Grand Hotel Wien - Vienna, Austria     

When we booked, we accepted to pay a higher price for an upgraded room expecting something above average. Once we got to the hotel, we were surprised by the lack of personalised service, the repeated problems and the rather average level of amenities. Our room was not exceptional - we felt it was not worth the price we were paying. It was also cold and we were told there was nothing to be done as the system slowed down after a while.The movie we rented to watch had no sound and again there was nothing to be done as this was controlled by some central system in...Scotland! After we left, we realised that we left some personal items behind- as the cleaning ladies had neatly arranged them in a drawer. We called , they were found by the hotel but never sent to us. We booked the hotel through its website which recommended highly the state of the art electronic equipment which allows you to control everything in the room by using the buttons on your phone. Needless to say, this was not working. The website also recommended the hotel's gym. This was basically a little room with no window and a very gloomy atmosphere. If you are motivated enough the equipment is good (even though limited toa few machines) but there is nobody there to show you how it works or in case you need something. If you do decide to stay know that even though quiet, the back side of the hotel has no view which is rather depressing. On the positive side, the breakfast was rather good even though the breakfast area had the feeling of a diner. The location of the hotel is excellent. Overall, the external beauty of the hotel which extends to the rather clean and welcoming lobby is not represented by the standard of the rooms and amenities. We will definitely not be returning.

November in Vienna was bitterly windy with driving sleet and snow but the charming bellhops that greet you when you arrive, park your car, open the doors, offer you umbrellas and keep smiling whatever the weather, make you very optimistic about the Grand Hotel Wein as you head for check-in. There, however, charm and service seem to end. The chap that checked us into our suite asked as he handed us the key ‘do you need anyone to show you to your room’. Well, of course, being adults we didn’t actually need anyone to do this (although he had omitted to tell us where it was), but in 5 star hotels it is normal for guests to accompanied to their room when they first check-in. Anyway, I am not sure that he actually gave us the key to the right room, because when we got into it, we found a half bottle of complimentary wine, and three pieces of hard fruit with one plate and knife, which we did think we a bit stingy for the price we were paying. Unfortunately, it was only after we drank the half bottle that we found a card addressed to another (single) guest who was presumably supposed to occupy that suite. The suite was fine – really a long thin room with sofa and chairs at the end, but quite large, with separate walk-in closet with a safe (oh how we wish we had used it) and a huge bathroom and separate shower. The whole hotel stank of smoke – the lobby and lounge area downstairs, the bar, the corridors and, although they do have non smoking in the restaurant, they put people who smoke on tables in the corridor outside the restaurant so you smell it as you go in and out (and they don’t have a very nice place to sit either). There doesn’t seem to be any ventilation that removes the smoke. It was very cold in our room, so we fiddled with the temperate gauge and thought it would warm up. When we realised the heating wasn’t working, they sent up an engineer, who spent over an hour fixing it (no apology or reduction in bill when we checked out). We stayed two nights. Stupidly we didn’t put our valuables in the safe, so on the second night, we had 300 euros taken from our wallet in the room (at least they left our passports). Knowing it was partly our fault for not using the safe, but wanting to alert the management in case this was part of a pattern, we called down to the manager. We assured him that we didn’t want to make a fuss especially as we were about to leave. However, we would have thought that he might have come out and said goodbye and made some sort of comment or apology in person for our loss as we were checking out – but nothing was said, so we left and will not return. When we next go back to Vienna, we will stay at the Sacher, where we had a drink in the delightful Blue Bar. Meals at Steireck and The Black Camel were spectacular.