Hotel Imperial, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Vienna

Character and identity

Built in 1863 as the Prince of Württemberg's Vienna residence and converted to a hotel a decade later, the Imperial sits directly on the Ringstrasse, a wedding-cake palace of marble, silk walls and Habsburg portraits. The 138 rooms occupy a property where the public spaces have been restored to their 19th-century state: a Renaissance-chapel-sized lobby, a royal staircase guarded by Franz Joseph in oils, 14 chandeliers at the entrance. Opus handles ambitious Austrian cooking from Werner Pichlmaier; the Thirties-era Imperial Café serves one of Vienna's best schnitzels; the Imperial Bar pours The Kiss with 23-carat gold dust. A small army of blue-uniformed bellhops, led by a concierge of 35 years' standing, runs the floor.

Who's it for

Bottom line

What you're paying for here is theatre and continuity: a genuinely transportive 19th-century interior, archival depth (head archivist Michael Moser conducts historic tours), and service from staff measured in decades. Book a junior suite or higher for proper imperial scale, or a fifth-floor maisonette for Karlsplatz views from a private balcony. Time a visit to ball season if you can secure rooms early.