Hotel Imperial Vienna
Legendary palace hotel
08/20/2024 Reading time: 2 Minutes
An institution on the Ringstrasse The Imperial
The builders of the world-famous building hang as larger-than-life paintings in the entrance hall: Philipp Alexander von Württemberg and Archduchess Marie Therese von Habsburg-Lothringen moved into one of the first palaces on the Ringstrasse in 1863 - and soon realized that it was not pleasant to live in the middle of Europe's largest construction site. When accommodation was urgently needed for the 1873 World Exhibition, they sold their palace and moved to a quieter area. Since then, the Imperial has been one of the first hotel addresses in the city.
Whoever stays at the Imperial, will find the magnificent past they are looking for: The imposing Fürstenstiege with its stuccolustro walls, a Lobmeyr chandelier and the pretty statue of the female Danube under a picture of Emperor Franz Joseph is undoubtedly a Viennese sightseeing highlight - it leads to the sumptuous neo-Renaissance suites on the Beletage. The bright guest rooms in the listed building all exude a noble, classic ambience: carpeted floors, floral fabric wallpaper, Empire-style furniture, marble bathrooms - no wonder the Imperial is so popular for state visits and guests occasionally have to share the hotel with security guards. In the "Street of History" on the ground floor, information boards list some of the most famous guests. Richard Wagner spent the night here, Gustav Mahler was a regular at the café and Charlie Chaplin is said to have spoken into a microphone through a window in the OPUS restaurant (16/20 Gault-Millau points) for the first time. Due to its close proximity to the Musikverein, famous conductors and musicians can still be seen here today, and even the Rolling Stones have immortalized themselves in one of the guest books stored in the hotel manager's safe. Incidentally, the Imperial is a hotel with its own archivist: Mr. Moser was previously a "porter", as the concierge is called in Austria, for 30 years - and served as inspiration for director Wes Anderson's film "Grand Budapest Hotel".
Whoever stays at the Imperial, will find the magnificent past they are looking for: The imposing Fürstenstiege with its stuccolustro walls, a Lobmeyr chandelier and the pretty statue of the female Danube under a picture of Emperor Franz Joseph is undoubtedly a Viennese sightseeing highlight - it leads to the sumptuous neo-Renaissance suites on the Beletage. The bright guest rooms in the listed building all exude a noble, classic ambience: carpeted floors, floral fabric wallpaper, Empire-style furniture, marble bathrooms - no wonder the Imperial is so popular for state visits and guests occasionally have to share the hotel with security guards. In the "Street of History" on the ground floor, information boards list some of the most famous guests. Richard Wagner spent the night here, Gustav Mahler was a regular at the café and Charlie Chaplin is said to have spoken into a microphone through a window in the OPUS restaurant (16/20 Gault-Millau points) for the first time. Due to its close proximity to the Musikverein, famous conductors and musicians can still be seen here today, and even the Rolling Stones have immortalized themselves in one of the guest books stored in the hotel manager's safe. Incidentally, the Imperial is a hotel with its own archivist: Mr. Moser was previously a "porter", as the concierge is called in Austria, for 30 years - and served as inspiration for director Wes Anderson's film "Grand Budapest Hotel".
