 7AM until 10:30AM (until 11AM on weekends). The breakfast concept here is that there’s a buffet, and then you can complement that by ordering off a menu, and there’s no limit to how many dishes you can order.

As soon as I sat down, a server came by to offer me a drink, and I asked for a cappuccino.

I then had a look at the buffet, which was pretty impressive, at least by European standards.

Cold options at the buffet included things like fresh fruit, veggies and salads, cold cuts and cheese, yogurt and cereal, pastries and freshly baked bread, and more.

There were also several hot options, including several types of eggs, bacon, potatoes, and more.

I chose a few things from the buffet, and also ordered the truffled scrambled eggs, with spinach, onion, and shaved truffle, which was a decadent twist on traditional scrambled eggs.

Bottom line

The Park Hyatt Vienna continues to be an excellent luxury property, and one of Hyatt’s best hotels in Europe. This is truly one of the best hotels in the city, with a great sense of place, a central location, impressive amenities, and a destination restaurant and bar.

I was a little worried that the hotel’s quality would deteriorate over time, given the alleged financial issues, but it seemed to be business as usual.

What’s your take on the Park Hyatt Vienna?