A dream hotel in a dream city. You wake up and look out the window at a magnificent private park, with allees of trees, statuary, a Baroque fountain. Though housed in a palace, the hotel is cosy, more like a country inn in some ways, but with exceptional service, atmosphere, and food. Amazingly prompt room service, super friendly staff, and a brilliant location on the edge of the old inner city.

We stayed 2 nights here in October, 2002 and planned what we thought would be the most opulent place for the last nights of a 3 week vacation in Germany & Austria. The staff was the best encountered down to our own personal butler who arranged everything for us perfectly, even a personal tour of the palace itself. Even tho we were in one of the lesser expensive deluxe rooms, we were treated as if we were in a Presidential suite. The walking distance from the stairs & elevator to our room was much farther than we would've liked, the bathroom was very small but well-stocked, and the view from our windows looked down onto a very busy main thoroughfare, by far not a choice view; however the windows were thick enough to shut out the street noise at night and large enough to let the cool outside air into the room which had no A/C. We had one breakfast in their terrace restaurant, food being quite good but very poor value for the price tag (50 Euros for 2 when the Euro was within a penny of a US dollar.) The experience of staying in a real palace was worth paying the overall price, its location is within walking distance of most major sights, but next time we're in Vienna, we'll stay at a 5 star with more value to the price. I must say, tho, our personal butler was the best service we've ever encountered. He even got us best seat in the house tickets at the last minute to a symphony at Golden Hall.

The hotel is in a beautiful private palace setting (a sight in its own right) and I enjoyed the morning walks in the palace park most (though a bit small by palace standards) and I missed it already. The people are extremely polite and nice although I had to warm up to this hotel and its staff initially. Seemed like the day staff are training the trainees. The food is superb. One must try the grilled foie gras. I have a regular appetite but could only try out the soup, the appetiser, the entree, the main dish all in separate meals -- never made it to dessert. The couch in even the least expensive room is very comfortable. Everything is very clean. The bathroom is luxuriously spacious by European standards. The room is spacious as well. Unlike most 5-star hotels I stayed at, surprisingly, they don't charge you every single penny you've got whenever they can and they are kind enough not to remind you in a commercial or snobbish way. Computer and internet are free for guest use anytime in the lobby and access is available in the room as well and when you're stuck on the net, they even do it for you. You sit too long waiting in the lobby for whatever the reason, they bring you coffee even before the restaurant is open just to make you feel better about the delay. I don't mind paying for everything -- but I do mind being interrupted from time to time when I am supposed to just take it easy and relax. Night staff members are concerned whether you had a nice day in Vienna and whether you are too tired when you return at night. Lacking in certain facilities, the service and the palace itself more than compensate for this. It was a pity I did not get to see the beautiful function rooms.

We just returned from a 3-night stay here as part of my vacation. What a blast. This is an actual royal palace that was converted into a hotel, with much of the decor and furnishings kept intact. Be sure and sneak into the grand ballrooms (which were hosting private events while we were there, but we snuck in when the events had finished and waltzed around as we hummed the Blue Danube to ourselves).

Staff is great, breakfast and the restaurant are great. This is located just outside the Ringstrasse, so it's not as close to the tourist stuff as the other 5-star offerings on/in the Ring, but in my view this is a plus, as you get a bit of space between you and the crowds. Plus, it's only 2 blocks off where the main area starts, which is nothing. Furthermore, the grounds and gardens behind the hotel are stunning, you can't believe you are in the middle of Vienna, and you are right next to the big art museum at the Belvedere with its Klimt collection. The only negative - the front entrance is a PARKING LOT. How drab. You drive up to a palace, come through the gate, and instead of wonderful gardens as there are behind, you get a PARKING LOT? Other than that, this place is a must.