Three Nights: Vienna

THREE NIGHTS - VIENNA
DEANNA MACDONALD
Special to The Globe and Mail
July 22, 2006

VIENNA -- Since 1989, when Vienna went from being the edge of the West to the centre of Europe, the city has grown back into its role as a cosmopolitan hub, regaining the vibrancy of its former Imperial glory but with a 21st-century twist. This is certainly true of the accommodations scene, as accommodations run the gamut from rustic to boutique-chic to regal.
The city is laid out in rings: The centre is encircled by the famous Ringstrasse, which follows the line of the long-ago-destroyed medieval walls, and neighbourhoods span outward, like an urban galaxy, from there. Many visitors prefer the centrality of hotels in or on the Ringstrasse, but public transport in Vienna is frequent and efficient, and stylish new hotels are drawing more visitors to the popular neighbourhoods surrounding "the Ring."
Vienna is also known for it easy accessibility to nature. The Vienna Woods can be reached by tram, and for those who would like to see another side of Viennese life, there are accommodations available in these sought-after green neighbourhoods.
High-end:

Hotel Imperial
Few hotels can live up to such a name, but the Hotel Imperial feels ready to receive an emperor at any moment. And, if your pocketbook can take it, that emperor or empress could be you.
Built in 1863 as the city residence of the Prince of Württemberg, it was transformed a decade later into a hotel. But it never lost its aristocratic air. Everyone from Bismarck to Bruce Springsteen has stayed here and visiting heads of state and movie stars are often seen walking through the palatial lobby.
Service is the ultimate in discretion and staff will remember you and call you by name.
Rooms either overlook the Ring or a quiet courtyard and range from graciously comfortable "classic" rooms decorated in period style to the "Royal Suite," originally the private rooms of Phillip of Württemberg with silk-upholstered walls, soaring ceilings and original 19th-century paintings. All suites also come with a butler who will bring you a freshly ironed newspaper with your morning coffee in bed.
If you can tear yourself away from your room, there is also a spa, sauna and business centre. The hotel's plush restaurant and bar are popular with guests and non-guests alike and many come to try the famous imperial torte surrounded by the Imperial Café's gilt and brocade.

Mid-range:
Levante Parliament
Guests are greeted with a glass of champagne at this arty new boutique hotel located near the Austrian Parliament.
The designers of the Levante Parliament, just opened in May, have taken their cues from its 1911 modernist building, combining Bauhaus-like minimalism with an earthy concept that revolves around the four elements: fire, earth, air and water.
An inner courtyard garden provides rooms with natural lighting and stone, glass, chrome and dark wood are the main materials used in the decor.
The idea was to link nature and contemporary design with all the latest mod cons (wireless Internet, flat screen TVs, spa, sauna, etc.) and the result is elegantly successful.
Rooms have 3.3-metre ceilings, fluffy duvets, wireless keyboards, glass-walled bathrooms and stone-floored showers. The public areas, including the hotel's trendy restaurant-bar, are treated like art galleries, displaying the glass sculpture of Romanian artist Ioan Nemtoi and Viennese photographer Curt Themessl.

Shoestring:
Pensione Bramhas & Scholz
Grand and stylish hotels are one way to experience Vienna, but another is to see what it's like to live in one of the world's most livable cities. Short-term rental apartments can be found throughout the city and are not only more affordable, but also a fun and unique way to be Viennese for a day, a week or longer.
One of the most charming rentals is Pensione Bramhas & Scholz, a one-bedroom house high in the vineyards of Neustift, a winemaking village long ago absorbed into greater Vienna and a perennial favourite getaway for city-dwellers (Strauss and Schubert came to write in Neustift).
This cozy house is simply but fully furnished (bedding, towels, kitchen supplies, television, phone, washing machine, etc.), with a pretty garden for lounging and admiring the views over Vienna.
A walking path into the famous Wiener Wald (Vienna Woods) and local vineyards is just outside the door and several heurigers are a five-minute walk away. The friendly, English-speaking proprietors are just next-door and the city centre is a 30-minute tram ride away.
Guests benefit from Vienna's sophisticated centre and its easily accessible bucolic outskirts, the dual charms of life in Vienna.
Hotel vitals
IMPERIAL HOTEL
Essentials: Kartner Ring 16; 43 (1) 501 100; starwoodhotels.com.
Rates and rooms: 138 rooms and suites. Room from $483; suites from $1,285.
Top draw: Luxury in Vienna's heart.
Needs work: If gilding and pastels are not your thing, try elsewhere.
LEVANTE PARLIAMENT
Essentials: Auerspergstrasse 9; 1-800-337-4685; designhotels.com/levante.
Rates and rooms: 65 rooms and 5 suites; rates from $285.
Top draw: The arty, earthy minimalism.
Needs work: Glass-walled bathrooms look great but aren't always ideal for two.
BRAMHAS & SCHOLZ
Essentials: Dreimarksteingasse 16; 43 (1) 440-4153; www.apartment.at/index.php3/app/2/Bramhas; for other rental ideas see http://www.apartment.at.
Rates and rooms: One-bedroom house sleeping 2 to 4 adults; $135 night or $800 a week for one or two people -- an additional $16 a night for each extra person.
Top draw: Living in the vineyards.
Needs work: The downside of living high on a hill: the walk up.