The Austrian capital has welcomed the Almanac Palais Vienna, a boutique property set inside a pair of former palais dating to 1871. This is the third property from Almanac hospitality group. Overlooking the Stadtpark, the city’s first public green space, the property is located on the Ringstrasse, a boulevard, walking distance from local landmarks, including the Vienna State Opera House and the Museum of Applied Arts (The MAK).
Designer Jaime Beriestain presided over the property’s restoration, transforming the historic palais into an 80-suite, 31-guestroom stay, steeped in Viennese heritage. The original neo-Baroque facades and heritage marble doorways hark back to the glamour of the original palais, built for two of the city’s most prominent businessmen: The German-Austrian industrialist Hugo Henckel von Donnersmarck and the textile magnet Baron Friedrich Leitenberger.
A revolving collection of works by up-and-coming artists is on view, and a two-floor, marble-clad wellness facility has a 46-foot indoor pool with thermal waters. Set inside a bright, colorful dining room is the plant-forward Alpine restaurant, while a specialty coffee shop nods to Vienna’s rich café culture.
The Donnerskarkt Restaurant & Bar pays tribute to the palais’ original owner with plant-forward Alpine cuisine, like celery confit with a chervil and pistachio bearnaise sauce and oven-roasted and marinated local pumpkin with black radish, honey, and black aioli. Reinvented to be lighter and more approachable by Austrian chef Andreas Mahl, the dishes spotlight small producers from local farms. The wine list, too, has a local focus, with a selection of biodynamic and organic bottles from vineyards in the hills of Vienna, like the family-owned Wieninger, famous for its barrique-aged Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. The Donnersmarkt Bar sets the scene each evening with a circular gold bar and maroon velvet seating halo-ed under a floating bar shelf. The ELIAS Coffee Shop, modeled after a grand Viennese cafe bar, is open Monday through Friday serving third wave coffee and local pastries.
Suites span up to 2,600 square feet (the presidential Vienna Art Suite). Designed in golden and beige tones, all rooms have carved wooden headboards and Austrian white marble bathrooms.
Vienna is famous for its 2,000-year-old bathing culture, with elegant bathhouses and thermal-rich waters. The hotel’s subterranean two-floor wellness retreta draws on this history. beyond the thermal pool, there are spa and sauna facilities, as well as a fully equipped gym. In-room therapies include Austrian vegan skincare brand Clean Beauty Concept, using a combination of Gua Sha and glass cupping massage, connective tissue manipulation and lymphatic drainage for the face, eye area and body; and Vinoble Cosmetics, an all-natural, unisex spa brand with a focus on the regenerative powers of local grapes to produce highly effective, all-natural skincare products.
Later this spring, the spa will debut two treatment rooms.
Good to know: The Almanac is located within walking distance from some of the city’s most important landmarks. Among them: The Vienna State Opera House, the Hofburg palais and The MAK. The hotel opens as the city celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Vienna World Fair, an event that coincides with other important happenings around the city, including the debut of the remodeled Wien Museum and the new "Panorama Vienna" exhibition space at Prater Park, as well as the long-awaited year-long exhibition dedicated to Gusta Kimpt’s famous "The Kiss at The Belvedere".
A historical walking tour follows the origins of the brand’s name “Almanac,” as one of the first European almanacs was founded in Vienna around 1460 by astronomer Georg von Peuerbach. Stops include the National Library, housing over 11 million objects; the 16th-century St. Stephen’s Cathedral; and the University of Vienna, the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With over 1,000 Viennese coffee houses currently open, foodies will delight in a walking tour, exploring the cultural history surrounding the social scene associated with the cafes and how the brewing technique has evolved over decades. The local guide can share the evolution of beloved pastries, like Kaiserschmarren and apple strudel—even where Empress Elisabeth would purchase her lavender sweets.
For more information or to book, visit www.almanachotels.com/vienna.
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