Vienna, Austria
Park Hyatt Vienna
Beauty Queen
What it is
A revamped, architecturally rich 143-room glamazon with (wait for it) a pool.
What it isn't
Standard issue. “When in Vienna,” rooms with parquet floors and mother of pearl detailing are a must.
What we think
Even by Viennese standards, Park Hyatt Vienna is sumptuous. Where else can you find a spa with a 15-meter indoor swimming pool, sanarium and vitality shower? Not to mention rain showers and marble lined baths in the privacy of your own room? Even locals flock here to sip expertly curated rare whiskeys—and puff on cigars from the walk-in humidor—in the Living Room restaurant, or grab dinner in the Bank Brasserie, a nod to the property’s former life as a bank. Try the bison loin with maple mustard marinade, cooked on a lava stone grill, when you don’t feel like yet another wiener schnitzel with mountain cranberries (which they also serve—it is uproariously delicious).
You're here because
If you can’t swim, you don’t consider yourself on vacation. Thankfully, the hotel’s on-site Arany Spa is home to an ultra-glam 15-meter indoor pool where an LED-lit art installation conjures the moon on turquoise water.
The Moment
Tucked into a corner overlooking the Bognergasse in Café Am Hof, you forgive yourself for feeling yourself transported to a circa 1800s iteration of Starbucks. Was that Freud himself dashing back a cuppa and a truffle ham and cheese toast? Vielleicht (perhaps).
Location
In the Goldenes Quartier, a.k.a. Vienna’s Shopaholics mecca. If you’re trying to avoid credit card damage, landmark St. Stephan’s Cathedral is two miles away; Hofburg Palace only three.