Review: Rosewood Vienna

Why book?

Let’s face it, the landing of a new Rosewood is always going to turn heads—just look at the way Rosewood London helped revitalize a whole neighborhood when it opened in Holborn’s grand Pearl Insurance building back in 2013. The group has a knack for acquiring landmark buildings (its second London hotel will be set inside the former American Embassy) and this is no exception: a much-loved 19th-century bank right in the heart of Vienna’s 1st district, close to many of the city’s most famous sights. It’s quite the grandest opening here in almost a decade. Oh, and Vienna’s the most livable city in the world, according to The Economist—and the quality of life inside the Rosewood is very good indeed.

Set the scene

Right on Petersplatz and almost nudging the copper-green dome of St Peter’s Church, with horse and carriages clip-clopping past, this is a neoclassical ooomph of a building, reimagined and embellished, more than holding its own amid the rococo and Art Nouveau treasures of Vienna. Those statues peering down from surrounding buildings seem to nod their approval. A checkerboard passageway leads to a light-filled atrium with a molecular light installation and all the calm of one of Vienna’s historic courtyards.

Off the first-floor check-in—more of a salon, really, with comfortable sofas to lie back on and confess to all your psychoanalyst—is a lounge painted floor to ceiling with ferns and palm leaves and butterfly-bright tropical flowers so vivid that the occasional jeweled dragonfly may well skim the top of your kaffee und kuchen. Crowning the top of the building’s architectural trifle—and coming as quite a surprise after the hush of the rest of the rooms—is a bustling brasserie with angled windows onto the cityscape and an outdoor grotto planted with a how-on-earth-they-get-it-up-here pine tree. Steps lead up to the lookout bar, an elevated speakeasy with panoramic views that half of Vienna is queuing up for right now.

The backstory

Listen carefully and you may hear the high notes of an aria floating around the place (this is Vienna, after all, and even the street buskers studied at a conservatoire): Once upon a time, Mozart lived in an apartment at this address and composed The Abduction from the Seraglio here. But the structure itself dates from 1835, a former bank comprising four buildings huddled around a courtyard, which Rosewood has gradually transformed, adding two more floors at the top designed by Viennese design studio Kroenland (which also worked on the new Motto hotel). 

Soho Farmhouse designer Alexander Waterworth is responsible for the bedroom interiors, while Paris-based Atelier27 has curated the distinctive artworks that decorate the walls. Follow the corridor to the left of the check-in desk and you’ll see a number of artfully customized historic postcards and prints of Petersplatz—they belong to a former resident of an apartment here, who kindly donated his collection after moving out. The hothouse flowers of the salon—a nod to the city’s art nouveau Palmenhaus—were painstakingly painted by Viennese artist Marie Hartig, while the rooftop mural is by enigmatic graffiti artist KNARF. Quite a European collaboration, then, though the emphasis is on Viennese makers and creators. Rosewood isn’t a known brand in Austria–this is its first in Central Europe–so its arrival has sparked a lot of curiosity.

The rooms

Tap the remote control and blinds will rise to slowly reveal the neighborhood—it’s like having a royal box looking out over the city. From our room, 514 (which can be combined with 513 to make a family suite), I could look straight down to the Hofburg Palace, the Habsburg’s modest little des res in town—ever so slightly distracted by the cocktail trolley by the window. The same view was also possible from the bathtub (which doesn’t come with cocktails, though that can doubtless be arranged). Bedrooms are elegant with nothing that will scare the horses (particularly not the well-trained gee-gees of the Spanish Riding School); there are soft gray marbles and burnished orange chairs and sofas that curve to follow the walls, along with brassy Art Deco flourishes such as the sink units and marble-and-walnut drinks cabinets that take pride of place, with shelves bearing a trio of pre-made cocktails and essays by modernist architect Adolf Loos. 

Connecting all the spaces are fluid, linear patterns on rugs, cushions, notebooks, and curtains, all by design company Backhausen, a key player in the Wiener Jugendstil (that’s Art Nouveau to you) movement of the early 20th century. And the effect that a handful of playful artworks can have in personalizing a space is quite incredible. The hi-tech Toto loo (I’ve always assumed the name has no relation to Dorothy’s four-legged friend), which yawns wide open when you approach but doesn’t quite enquire how your day’s been, is still enough of a novelty to mention here. Rates from $570 per night.

The food and drink

Anyone familiar with the bright, well-choreographed pockets of Mittel-Europe created by London restaurant maestros Corbin and King (The Delaunay, The Wolseley) will feel immediately at home in Neue Hoheit. Rosewood is very good at creating destination restaurants. This is an all-day performance that pirouettes from breakfast, when you peruse the counters of jewel-like pastries and bircher muesli and cured meats and point at the ones you’d like brought to your table, to dinner, with a menu that digs deep into Austrian traditions and bistro comfort food. A lobster roll here, some trout rillette there, a rarely seen trout nicoise and pumpkin three ways, as well as catfish with braised kohlrabi–plus big hitters including a wiener schnitzel so large you could drape it over your knees on a cold day and tafelspitz, a no-nonsense beef broth with bone marrow and horseradish sauce bread. And there’s strudel and cherry and chocolate creations for pudding. 

It’s all good and button-popping and very Viennese, but maybe the menu lacks a cheffy signature or two to set it apart–after all, this is Vienna and there are lots of places to eat wiener schnitzel and tafelspitz. More individual is the bar upstairs, where the German tag-team of bartenders make cocktails using spirits mapped out from various Austrian regions—the best sort of geography lesson—such as a Golden Roof made using fruit brandy from the Tirol with gin, caraway seed, and pineapple. The signature Vienna Calling, a chocolatey riff on the Old Fashioned, is garnished with a little picture of “Rock Me Amadeus” star Falco.

The area

There’s a reason why this area is known as the Goldenes Quartier: LV to the left of me, Jimmy Choo to the right…plenty of places to shop if you’ve mislaid your Rolex and need a new one for the holiday. Not since the days of Emperor Franz Joseph–something of a patron saint for the city, you’ll see his walrus-mustached visage everywhere–has Vienna’s first district seen such finery and frippery. So plenty of shopping and old-town favorites such as the Loos American Bar, the high-stepping horses of the Spanish Riding School, the Albertina museum (but ask directions for the new Albertina Modern, a little further away). St Peter’s Church is right outside; the gothic barnacles of St Stephen’s just a short walk away, reflecting in the post-modern Hass Haus opposite…I could go on.

The service

Mostly at ease with itself, and therefore the guests, and any hesitancy will be ironed out within a few weeks of opening. Most of the team met during lockdown and have worked together preparing the hotel for lift-off. The concierge can often be spotted carrying his little dog around—which will peer across at you inquiringly while you arrange a local tour of the district (it’s short and sweet and will take you into hidden courtyards and insider views). The team are very proud of their immaculate Mercedes saloon, used for airport transfers, so please don’t harm it in any way.

Eco effort

The Rosewood group has a green initiative that includes energy conservation, prioritizing sustainability, and embracing a sense of place, but specifics about the Vienna hotel weren’t apparent.

Accessibility for those with mobility impairments

Lift access (with etched and Braille signage) to restaurant, spa, and bedrooms, some of which have roll-in shower and lever handles, along with assisted check-in and wheelchair-accessible bathroom in the lobby.

Anything left to mention

The fifth-floor Asaya spa will open in the autumn (at the moment, massages can be arranged in a private room), overseen by the very experienced Nadine Kaindl. Even if you have no intention of submitting to a treatment, do spend some time in the relaxation room, where angled windows look directly over the dome of St Peter’s Church—the effect is quite startling and majestic, almost like peeking out at a passing blue whale from a bathysphere. And do use this stay as a crash course in Viennese wines—they’re fantastic, many of which are sourced from the vineyards around the city, such as the Pinot Noir from Clemens Strobl, just 50km up the Danube.

Is it worth it?

Rosewood’s arrival has ramped up Vienna’s hotel scene (and its prices). The city has a handful of small boutique hotels such as the newly opened Motto and Josephine, along with the old-school wallop of the Imperial, Bristol, and Sacher—but the Park-Hyatt is the closest comparison (Mandarin Oriental was due to open a hotel here but that may not happen for some time). Rosewood feels less ostentatious and more discreet, and you’d have to be staying in the spire of St Stephen’s for a better location.