Last week, we took a look at some upcoming hotel developments in Vienna, including a Ritz-Carlton (due to open this fall) and a new Kempinski (due to open in spring) and a Four Seasons (late 2014).
So what is inspiring all this investment by top brands? “Companies who were not present already realized that they should be here,” Astrid Pockfuss of the Vienna Tourist Board told Travel Agent. “Many of those names haven’t had a property in Vienna yet, and it’s the right time to come to the city. We don’t have so many five-star properties yet, so there is potential to develop in the market.” Pockfuss doesn’t feel that new developments will clash with historic hotels like the Hotel Sacher Wien. “Sacher is an established name,” she said. “It is a family hotel. It is tradition and classic luxury. I don’t think it will be a problem.”
Transportation
Getting to and from Vienna is also getting easier, thanks to a new terminal at Vienna International Airport and the soon-to-open Vienna Central Station. (A rendering is above). While the train station will not be completed for three years or so, parts of it will be operational by the end of the this year. Pockfuss believes that the train station will also increase hotel development. “More people will arrive by train,” she said. “It will be a whole new neighborhood.”
For passengers arriving by air, the inauguration of the new Check In 3 terminal in June marked the completion of the largest construction project ever undertaken at Vienna International Airport. The building comprises the Pier Süd (33 Schengen gates, 15 non-Schengen gates and 18 immigration desks) and a terminal (64 check-in desks, approximately 40 automated check-in desks, 12 security lanes, eight departure desks, ten baggage carousels). The new Check In 3 doubles the amount of terminal space at Vienna airport, and will help cut turnaround times at the airport despite the continuing rise in passenger volumes.
Other Developments
Vienna’s First District (also called Innere Stadt), which already houses luxury stores like Gucci and Prada, will get a new high-end shopping center and will see some of the shops move around the neighborhood when it opens in the fall. Louis Vuitton will be the main tenant of the new shopping center, and Dior will move into Vuitton’s old store.
Rendering courtesy of ÖBB/Stadt Wien