The Grand Ferdinand in Vienna revives the heyday of the Austrian capital city. The completely re-designed hotel by Weitzer Hotels returns the building on the Ringstraße back to its former glory combines the beauty and elegance of times past with the finest contemporary amenities.
Every one of the 188 rooms is a custom composition of timeless elegance, contemporary comfort and soulful extras. Light switches are made from ceramic, as was once common, and glass-block shower enclosures recall the building‘s 1950s origins. The colour scheme in all of the rooms is an elegant interplay between nostalgic curved headboards and mirror frames in white, dark wood floors and charcoal grey walls.
Suite bathroom
The round, leather-rimmed mirrors above the bathroom sinks are a design classic by Gubi in the style of Jacques Adnet. Details like collapsible interior shutters made of white wood complete the finishes. Standard rooms are furnished with a comfortable king-size bed and a rainfall shower. Slightly larger, rooms in the Standard+ category feature a green leather chaise longue and champagne bar.
The suites on the top floor, the seventh, have a free-standing cast-iron art nouveau tub or private terrace. The suite is complete with a walk-in closet, an extra dressing table, Terrazzo floors combined with wooden floor boards, and two toilets. The Grande Suite costs EUR 3,000 per night, but Florian Weitzer, the owner of the hotel, wanted to make the Grand Ferdinand experience accessible to those with a smaller budget, too. Bunk beds are available in an elegant six or eight-bed room for a reasonable EUR 30 a night – and they can be booked through Airbnb.
The Grand Ferdinand has three restaurants.
Grand Etage
The Grand Ferdinand Restaurant offers imperial Austria‘s renowned cuisine, which incorporated a number of culinary influences from Northern Italy to Bohemia and Hungary in addition to its own regional traditions. The restaurant‘s culinary offer is reflected in the architecture: magnificent chandeliers, up-scale wooden furnishings, leather benches, gold-rimmed porcelain and silverware from Wiener Silber Manufactur.
The Grand Ferdinand is also home to Gulasch & Champagne, a place where the general public and guests alike can begin and wind down an evening. Or where they can simply stop by for a snack. Open from 11:00 am to 12:30 am, the bistro serves goulash, sausages and Leberkäse sandwiches along with the finest champagne or an inexpensive glass of Velkopopovický beer – in a cultivated yet cosy atmosphere with a large bar and Terrazzo floors.
In the same vein as the private salons that were once held in Vienna at the end of the 19th century, the Grand Ferdinand‘s third culinary hot-spot is an exclusive one, reserved for hotels guests and their visitors. The Grand Étage is home to a terrace bar perched high above Vienna‘s rooftops, which stays open from morning till late. The Grand Étage experience is rounded out by the rooftop pool and, in the colder seasons, an open fireplace.