SD › Vienna Hotels › Grätzel Review
Updated: March 21, 2021
Essentials
• Location: The main office is on the corner of Favoritenstraße and Theresianumgasse.
• Hotel website: graetzlhotel.com
• Hotel phone: +43 1-208-3904
• Check prices on Booking.com – Belvedere, Karmelitermarkt, Meidlinger Markt
Grätzel Hotel features street-level shops turned into beautiful and spacious themed apartments in Belvedere, Karmelitermarkt, and Meidlinger Markt.
Grätzel Hotel – Modern units in the heart of Vienna’s best neighborhoods.
Not really a hotel, but not an Airbnb either, Grätzel (“neighborhood” in German) has taken old, street-level shops and turned them into hip and very practical suites with the aim of giving guests a deep feel of local neighborhoods. The architect masterminds behind the project have partnered with nearby businesses so that you may, for example, be expected for breakfast and greeted with a smile at the café around the corner or have a spa prepare a special treatment for you and be known by name when you arrive. Each stay can be tailored to specifics. With the city itself as the lobby, Grätzel has several units in the Belvedere, Karmelitermarkt, and Meidlinger Markt areas. Each suite has a theme taken from its previous life – be that a tailor, blacksmith, tobacconist, or another service.
See Also
Grätzel Hotel – Location
- Address: Main office – Favoritenstraße 17/3-5, 1040 Wein, Austria.
- Nearest Metro/Subway: Taubstummengasse (0.2 mile) for Belvedere units, Niederhofstraße (0.2 mile) for Meidlinger Markt, and Taborstraße (0.3 mile) from Karmelitermarkt.
- Area: Belvedere is the most popular residential area in the city and is near the Belvedere Palace. Quiet yet trendy Karmelitermarkt is near the huge Augarten and is good for families. Young, international, and colorful Meidlinger Markt is in a fascinating market area.
- How to Get There: All the locations are near easy public transport and the station will depend on the location of your unit. Alternately, taxis are readily available and Uber works well in Vienna.
- Handy to: Depending on location: Belvedere Palace, Augarten, Schönbrunn Palace, Museum District.
Grätzel Hotel – The Basics
- Ages: The hotel is great for just about anyone who wants some autonomy, and families are well catered for.
- View: Whatever neighborhood you choose, you’ll have a dose of daily life right on the streets.
- Parking: Depends on location but some areas have easy street parking.
- Extras: Personalized experiences and a chance to get into local life.
- When to Book: At least 4-6 weeks in advance for weekends and even farther out for the Christmas season, dates in May through the end of June, and September through October. July and August are less busy. During other months, you may be able to find last-minute rooms on weekdays.
- How to Book: Booking.com will have the best rates for each location – Belvedere, Karmelitermarkt, and Meidlinger Markt.
- Phone: +43 1-208-3904
- Email: hello@urbanauts.at
- Website: graetzlhotel.com
Grätzel Hotel – Amenities
- For Disabled Guests: Two suites are specifically wheelchair accessible. All are at ground level and will work in many cases.
- For Families: Kids are very welcome, cots are available on request, you can arrange all sorts of services like babysitting in advance if needed, pets are welcome, and some units have kitchens.
- Activities: The hotel has stylish bikes to use for free.
Grätzel Hotel – Food and Drink
- Restaurant: The hotel itself doesn’t run a restaurant but they partner with places to eat in the neighborhood.
- Breakfast: Not complimentary. The hotel works with local, nearby restaurants to welcome their guests.
- Room Service: No room service although you can pre-order special services like champagne and flowers or fully-loaded picnic baskets.
Grätzel Hotel – Rooms
- Room Types: Street Junior Suite • Street Suite • Garden Suite
- Smoking Rooms: The Grätzel Hotel is 100% smoke-free.
- Best Room: The Meidlinger Markt Garden Suite, in a former rose seller’s shop, is the most relaxed and one of the biggest suites on offer. It’s set in a calm courtyard and has a window seat to watch the world go by. There’s a bathtub too that helps make it a good choice for families too.
- For Families: Any large suite with a kitchen is a good choice. The Garden Suite at Karmelitermarkt is situated in a particularly family-friendly area right near the park that will make everyone feel right at home.
Grätzel Hotel – Local Transport
- Walking: All these neighborhoods are great for walking around and getting a feel for local life. Getting to the center of town varies but is a 10 to 15-minute walk from the Karmelitermarkt and Belvedere neighborhoods. Meidlinger Markt is farther out so you’ll probably want to take public transport.
- Subway and Bus: Bus, tram, and Metro are all easily accessible from all the locations.
- Taxis, Uber, Lyft: Taxis are easy to find (get the hotel to call one for you) and Uber is quick, generally safe, and easy in Vienna.
The Grätzel Hotel – What’s Nearby?
Recommended Nearby Tours
- Vienna Walks & Talks – Offers a number of excellent 90-minute walking tours including music tours, underground Vienna, and Third Man movie tours. Start location: Depends on tour.
- Space & Place – Offbeat themed tours from Brexit (focusing on expats and ending at a pub, of course) to the ugly side of Vienna can be booked with this fun and knowledgeable company. Start location: Depends on tour.
- Ring Tram Tour – Take the famous 25-minute tram loop with video commentary so you can get the most out of the city’s history, architecture, and more. Start location: Schwedenplatz (0.5 mile from Karmelitermarkt).
- Hotrod City Tour – Tours around the city and beyond become more fun when you’re behind the wheel of a low-to-the-ground, open-air, mini hot rod. There are also tours on Vespa scooters and by tuk tuk. Start location: Vien Hotrod Tour store (0.5 mile from Karmelitermarkt).
- Fiaker Carriage Tours – Lines of horse-drawn carriages with local drivers can be found around the Albertina Museum. Hail one yourself or ask the hotel to find one for you. You can choose the amount of time you’d like to spend clip-clopping through town, and the drivers generally offer some commentary and point out highlights. Start location: 1 mile from Belvedere.
Best Nearby Restaurants
- Harvest Café Bistrot – Hippie vibe and imaginative vegetarian and vegan dishes that span the globe. (0.1 mile from Karmelitermarkt.)
- Skopic & Lohn – French-style brasserie serving top-notch European fare in a cutting-edge setting. (0.3 mile from Karmelitermarkt.)
- Café Goldegg – Extremely friendly, old-timey café restaurant with lots of hearty Austrian favorites. (0.3 mile from Belvedere.)
- Strasser-Bräu – Superlative Wiener schnitzel, goulash, and other hearty dishes. Good service and kid-friendly. (0.3 mile from Meildinger Markt.)
Best Nearby Bar
- Adria – An urban beach bar right on the Danube, perfect for summer days. (0.3 mile from Karmelitermarkt.)
Best Nearby Cafes
- Sperlhof – Keeping to an arty, coffee-drinking clientele since 1923, this old-fashioned café has an extremely quirky ambiance. (0.2 mile from Karmelitermarkt.)
- Sperl – Classic Viennese coffee shop with newspapers on hand in several languages and a not-to-miss specialty, the Sperl Torte (almond and chocolate cream cake). (1 mile from Belvedere.)
Nearby Shopping
- Tiempo – Art and travel-oriented bookshop with plenty of English titles and a coffee shop on the premises. (0.2 mile from Karmelitermarkt.)
Nearby Attractions
- Augarten – 52-hectare garden with paths to walk or bike, a playground, and plenty of space for picnics. (0.3 mile from Kermelitermarkt.)
- Belvedere Palace – Vienna’s second grandest palace and gardens hold Klimt’s “The Kiss” among other beautiful pieces of art, architecture, and outdoor areas. (0.6 mile from Belvedere.)
- MuseumsQuartier – Find some of Vienna’s best museums all conveniently near each other, including the Leopold, mumok, and the incredible and complex Kunsthistorisches museums. The place to visit if you have to choose only one. (1 mile from Belvedere.)
- Schönbrunn Palace – Huge and ornate palace, garden, and museum complex that was once home to the great Habsburg royal family – buy tickets in advance or expect to wait, especially in the summer and on weekends. (1 mile from Meidlinger Markt.)
Nearby Markets or Grocery Stores
- Meidlinger Markt – Affordable farmer’s market every Saturday selling veggies and high-quality meats and fish. (50m from Meidlinger Markt.)
- Karmelitermarkt – It gets busy on weekdays at the many places to eat around this pretty square, and there’s a full-fledged farmer’s market on weekends. (0.1 mile from Karmelitermarkt.)
Grätzel Hotel – The Hotel
All units are on street level and the entrances have a secure, industrial look – this one is in the Belvedere neighborhood.
The interiors always run on the theme of what the shop was before it became a suite.
Baby cots are available on request – the hotel is well set up for families.
Rain showers add a little luxe to the bathrooms.
The entrance to a Karmelitermarkt suite.
A spinning wheel in a suite that was once a tailor shop.
Decor is simple but the beds and linens are particularly plush.
Views are right onto the streets of Vienna.
Showers are modern and on the large side.
An old typewriter reminds you that the room used to be a place of work.
Detail of a suite in an old locksmith shop in the Belvedere neighborhood.
Some suites have window seats so you can sit and people-watch right at street level.
All rooms have basic coffee and tea-making facilities.
An industrial look in an old tobacconist’s shop.
All the suites make good use of space, making them very livable.
The Garden Suite at Karmelitermarkt has a loft, making it one of the biggest and prettiest options.
The Meidlinger Markt Garden Suite has a jungle theme that makes it especially lovely.
Every angle of the Garden Suite at Karmelitermarkt is gorgeous and practical, and it’s the best choice for families.
Hip, exposed-brick look in one of the Belvedere units.
Augarten is massive and great for biking, a long walk, or getting lost in (easy to do so), and it’s a short walk from most of the Karmelitermarkt suites.
Belvedere Palace is one of the city’s top sights for so many reasons, including the museum and gardens – it’s an easy walk from most of the Belvedere suites.
If you stay in any of the Belvedere suites, chances are you’ll come to friendly and yummy Café Goldegg many times throughout your stay.
Schönbrunn Palace is considered by many to be Vienna’s top sight and if you stay in Meidlinger Markt, you’ll be an easy walk away.
If you take the tram tour, you’ll be in a more modern version of this tram, or hop on one of these for a cheaper tour without the commentary.
Taking a horse and carriage tour is a classic Vienna experience and you can hail one around Albertina Square, a short walk from many of the suites in Belvedere and Karmelitermarkt.
Harvest may become a favorite if you’re staying in any of the Karmelitermarkt suites.
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