Topazz

This 33-room boutique hotel in the heart of Vienna's Innere Stadt is as architecturally inventive as it is convenient. It is located just baby steps from St. Stephen's Cathedral in one direction and the Danube Canal in the other. BMW Architects & Partners, designers of the hotel (which opened in 2012), had only a small space to make a big splash. The exterior, with its protruding, elliptical windows, is decidedly futuristic, while the interior gives more than a wink to Vienna's Wiener Werkstätte era of one hundred years ago. Oh. And it serves wine from its own vineyard.

YOU SHOULD KNOW Not all rooms have the sitting windows; make sure you ask for a room with one (and some corner rooms have two).

room

The protruding windows are decorative on the outside and functional on the inside. Guests can sit comfortably in them to enjoy a favorite book or glass of wine (why not both?). And each window comes with a great view of the Innere Stadt. The decor is comfy and plush, with old-school European padded doors.

Rooms on the higher floors offer more privacy from neighboring buildings.

bathroom

Exquisite marble fixtures are a feature in all the rooms, as are luxurious rain showers. Some rooms have free-standing tubs. Bath products are by Molton Brown.

lobby

The entrance has a large picture window shaped like a wave that looks out onto the street. The decor is a preview of what you’ll find in the rest of the hotel: bespoke furniture fitting the “Vienna Workshop” era of objects as art. A staircase down leads to the salon.

dining

There is no restaurant, but there is limited room service and the free minibar serves as additional consolation.

drinking

The free minibar is stocked with wine from the hotel's vineyard

lounge

Slip down here for a renewing refreshment gratis before heading back out for more sights and adventures.

YOU SHOULD KNOW This is a relatively small space intended as a quiet interlude. It is unattended by staff; think of a spa waiting room.