SO/ Vienna

Difficult to write this review because of the very inconsistent experience. Stayed 5 nights at the SO in Vienna earlier in the week, as a part of a big delegation which stayed here whilst attending a finance conference in the city. Best way to write a review here would to split it into 2: overall the hotel premises and then the room. In general and balancing my overall experience, in my view the hotel is substandard, at best. Average or even below average. The lobby is impressive, has a very nice bar, and the restaurant at the rooftop offers the best views of Vienna. You can have breakfast, a drink or nice dinner overlooking the Vienna skyline. Staff very attentive and friendly. They are really good. Excellent attitude. Can recommend the rooftop restaurant. About the staff, in general they are all really good across the hotel. But that's it with the positives. As can be seen on my profile, I stayed in more than 320 different 5-star hotels around the world, so really know what to expect and can compare. So, now, the HOTEL ROOM. Absolutely horrendous. Room is clean and wi-fi works well. There are a few bottles of water and juices which are complimentary. Espresso machine nice too......but: 1. Entire room is in one single colour. Everything, but literally everything is grey. Looks like concrete and feels like a prison cell. It is really bad. Floor also grey, same colour as the walls and the furniture. You feel you're staying inside a box. Not welcoming at all. The moment you arrive, you really want to get out. I wonder if an architect or designer was paid to do this. Honestly. 2. No curtains. Instead some sort of metal panels you need to move to make the room dark. Because there are no curtains and nothing to absorb noise, acoustic is a complete disaster. When you watch TV or have phone calls you hear a constant echo in the room. Extremely annoying and surprising to see how they can miss such an important aspect of the architecture and design.....acoustic. 3. On my first day, I had to work for around 6 hours before heading to a business dinner. The chair in the room is one of the most uncomfortable ones I ever had to use. Looks ok....of course grey as everything but almost offensive to think that any human being can sit there for more than 15 mins without ending with back pain. 4. Also on my first day, I called reception to ask for an iron and a board. They told me that they didn't have any available and that they were going to put me on a "waiting list".....I've seen everything around the world, but being on the waiting list for an iron was the first time. I pushed hard, told that was urgent and got one after 30 mins. I needed to iron a shirt for a business dinner. Hotel knew that they were going to receive around 60 demanding executives attending a finance conference, so they should have been prepared for this. Funny enough the following morning one of my colleagues told me that he had to steam his shirt in the shower because he was on the waiting list for an iron since the previous day in the afternoon. This shows very poor planning and not a clue about the profile of a delegation they received. 5. For my shocking surprise, my bed had wheels, and unfortunately no way to lock it, so given that the floor (which is grey !!!!!) was nicely waxed, my bed was moving around. I found it extremely annoying and slightly dangerous. 6. House-keeping extremely inconsistent. To make it simple, they never, ever replaced the same things I used....I drink coffee with sweetener, and after 2 days did run out of sweetener, just replaced after 4 days...., used to cotton tubs and were replaced after 3 days......hair conditioner replaced with body lotion so no more conditioner after 2 days when then it was replaced,......zero, literally zero attention to detail. And attention to detail is definitely something that always makes a difference. A basic checklist to make sure that they don't forget about anything should help here. I left the hotel every day around 7AM, returning late in the evening. Was not in the mood to call to ask for sweetener, conditioner, cotton tubs or other stuff. Simply lived with it, but definitely clear that hotel is not prepared for demanding business travellers. In short.....if you plan to go to Vienna, spend all day sightseeing and go to the hotel just to sleep, then it's fine. Location is very good too. But if you plan to spend a bit more time in the hotel besides sleeping, relax in your room, do some work, etc....just avoid it. Really. I stayed in the past at the Kempinski and The Ritz Carlton. Different level. Mandarin Oriental is opening in Vienna too, what adds another good option. It was clear to me that SO/Vienna Hotel did put excessive focus on the design and less on the operations and performance. A lot of room for improvement.

It is pricey what you get in terms of food. However, there rae very few vegetarian options, only chips, olives and gazpacho. The place could offer the burger as vegi/vegan too and get to this century that you may have vegetarians wanting bar food too 😁. It is worth the visit thou, the views are amazing and cocktails were excellent.

Great hotel, exceptional design and restaurant, good location, great views.

The staff were very friendly, the location of the hotel was great, the hotel it self was amazing and the restaurant was great.

SO In the month of September i had the pleasure of staying one night at your hotel. From the first moment i got in, Marie from Reception welcomed me with a genuine smile. Check in was easy and fast, Marie provided me every information i needed, i found my way and my room fast and easy. The room is decorated in a minimalist style, inspires serenity and calmness. You can find pamphlets with information about the spa and their services. The view is incredible and everything is sparkling clean (i almost forgot the view!!! ). The restaurant at the last floor is the cherry on top! Impeccable service from Maximilian! Michelin star worthy! The food is delicious, the atmosphere really cozy and the view worth a million bucks. Breakfast is in the same place, but the scenario changes completely. At the entrance i was warmly welcomed by Anna and Diana, who took care of me right away and even cleaned very fast a window table so i can enjoy the view. The made sure i am not missing anything during the time i was there and even prepared me a cappuccino to go. Check out was a great experience as well because i got to meet the lovely Nenad, Anousha and Sana. They asked me about my stay, help me with my departure, even gave me a bottle of water for the road. The staff i interacted with (and i am sure the others as well) are so well chosen and trained. You can see they do their job with pleasure and kindness. Thank you for offering your guest such a great experience. Looking forward to seeing you all soon.