Hilton Vienna Plaza - Penthouse Royal Suite & Hotel Review
/We decided to split our time in Vienna between the Hilton Vienna Danube Waterfront and the Hilton Vienna Plaza. We would have stayed in the Plaza (closer to the city centre) for the whole stay but the price for the first night (in the cheapest room) was in the €800 per night range. The Danube ended up costing €153 for the night and the other two nights in the Plaza cost €136.50 per night (which made a lot more sense).
We booked a King Corner Room but the night before check-in we were notified that we’d been upgraded to the Penthouse Royal Suite (thank you Hilton Diamond status). The suite on that night was valued at around €900 so we’d bagged a bargain right there.
Where is The Hilton Vienna Plaza?
The Hilton Vienna Plaza is located on the northern part of the Ringstrasse (the major ring road around Vienna city centre).
Set in an excellent location, the hotel benefits from being surrounded by access points to the Vienna public transportation system. The Börse tram stop is located right outside the hotel’s entrance, as is the Schottentor underground station. Popular attractions nearby include:
Café Central (0.4 miles or 9 min walk)
Rathauspark (0.5 miles or 10 min walk)
Hofburg Palace (0.6 miles or 13 min walk)
St Stephen’s Cathedral (0.7 miles or 14 min walk)
Austrian National Library (15 minutes by tram)
Getting There
From Vienna Airport (VIE)
In our detailed guide to getting from Vienna Airport to the city centre, we mentioned 4 major options. The S7 or Railjet Train, the CAT train, the Bus and Uber.
The Cheap Option - Take the S7 train to Praterstern then change onto the underground to Schottentor.
The Convenient Option - Take the CAT train to Wien Mitte then change on to the underground and head to Schottentor (this option is more expensive but it’s slightly faster and there’s more room for luggage).
Bus - Take the VAL 2 from the airport to Morzinplatz (check with the bus driver that you’re on the correct bus). From Morzinplatz you can walk for 16 minutes to the hotel (1km) or take the number 1 tram to Börse.
Uber - Uber Green, UberX, Comfort, Black and Uber Van aare all available from the airport and it’s a 30 minute journey to the hotel.
If you’re a new Uber customer, use my Uber invite code: andrewy2730ue or sign up using this link to get a discount off of your 1st ride.
Is There Parking At The Hilton Vienna Plaza?
Yes, self-parking is available (there’s no valet) but it costs €35 per night.
Check In
Official check-in time is at 3pm. We arrived at 12 but the receptionist offered to store our luggage for us and she gave us a key to the Executive Lounge if we wanted to wait there until our room was ready. She also gave us a map of the city centre and highlighted some key sights nearby.
The hotel has a roaring twenties/contemporary style which was warm and inviting.
As a Diamond member, you were given a choice between 3 welcome gifts. Two welcome drinks, a kids-option and some mints/postcards.
We took advantage of the time before our room was ready to head to see some of Vienna’s Christmas markets and explore the city centre. When we got back to the hotel around 3pm we went to the desk to collect the room keys.
Penthouse Royal Suite
You’ll only find suites on the top, penthouse floor of the hotel. We were given the corner suite, room 1016.
The sheer scale of the room was overwhelming at first. You could walk in a compete circle from the entrance hallway, to the living room, bedroom, dressing room, bathroom, back to where you started.
The entire suite was clean, contemporary and bright. And that’s before we get on to the wraparound balcony which was accessible from the living room, bedroom and dressing room. Even though it was December, we tried to make the most of the balcony, sitting outside and enjoying hot drinks on a few occasions.
You could imagine this being ideal for breakfast or lounging in summer.
Furniture
Since we only had the room for 2 nights, we tried to maximise our use of the space. Relaxing on the c-shaped sofa in the bedroom, next to the panoramic corner window, was a particular highlight. Aside from that, you had a plethora of seating options throughout the suite.
Similar to our experience at the Hilton Danube, the bed was firm but not uncomfortable. We didn’t need any more pillows but we could have called down to reception if we’d needed them.
One large TV sat facing the bed and another hung on the wall in the living room.
storage
The suite had a fantastic amount of storage. Moving through the room, there were multiple storage units in the living room. That’s not including a drawer in the desk. The bedroom had one large chest of drawers and two bedside tables. A dressing room, between the bedroom and bathroom, had a wardrobe with plenty of space along the back wall and a dressing table.
You could find a safe in the left hand section of the wardrobe.
amenities
There were the standard tea/coffee facilities in the room but if you’re staying in the suite (or an executive room or above), you’ll have access to the Executive Lounge (on the first floor of the hotel). If you’re looking for a higher quality cup of tea or coffee, that’s probably your better bet.
Even though you’re in a suite, don’t assume everything is free. If you’re a gold or diamond member, you can have the bottled water for free (which we found on the bedroom coffee table). But the jarred sweets in the living room will set you back €7 each if you open them.
Like all other Hilton Group hotels, you get an iron, ironing board, luggage rack and hairdryer in the room as standard.
Temperature Controls
The room came to temperature quickly and whilst the fan was quiet most of the time, we did make a complaint on the first night when the fan noise continued despite the heating being turned off.
WiFi and internet Speed
The hotel WiFi was great and we had no issues. Download speeds reached an impressive 97.3 Mbps and upload speeds reached around 98.4 Mbps.
house keeping
We were thoroughly impressed with the house keeping. The room was clean and tidy on arrival and it was kept clean and tidy throughout our stay.
There was also a turndown service. The maid would come and close all of the curtains and make the bed.
Bathroom
One of the many benefits of the room was the large, modern bathroom which had a full length sink and a large wet area encompassing a bath and shower. The toilet, which also functioned as a Japanese-esque bidet, was separated from the rest of the room by a door.
Both the bath and the shower were large and there were no pressure or temperature issues. Both worked perfectly. The towel rail was directly opposite the shower which meant you went directly from a hot shower to a hot towel, which was a nice touch.
amenities
The Hilton-standard Crabtree and Evelyn toiletries were provided.
Hotel Facilities
Is There A Pool/Fitness Room At The Hilton Vienna Plaza?
There is no pool but there is a well-equipped gym and sauna available for guests.
Executive Lounge
If you have booked to stay in an executive room or above, or you’re a Hilton Honors Diamond member, you will have access to the executive lounge on the mezzanine floor of the hotel. The executive lounge is a beautifully appointed space with a good range of food and beverage available.
Opening Times: 6am-10pm Daily
In the evening (6pm-8:30pm weekdays; 6pm-8pm weekends and public holidays) you can enjoy canapés and alcoholic drinks. We found the canapés were actually substantial enough to constitute dinner and if you’d like to partake in a drink or two, you will be more than satisfied. There were name brand liquors, bottles of wine and (slightly unusual for an executive lounge) champagne was available.
The executive lounge is available from check-in and is staffed by attentive and helpful members of the Hilton team.
Breakfast
You have two options for breakfast if you have access to the Executive lounge. You can head to either the lounge or The Emile Restaurant, next to the hotel lobby.
Breakfast Times: 7am-10:30am weekdays (7am - 11am weekends and public holidays)
We were impressed with both. The executive lounge was the quieter option and served everything you would normally need. A range of hot and cold food options (pastries, meats, cheeses, fruit, cooked breakfast buffet).
But the Emile Restaurant was our choice since it had an extensive selection of food items. Basically everything you could get in the lounge but with a wider array of choice (ie. more pastry options, cooked options, meats, etc.), plus an Asian breakfast section.
Check Out
Check out was smooth once we got to the desk but we did have an issue with late checkout. We asked at the desk if they could just add a note to the booking but we were told they couldn’t do this and that we had to call on the morning of departure.
They have similar systems in some Hilton properties (like the Edinburgh Carlton). In others you can extend your checkout a few days before, or even when you arrive. Surely the latter option is better customer service. If an extension had to be decided on the morning of departure, a system to make this possible wouldn’t be difficult to implement.
A member of the Hilton team, aware of your late checkout request, could check availability and then call you if your request has been granted (or let you know if it wasn’t).
Conclusion and Scoring
The Hilton Vienna Plaza was one of the finest Hilton’s we've stayed in. The pre-upgrade to the magnificent top floor corner suite, the executive lounge with its wide array of food and drink options throughout the day, the cleanliness of the room, the central location. We’d highly recommend a stay in this hotel if you’re planning a stay in Vienna.
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Our comprehensive guide and review to the Hilton Vienna Plaza. Staying in the top floor Penthouse Royal Suite, making full use of the executive lounge and more.