Hotel Das Triest Vienna, Austria
from Travel Intelligence
Terence Conran plus a large flower budget in a stylish ultramodern luxury
hotel.
With a meticulous eye for detail, Sir Terence Conran has created an overall feeling of
sophistication and style. Simplicity and clean lines feature throughout the
comfortable lounge, restaurant and rooms, all boasting great facilities and an
obliging staff.
Address:
Wiedner
Hauptstrasse 12,
A-1040 Vienna,
Austria
Telephone:
+43 1 589 180
Fax:
+43 1 589 1818
Rooms:
72 rooms
The Hotel Writes
"With the opening of Das Triest in 1995, Vienna finally had its own 'hip hotel'
centerpiece – a sharp contrast to the city’s charming, late 19th-century Art
Nouveau architecture. Renovation has converted a former coach station on the
route from Vienna to Trieste into a unique luxury hotel.
Review
Jamie Dunford Wood:
Entering from the street you might be forgiven for thinking you’d strayed into
the foyer of the neighbouring technology college. Blank coloured functional
walls and bright clean lines set the tone along, with staff in black – but
evidently free to choose their own footwear. Only the expensive flower
arrangements (they spend 50,000 euros a year on them according to the manager,
second only, one would presume, to the George V in Paris), the swanky toiletries
on sale , and the giveaway bowl of apples on the reception desk suggest
otherwise.
Conran is a great restaurateur, but is he a hotelier? Das Triest is certainly
clean, bright and stylish, but lacks warmth, and has the feeling of an upmarket
chain hotel. No – perhaps that’s unfair, because it’s evidently a ‘happening’
place, with plenty of buzz and rock star kudos, and the wonderful garden
courtyard, barbeque area and restaurant are, as one would expect, a triumph –
great public spaces. But the private spaces are cold, the suites having more the
feel of design studio offices than living space. Black and white photos of the
staff adorn the walls – service-wise there is a great team/family spirit about
the Triest. And as with many designer hotels, the designer has not been able to
resist scattering signatures about the place – in this case a single fresh
flower in every bathroom, and a ship theme running through the hotel (Trieste –
sea port – geddit?) – portholes in doors, flags, railings etc.
Details are well chosen – Italian desk lamps and CP Hart taps, the branded tops
of which (Hot and cold) can be unscrewed and disappear in their 100s every year.
So the next time you see someone sporting them as cufflinks ask them what they
thought of the Triest.
Most rooms are light and generous with space, the best being on the top floor
(6th), with their own large sit-out balconies and views, or those with access to
the first floor roof garden – 113 for example, with its seven windows.
Ten minutes walk from the centre, this is ideal for pop stars who don’t want to be
mobbed stepping in and out of limos, or creative types and businessmen who fancy
themselves as creative types. For those looking for Viennese romanticism, go
elsewhere.
Conran is a great restaurateur, but is he a hotelier? Das Triest is certainly
clean, bright and stylish, but lacks warmth, and has the feeling of an upmarket
chain hotel. No – perhaps that’s unfair, because it’s evidently a ‘happening’
place, with plenty of buzz and rock star kudos, and the wonderful garden
courtyard, barbeque area and restaurant are, as one would expect, a triumph –
great public spaces. But the private spaces are cold, the suites having more the
feel of design studio offices than living space. Black and white photos of the
staff adorn the walls – service-wise there is a great team/family spirit about
the Triest. And as with many designer hotels, the designer has not been able to
resist scattering signatures about the place – in this case a single fresh
flower in every bathroom, and a ship theme running through the hotel (Trieste –
sea port – geddit?) – portholes in doors, flags, railings etc.