Hotel Imperial Vienna Review: A Palace Stay for Christmas Market Season
We had two nights at Hotel Imperial in early December 2025, in the middle of Christmas market season, and it has become our high bar for service. It is also one of the nicest hotels we have ever stayed in.
This review covers our Classic king room, the service, breakfast at Café Imperial, how easy it is to walk to the markets, and who we would and would not send here. We booked the stay ourselves through AAdvantage Hotels.
WHAT’S IN THIS GUIDE
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How We Stayed
We stayed two nights in early December 2025 in a Classic room with a king bed, booked through AAdvantage Hotels, the hotel booking site from American Airlines. It was not an advisor rate and it came with no advisor perks. Everything about the room, the service and breakfast in this review is from that stay.
Anything we did not try ourselves, including the restaurant Opus, the bar and afternoon tea, comes from the hotel’s own pages and the guides that rate it, and is marked that way.
First Impressions
The attention starts before you walk in. A red carpet leads to the door, where a doorman is ready to help with whatever you need. Inside, the lobby is marble floors, columns, wood moldings and chandeliers. The hotel screams elegance from the moment you walk in the door.
The building was built as the private palace of Duke Philipp of Württemberg and opened as a hotel on April 28, 1873, for the Vienna World’s Fair, according to the hotel. Today it has 138 rooms and suites on the Ring, a few minutes’ walk from the State Opera.
In the 2026 Michelin Key selection, Hotel Imperial holds two Keys. Condé Nast Traveler named it to its Gold List for 2024.
Our Room, and Which Room to Book
We booked a Classic room with a king bed, and everything stood out. The room and the bathroom were both spacious, with details throughout. The bathroom floors were heated, and the large TV sits in a picture frame.
If you are deciding between categories, the Classic room gave us everything we needed for two nights. The suites go much larger: the hotel lists the Elisabeth Suite at 60 square meters (about 650 square feet) with a king bed, and the Royal Suite at more than 150 square meters (about 1,600 square feet), with butler service included.
The Service
For everything the building offered in history, details and elegance, the service was even better. The doormen were always a hoot, coming and going.
My husband runs hot, so in early December the hotel took our room off its usual climate limits and let us run the air conditioning. We were probably the only ones in the entire city with the air on.
A handwritten welcome card and a mini Imperial Torte were waiting in the room when we arrived. At turndown, a round chocolate stamped with the Hotel Imperial crest was left on the bed. The hotel also gave us a ceramic magnet of the hotel’s exterior. Then I noticed dimensional glass ornaments shaped like buildings on the tree in the study, asked whether I could buy one, and they let me.
If something on the hotel’s Christmas tree catches your eye, ask. It is how a glass ornament from the study came home with us.
Breakfast and Dining
We had breakfast at Café Imperial and ordered room service breakfast once. At the café we worked through eggs Benedict with the hollandaise on the side, bacon, sausages, rösti, fruit, and pancakes with syrup.
We didn’t eat anywhere else in the hotel, so the rest of this section is research. The Imperial Torte is the hotel’s own cake, made by hand at the hotel and created for the hotel’s opening in 1873. Opus, the fine-dining restaurant, holds a Michelin star in the 2026 Austria guide and four toques from Gault&Millau for 2026. Afternoon tea is served at the Imperial Bar and needs to be booked ahead.
The mini Torte in our room was a welcome gift. If you want a full-size one to take home, the hotel sells them.
Walking to the Christmas Markets
We mostly walked, and the location made it easy. Art Advent at Karlsplatz was the closest market, and the State Opera and Kärntner Straße are right around the corner. For the full market plan, see our Vienna Christmas markets guide.
Walking Times From the Hotel
Estimates at an easy pace, measured from the map, not timed on foot.
| To | About |
|---|---|
| Schwarzenbergplatz | 5 minutes |
| State Opera | 5 minutes |
| Gerstner on Kärntner Straße | 5 minutes |
| Art Advent, Karlsplatz | 5 to 10 minutes |
| Stephansplatz | 12 to 15 minutes |
| Maria-Theresien-Platz | 15 minutes |
| Upper Belvedere | 20 to 25 minutes |
| Rathausplatz | 25 minutes |
Is It Worth the Splurge?
For us, yes. Book Hotel Imperial if you are celebrating something, if it is your first time in Vienna and you want to walk to the Opera and the markets, or if you value service and a sense of place over resort extras.
Look elsewhere if a spa or pool matters to you. The hotel lists a fitness studio that is open around the clock, but no spa or pool. And if you prefer modern, minimalist design, this is the opposite: chandeliers, marble and moldings everywhere you look.
Booking It Smarter
We booked through AAdvantage Hotels, so our stay came with no advisor perks. If you book through a travel advisor with access to the right programs, the hotel’s luxury partner rates can add extras such as daily breakfast for two, a food and drink credit, and an upgrade on arrival when one is available. What you get depends on the program and the rate, so ask before you book.
That is part of what we do in Trip Design and Dream to Done.
Would We Go Back?
Absolutely. Of all our trips and all the hotels we have stayed in, this is the one my husband and I still talk about most.
Common Pitfalls To Avoid
A few things to sort out before you book, so nothing about the stay surprises you.
The hotel lists a fitness studio but no spa or pool. If that matters, plan for it before you book.
Breakfast at Café Imperial is charged separately unless your rate includes it. Check what your booking covers.
Afternoon tea at the Imperial Bar needs to be reserved ahead, so book it when you book the room if it is on your list.
BSF Booking Essentials
Everything You Need for a Stay at the Imperial
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Hotel Imperial: Frequently Asked Questions
For us, absolutely. It is the hotel we still talk about most, and the service was even better than the building. It suits celebrations, first visits to Vienna and travelers who value service over resort extras.
The hotel lists a fitness studio open around the clock, but no spa or pool.
Yes. Art Advent at Karlsplatz is the closest, and Stephansplatz is roughly 12 to 15 minutes on foot. Rathausplatz is about 25 minutes, or a short tram ride along the Ring.
Two, in the 2026 Michelin Key selection.
Only if your rate includes it. Otherwise breakfast at Café Imperial is charged separately, and room service is available.
The hotel’s own cake, made by hand at the hotel and created for its opening in 1873. We found a mini one waiting in our room.
Inspired by This Guide?
Let us plan a Vienna stay built around a hotel like this one.
We can match you with the right room, check which rates add breakfast, credits or an upgrade, and build your days around the Opera, the palaces and the markets, as full or as unhurried as you like.
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Keep Planning Your Vienna Trip
The markets we walked to from the Imperial, and another hotel review.