Hi All,
Taking a trip to Vienna and Zurich with a friend for the Christmas markets. I'm struggling to find a nice hotel with a fully private bathroom in Vienna. Many hotels have showers in the room, or they're open to the room. This is rather awkward when traveling with friends, etc. Most hotels won't guarantee a room with an unexposed shower. Has anyone traveled to Vienna and had a fully private bath? I stayed at the SO hotel years ago with my husband, back when it was a Sofitel, and the showers were pretty much open to the room across from the bed. I find this odd, but that's just me.

We're 2 adults in our 60's and looking for a 4-5 star property at the end of November, early December.

Thanks for any suggestions you might have.

I know what you mean about the exposed shower / toilet - unless you are already intimate friends, it's quite confronting. My suggestion is to pick a hotel that's not a big chain hotel - those family-run hotels don't usually have bathrooms like that. Or else an apartment, which will have an older-style layout. You probably weren't looking for either of those. Small owners won't have the budget to renovate their bathrooms in the exposed style.

I stayed in an apartment some years ago now, which was near the Danube, a metro station and the Ring Tram. It was a walk away from the centre of Vienna, and it was in a building called Palais Brambilla. The owner owns the whole building with his family but is an architect. I have not seen those properties for some years but I highly doubt they would have had any gimmicky renovations. I believe they are now registered with Air BnB but at the time they weren't. There is a Billa just around the corner (supermarket chain), and a BIPA just up the street (drugstore, not pharmacy). Do google it, it could be a solution for you.

Lavandula

I am not sure about cost but a few years ago I stayed at Boutique hotel at Stephansplatz and don’t recall my room having an open bathroom. I know what you mean so I look for ones not like that as I travel with family and friends. We aren’t that close but the hotel did have a minimum number of nights. I was right across St Stephan’s but had black out curtains and the noise wasn’t bad as I’m a light sleeper. I was there for St Nicholas Day for 5 nights. The metro was right outside the entrance​​​​​.

Are you looking for the bathtub/shower to be in a separate room from the toilet? Or a separate room from the bedroom? If the later, then I can recommend the Harmonie Hotel. We stayed there last year in a suite and the combined shower/toilet room was across a separate sitting room from the bedroom.

The hotel was lovely and my husband considers the breakfast buffet to be the best he’s ever seen. It’s a bit out of the center, about a 20-25 minute walk to St. Stephen’s Cathedral but in a neighborhood with shops and restaurants. I think we found it through the Rick Steves website.

Thanks so much for the recommendations. I neglected to mention that city center is fairly important. Is the Harmonie on a tram line for easy access into the center or, can you only get to the center by walking? My friend has some mobility issues with her knees so I'm trying to book a central hotel. We don't care about a view so much.

It sounds great to be across from Stephansplatz, but I'm also a light sleeper and I read online that it can be noisy in this area. I guess it depends on the room you're assigned and which street it faces. I'm guessing the hotel you stayed at is the boutique hotel Stephansplatz.

Just to be clear, we don't want a hotel room that has a shower which is open to the bedroom. We want the shower to be in the bathroom, closed off from the rest of the bedroom.

Yes I stayed at the Boutique Hotel Am Stephansplatz. I can’t be in a room with someone who snores or has breathing problems and didn’t find my room directly across the Cathedral to be as noisy. The breakfast room is at the rooftop and I got a windows seat each time. A Christmas market is set up there wasn’t when I was there. My friend stayed at a Marriott near the Opera and her room was huge but I liked my hotel location better.

I was just in Vienna in August and stayed at the Boutique Hotel am Stephansplatz. I booked 2 Cathedral rooms for myself and my son and his wife, both faced the Cathedral and there was no noise problem, I think they say on their site that the windows are triple glazed.
Both rooms definitely had a closed in proper bathroom. I also can't stand those open concept bathrooms. We really liked the hotel, breakfast was good, staff were lovely, comfortable beds etc, very clean, I'd stay again.
It definitely is busy outside with tourists but it is also very central-we walked to many of the things we wanted to see.

Many thanks so you all. I just booked the Boutique Hotel Stephansplatz. Appreciate the recommendation!
I hope this helps others. I am a bit surprised that someone hadn't asked this question previously

Enjoy Vienna. Wanted to mention that the hotel supplies facecloths if that matters to you. Lots of hotels in European countries do not so I always pack some but this hotel has them.
I went back to my photos to double check the bathroom situation and yes indeed, a nice private bathroom with shower over bathtub. We had rooms 204 and 205 with full view of cathedral which was lovely and not noisy.