Ritz-Carlton Vienna, Austria 🇦🇹 – a traditional hotel with a very mixed Lounge experience

The Ritz-Carlton Vienna has a lot to offer, but also a lot that it doesn’t. We remember the perfect check-in experience and a wonderfully cozy bed in one of the beautiful buildings on the Ringstrasse in the Austrian capital. What didn’t work out so well with the Lounge experience and which of the additional experiences we did choose? Find out when reading the review. Enjoy.

Review #113

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The Ritz-Carlton Vienna currently offers you the following advantages:

• Daily complimentary breakfast for two guests per room

• Hotel credit to the value of 100 USD (once per stay)

• Free basic WLAN every day

• Early check-in and late check-out (if available)

• Free upgrade (if available at check-in)

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Location

The Ritz-Carlton Vienna is in a prime city center location directly on the Ringstrasse, between Stadtpark and St. Stephen’s Cathedral. The surroundings are classically Viennese: magnificent buildings, wide boulevards and many cultural highlights in the immediate vicinity. The Stadtpark is practically opposite and is perfect for a walk or a short break in its lush green.

Numerous sights such as the State Opera, St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the Hofburg are within easy walking distance. Restaurants, cafés and shopping facilities are also in the immediate vicinity. The location is ideal for anyone visiting Vienna for the first time or who would like to discover the city on foot without having to sacrifice peace and comfort.

Arrival

The Ritz-Carlton Vienna is located directly on the Ringstrasse and is easily accessible from both the airport and the main train stations. From Vienna International Airport (VIE ) it takes around 20-30 minutes by cab, depending on traffic. Alternatively, the City Airport Train (CAT) or the S-Bahn will take you to Wien Mitte in around 15-25 minutes. From there, you can either walk to the hotel in around ten minutes or take a short cab or streetcar ride.

If you are traveling by train, Vienna Central Station is a good option. From there, the journey takes around 10-15 minutes by cab, slightly longer by public transport, but also uncomplicated. Thanks to its central location on the Ringstrasse, the journey is generally easy to plan.

We arrived at the Ritz-Carlton Vienna by cab from our previous hotel, the Imperial Riding School.

Check-in

Our cab driver got a little lost and therefore didn’t drop us off directly at the main entrance, but left us on the street corner. We then walked the few meters to the main entrance, where the bellboy was busy carrying lots of bags from other guests’ cars into the hotel and therefore didn’t have time for us.

As soon as we got into the Lobby, we were met by two members of staff who immediately took our suitcases, stowed them away and accompanied us the short distance to reception. Once there, we were greeted very friendly and professional, immediately asked if we would like a glass of Prosecco after receiving our ID cards and, after a quick check of the booking, were escorted straight to the Club Lounge.

We had already booked Lounge access by email in advance and had already made sure that we could check in at the Lounge. Once there, we were greeted again super friendly and checked in by the professional Laura. She really took the very best care of us, explained everything and, after we had taken a sip of the immediately served Champagne, accompanied us to our Suite.

Ritz-Carlton Vienna at a glance

The Ritz-Carlton Vienna is spread over four historic palaces from the 19th century, which have been linked together. This special structure gives the hotel its individual character and still ensures that it never appears confusing despite its size.

The four originally independent palaces were used for various purposes. Among other things, they were used as high-end apartments, an aristocratic casino and later as bank headquarters, before being merged and extensively renovated under the management of the Shangri-La Group. However, the hotel group withdrew just a few days before the opening in 2011 and the hotel was then taken over by Ritz-Carlton and finally opened in 2012.

The hotel has around 200 rooms, including 43 Suites, spread over the upper floors. The Lobby, restaurant and bar are located on the first floor and have an open design, serving as a central meeting point. The spa and pool area is somewhat secluded inside the hotel and offers a beautiful retreat in the middle of the city. The ballroom is located on the second floor, right above the Lobby.

As the hotel has not really been renovated since it opened in 2012, a major facelift is due for the Ritz-Carlton Vienna in the very near future. So it remains exciting.

Suite

Here at the Ritz-Carlton, as most times, we booked the smallest room category – in this case a deluxe room. However, we submitted a Suite Night Upgrade and received confirmation in advance that we had been upgraded to a Duplex Suite.

So let’s take a closer look at Suite No. 230 together.

Welcome

A small welcome sweet with a handwritten welcome letter was waiting for us as we moved into the Duplex Suite.

Entrance

Behind the room door, you will find yourself in an entrance hallway with a built-in wardrobe on the left. Here you will find one of the two bathrobes, the slippers, the safe, the ironing board and iron, as well as everything you need for shoe care and for having your clothes dry cleaned if desired.

A few steps further on is the minibar. Here you will find the kettle placed on the worktop, as well as the capsule coffee machine with water, crockery and cutlery. The matching capsules and tea bags can be found in the drawer below. There are also some alcoholic drinks and snacks on the glass shelf. In addition to soft drinks and water, you will of course also find wine and Champagne as well as other snacks in the fridge.

Living room

Two steps further and you are already inside the living area. The incredibly high room has a corner sofa with coffee table and a fully equipped desk.

Bedroom

You reach the sleeping area via a staircase. Once upstairs, an incredibly comfortable king-size bed is waiting for you. There are a total of 4 identical pillows and an incredibly cozy comforter. There is a lamp on each of the two bedside tables and an individual reading lamp on each side of the headboard. On the right is also the telephone with notepad and pen, as well as the remote control. Opposite the foot end, the TV is mounted on the wall above an armchair.

Bathroom

Immediately to the left in the entrance hallway and right below the sleeping area, you will find the elegant, fully marble-clad bathroom. Opposite the entrance is the washstand with a washbasin. Here you will also find all kinds of amenities as well as soap and body lotion from Dityque.

On the right is the bathtub, which offers shampoo, conditioner and body wash as well as bath salts. To the left of the entrance is the walk-in rain shower, which also has a hand shower and, of course, care products. The toilet is installed directly next to it. Underfloor heating rounds off this perfect bathroom experience.

Turndown

Unfortunately, the turndown service here at the Ritz-Carlton Vienna was a little disappointing. The curtains were drawn, the bed was opened and glasses were placed on both bedside tables in addition to the bottles of water. Unfortunately, neither bedside rugs nor slippers were provided. The bedtime treat consisted of a total of four mini bars of chocolate and a printed card with a message on it in the shape of a business card. Too bad – we had expected something different.

View

There is a balcony in front of the window of this particular Junior Suite, but unfortunately it is not accessible from our Suite. As we understand, it belongs to the neighboring Suite, which of course makes the whole thing a little strange. Imagine the guests next door standing on their balcony and looking into your Suite. Somehow very strange, don’t you think? And in summer, it’s kind of like having a treat held in front of your nose that you just can’t have. It would be nice if you could go out onto the balcony as it is in front of the window.

However, the view out onto the ring is fantastic.

Club Lounge

At all Ritz-Carlton hotels worldwide, Lounge access is only included if you book a Suite or a Club room. Otherwise you have to book the access for an additional fee – even if you have the highest Bonvoy status or have been upgraded to one of these rooms / Suites. So even though we were upgraded to a Suite, we still had to buy the Lounge access – for 160 euros per room and night.

So let’s take a closer look at the Club Lounge at the Ritz-Carlton Vienna. The individual sections are divided as they are listed on the welcome letter for Lounge guests:

Throughout the day, you can enjoy water, soft drinks, tea and coffee as well as small sweet snacks in the Lounge. You can also sample two types of Perrier-Jouet champagne (Rosé & Brut), as well as two red and two white wines.

There is also a really great open Bar where you can help yourself freely. In addition to all kinds of high-proof alcoholic beverages, the Club Lounge at the Ritz-Carlton Vienna even offers 4 pre-mixed Cocktails that you simply have to pour yourself, as well as instructions for other Cocktails that you can simply prepare yourself – all the ingredients and equipment are available.

Lunch

From 12:00, the Lounge serves a small lunch. Unfortunately, I have to say that the emphasis here is really on very small. The hot dishes on offer were a clear broth and dumplings with creamed savoy cabbage. Admittedly, it was all very tasty, but still really small for lunch.

Dessert

From 12:00, several dessert variations are offered for the rest of the day, which are really very high quality and delicious, but do not change over the course of the day, but are only refilled.

Afternoon Tea

For afternoon tea, apparently only the cheeses from lunch are exchanged, otherwise the range of desserts remains the same. We found this extremely strange, as there is a special Afternoon Tea option that doesn’t actually offer anything else. Weird, isn’t it!

Aperitivo

At the Club Lounge of the Ritz-Carlton Vienna, the Cocktail hour is called Aperitivo. There are 4 different cold starters and three hot dishes on offer. However, I have to say that the roast pork was really quite greasy and the choice of rice or hash browns as a side dish is really very blunt.

Also I couldn’t understand where the Aperitivo would be during the two hours between 6 and 8 pm, which I can’t have all day anyway. No special Cocktails or anything like that was on offer.

All in all, I have to say that we didn’t really understand the food options on offer in this Lounge. In our opinion, the experience in such an exclusive (and expensive) Club Lounge should actually surpass the regular stay in a hotel, right? Unfortunately, we didn’t really have that feeling here.

Special features

All guests who have access to the Lounge can also choose from selected activities. You can therefore choose whether you would like to take part in one of the following activities:

• Run with the Chef – accompany the hotel Chef on his morning run by the hotel.
• Mixology in our Bar – we have chosen this event. You can find out more under the section Bar.
• Sicilian aperitivo experience – taste an authentic Sicilian aperitivo as well as Negroni.
• Hotel tour – we were also allowed to choose this event – due to the short time available, the Head Concierge agreed to show us the hotel without further ado & did a really great job! Among other things, we were able to see the Presidential & Signature Suite!
• Sweet local delicacies – indulge in a variety of local desserts from the hotel bakery.
• Winemaker of the month – tasting exquisite wines with a regional winemaker.

In addition, all Lounge guests will also have the opportunity to sample an original Viennese specialty at 15:30 under the headline Vienna Defining Moment. Delicious, authentic, freshly baked Buchteln with fantastic vanilla sauce will be served. You can see them above under the section Afternoon Tea.

Resort activities

Pool

The relatively large pool in the basement of the building offers you the opportunity to swim a few lengths or relax in the Jacuzzi corner. For me, however, the pool was far too cold for anything other than sports swimming. The 10 or so loungers are rather comfortable, but the number is a little small considering the hotel’s 200 rooms and Suites.

Children are very welcome in the entire spa – but mainly in the pool area – from 11:00 to 16:00 “in the context of respectful cooperation”. We think that’s a great idea. No family with children should be excluded, but we’re not in a fun pool here either. Unfortunately, the time exclusion didn’t really work out as during our stay at around 17:00, there was a child in the pool.

Fitness Center

The fitness room is located right next to the pool and has everything you need for a good workout. The equipment is new and well-maintained, but there is not a lot of it. The focus here is clearly on the cardio machines. Of course, water is also available for you.

Spa

The Ritz-Carlton Spa is also attached to the pool and offers a sauna, a steam bath and two heated stone loungers. Here too, the area is relatively cramped and, in my opinion, really far too small for such a large hotel with 200 rooms and a premium claim.

Restaurants

Dstrikt Restaurant

The Steakhouse at the Ritz-Carlton is always well frequented and a firm favorite with the Viennese. In addition to excellent Steaks, you can also enjoy exclusive seafood here.

Pastamara – Bar con Cucina

The hotel’s Italian restaurant is located in the basement next to the Lobby.

Atmosphere Rooftop Bar

The rooftop bar was unfortunately closed due to the cold weather during our stay.

D-Bar

We chose a mixology course as our activity and were given a super friendly and exciting introduction to some of the secrets of Cocktails, while we were also invited to taste some of them. A really great opportunity to try some really tasty and above all special Cocktails and also learn something about the art and working methods of Bartenders. We can only recommend this experience – also because of the opportunity to talk to the friendly staff behind the Bar in such detail!

During the mixology course, we were given a lot of explanations and were first welcomed with a Champagne drink and then able to watch our Cocktails being prepared live, while we were able to ask all kinds of questions about the subject matter and received really friendly and detailed answers. In between, there was always a drop of this or a small sip of that to try. Finally, we were also served a clear liqueur in preparation for dinner. All in all, it was a really great and fun experience.

Breakfast

Breakfast was not included in our booking at the Ritz-Carlton Vienna, but we were able to have breakfast at the Lounge thanks to the additional access we purchased. In this review, we will therefore only look at breakfast at the Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge.

Unfortunately, we were largely disappointed with the food on offer. The Buffet was really extremely limited and the selection of dishes from the menu was quite small. We had a pancake, an egg benedict and freshly scrambled eggs – which all tasted really good.

Afterwards, downstairs in the actual breakfast restaurant, we took another look at the menu, which was a little more extensive. Why the same offer does not apply in the Club Lounge as for the normal breakfast is not entirely clear to us. During our stay at the Ritz-Carlton Berlin, by the way, there was no problem at all to use the normal breakfast as a Lounge guest. This however was not possible here in Vienna, even on request. A pity really. With such a high additional fee, the experience in the Lounge should actually be better than the regular visit, shouldn’t it?

Check-out

We could also check out again at the Lounge and after we had used our late check-out until 1 p.m., everything was well prepared, the formalities were completed quickly and we also had another conversation with the nice employee about our unfulfilled expectations in connection with the Lounge experience. She was able to understand this to some extent and promised to inform the management about it. We were then accompanied to the Lobby by her and given a very warm farewell.

Costs

For this one night at the Ritz-Carlton Vienna, we paid 310.25 euros for the smallest room category, but submitted a Suite Night Upgrade, which was confirmed so we were upgraded to a Duplex Suite. Lounge access was booked for an extra 160 euros enabling us to also have breakfast at the Lounge, which would otherwise not have been included in the rate. In total, we paid 470.25 euros for this stay which was in our opinion, really too high for what was on offer.

Departure and onward journey

After this stopover, we took a cab back to Vienna International Airport (VIE), taking us just under 20 minutes, from where we flew back to our home airport in Frankfurt.

Conclusion

Well. The Ritz-Carlton Vienna also leaves us with rather mixed feelings and a stale taste of missed opportunities. The hotel is a Classic and the service is really exceptional. Rarely have we had such a smooth, professional and friendly check-in experience. The Duplex Suite, as well as the entire hotel, is in desperate need of a facelift – but this is already well in the planning stage. And the wellness area is really not big enough for my taste.

Which brings us to the Lounge experience. We had really high expectations from our experience in Berlin and were really looking forward to staying at the Club Lounge. And yes, the Lounge is cozy and exclusive, but what is on offer is a bit weird. I, for one, didn’t quite understand it – I felt there was a lack of differentiation between the individual daytime topics and the food on offer really didn´t work for us.

Accordingly, we can actually recommend the Ritz-Carlton Vienna to all travelers, but caution should be exercised when booking & expecting a lot from the Lounge.

On our EVRYWHRE internal scale, we place the Ritz-Carlton Vienna in the Luxury segment. In some areas, the hotel is certainly in the top-notch range – especially in terms of service, but the general, somewhat outdated condition of the hotel and the Lounge experience unfortunately only allow this lower rating.

Rating

We award this stay at the Ritz-Carlton Vienna a somewhat weak 8 out of 10 possible points. Perhaps we arrived here with expectations too high and the experience of our visit to Berlin still in our heads, but unfortunately we can’t grant any more points.

One point each is deducted for the rather poor food situation in the Lounge and the general appearance, which is really in urgent need of a renovation.

Go there?

Absolutely. You can, but with the right expectations. We will certainly come back after the renovation and take another look at the newly designed house. We’re already looking forward to it.

Booking with EVRYWHRE

You also want to spend your vacation at the Ritz-Carlton Vienna? Then book via our Preferred Partner Rate! It won’t cost you any more, but will bring you real benefits:

✔ Free breakfast
✔ Upgrade subject to availability
✔ 100 USD hotel credit
✔ Early check-in & late check-out
✔ Collect points – on a regular basis

You can find all the details on our Booking Hub.

YouTube Review

Fancy more? Would you also like to see moving pictures from the Ritz-Carlton Vienna? Then I can warmly recommend our YouTube review. Fabi shows you in more detail what the hotel looks like. Have fun watching.