I have heard so many good things about the Hotel Kaiserin Elisabeth that I am looking very forward to my stay. I am currently booked into a Superior Double but am considering upgrading to a Suite. Has anyone ever stayed in one of their suites? According to the hotel, there isn't much of a difference. I got the impression that the only real reasn to book the suite was if you were, say, a family needing the extra room...

I've been to Vienna 3 times and assumed that you're talking about the hotel in Vienna. I've been to the suite at Kaiserin Elisabeth and it's just OK. I know a few Fodorites speak higly of the hotel but I wonder if they have stayed in other great hotels in Vienna. There are so many better hotels in Vienna within the same price range that have better room quality and better trained staff. Have you shopped around?

Dax, I did shop around and was very close to staying at The Sacher. As I'm sure you've guessed from other posts, I usually 5 star it. However, for the one night I'll be in Vienna, I'm sure this will be fine. I have seen the hotel and some rooms, just not the suites. The location can't be beat and I've found the staff to be very helpful.

Sorry if I sounded negative. Sounds like you're sold on the hotel after touring the regular rooms. You can't go wrong for one night. I personally prefer the suites at the Radisson Palais because it feels more authentic. It made a difference as we stayed for several days and drove everywhere but I agree Elisabeth is more convenient for walking.

We stayed at the Kaiserin Elisabeth for five nights on our visit to Vienna in June 2004. We had the family/quad room, which I think they called a Superior Double, also. It was plenty of room for two adults and two teens. It has a sort of room divider between the one half with the large bed, window, clothes wardrobe, desk, and bathroom entrance. The other side is like a sitting room, with a table, window, and two twin beds. The bathroom was good-sized, and newish.

I would highly recommend this hotel. Having no other experience with Vienna, I'm no expert, but we felt this hotel had a lot of authentic Austrian charm, plus a lovely breakfast room with full, hot/cold breakfast included. It's immaculate, too. You can't beat its location, either. We always prefer this type of boutique hotel to the bigger, grander places.
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P.S. I forgot to mention that the two twin beds in our room were brought in at our advance request. Ordinarily, you'd not have them in the Double Superior.

Thanks MaureenB. I must admit I picked this hotel for location, location, location... I'll be in Vienna for about 24 hours in between flights. I wanted to be able to drop my bags and be at the shops...

Flyer, the location is excellent. I hope you like the hotel, too. Great breakfast buffet. Post a report when you return, ok?
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Hi Everyone, I'm back wilth all good things to say about the Hotel Kaiserin Elisabeth. I loved it. The excellent location was given. The room was lovely. I had a very nice superior double -- spacious, well appointed, comfortable, large bath (double sink, separate shower and tub) with the toilet in a separate room. Also, a nice buffet breakfast. All that aside what I like most was the ambience -- refined, yet warm and friendly. I can't wait to go back and spend more time.

Flyer, glad you liked it! We loved it, too. So much nicer than a generic big hotel.
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Trust me. I am very picky but I can't say enough about this hotel. It's fabulous!!!

Flyer, one more comment on the KE. It is so clean! I am not kidding when I say that if we saw even a smudge on the elevator mirror, we would notice it was removed by the time we'd finished breakfast and were headed back up to our room!
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And was it better than your room at the Viktor's Residenz in Leipzig?

I like the KE and have stayed there several times, most recently in March of this year--and will be there again in March 2007. The location is perfect (unless you're driving). I agree that it is spotlessly clean; it's also constantly being re-painted. I don't think I've been there once in the last 7 years where you couldn't find workers with paintbrushes in some corner or another.
I've stayed at many other hotels in Vienna and when budget allows, my first choice is the Grand, but I keep migrating back to the KE. We took my parents there for their 50th wedding anniversary and the hotel staff were wonderful...upgraded them to one of their best rooms, put a complimentary large bouquet of flowers in their room for their anniversary, etc.
My only complaint is that I seldom get a room with a view of St. Stephan's...my rooms usually overlook the glass domed ceiling of the inner courtyard.

BTilke:
That's funny because my impression of KE was that they were still in the process of repainting/renovating parts of the hotel; incidentally, the smell of fresh paint was one of the reasons why I wasn't impressed by the hotel.

Your preference for KE over the Grand makes me think that KE is much better now. I didn't like our room at the Grand either because it was a half oval shaped inner room with NO window (though impeccably decorated)and they had no other room available at the time. Would you say that KE rooms now are comparable to the Grand? We are considering Vienna next year. Have you been to the ultra modern Meridien?

Ha Ha! the KE always smells of fesh paint!

I agree with everyone that posted, its a great hotel and one of my favorites in Europe.

Dax, I prefer the Grand when budget allows, but when I don't want to spend 250€ and up for a room (or can't talk a client into footing the bill), then I stay at the KE. My rooms at the KE usually cost about 110€ per night.
I think it has improved some since I first started staying there in 2000. They have much better toiletries, for example, and I like using the computer in the back salon for free surfing and email. And they are very good at getting me reservations at restaurants that are usually booked.

Yes, I've stayed at the Meridien. I wasn't that impressed. It was nice enough, but I hated the bathrooms, the rooms were just TOO white and bright and the decor had an Ikea feel. If I were to stay in a modern hotel, I'd picked the (Radisson) Style Hotel by Cafe Central over the Meridien in a heartbeat.
Earlier this year, I split my time between the KE and the Crowne Plaza (I was in Vienna for 10 days and spent the leisure part at the KE and the business part at the Crowne Plaza). I liked the CP more than I had expected, although I didn't think it was that much more convenient to Austria Center than the KE (a 10 to 15 minute walk in the snow from the CP v. a 10 minute ubahn ride from the KE) except on Sundays when the ubahn service is less frequent. The CP's rack rates are very inflated but I can find it on hotels.de at 117€ per night and that's not bad. But it's out of the main part of the city and is definitely more of a business hotel.
My least favorite "name" hotel in Vienna is the InterContinental. No way does it qualify as a 5* IMO, esp. when you compare it to the other 5 stars in town--the Sacher, Bristol, Imperial, Grand, etc. Now if I really had cash to blow, I would stay at the uberchic Palais Coburg (rooms start at 550€ and no discounts).

My husband and I will be doing a trip to Vienna next year and since we'll be driving, the KE won't be an option. I saw you had mentioned staying at the Radisson Palais when you were on a driving trip, so we're checking that one out. But I'm hoping our budget will stretch to the Grand.

I have stayed at a couple of the 5-stars in Vienna -- including the Sacher and the Bristol -- and I'd go back to the Kaiserin Elisabeth in a heartbeat.

Dax, Re: Viktor's Residenz in Leipzig -- I'm a big believer in, if you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all. There was no comparison to the KE. It was awful.

We'd better be careful-- the KE could read this thread and up their rates!
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BTilke: If you stay at the Radisson you should avoid the standard rooms which reportedly are very small. However the 3 larger rooms on the M level(Mezzanine?) are very large, nicely furnished with tall big windows,& high ceiling. It's one staircase up from the lobby secluded from the rest of the hotel. I've been checking it myself and I'm guessing it's called the Maisonette suite just because it's twice the size of the standard room so the price is about 150% of the standard room, used to be 300US now 300 euro. It's more Venetian old world/old palace rather than the bright Four Seasons style. I remember you like the Berlin Regent/Four seasons and Vienna Grand better than I do. The Marriott club rooms are actually a bargain for the quality and club service if you don't mind Marriott. Now I would never recommend the Interconti just because of the stark ugly building and the tiny room we had in 1990. We had no complaints with the service but we were younger then.
I've seen the LC palace hotel near the Grand from the outside, the internet website shows glittering palatial rooms which our friends may like, have you been there? I suppose the Coburg is similar, I often can find better rates through some of the non discounted hotels by getting a package through AMEX or other channels.