Yelp Vienna

12/26/2016

Beware!  My husband and I flew here from NYC specifically to celebrate Christmas.  When we arrived on Christmas Eve we were shocked to discover there were no Christmas decorations and rap music playing instead of holiday music.  When we complained to management (apparently, other people were complaining too) we were told the hotel is "moving away from religion."  Stay away from this secular hotel if you are coming to Vienna to enjoy its centuries old beautiful Christmas traditions.  All of the competitive hotels have absolutely gorgeous Christmas decorations and beautiful music.…Read more Beware!  My husband and I flew here from NYC specifically to celebrate Christmas.  When we arrived on Christmas Eve we were shocked to discover there were no Christmas decorations and rap music playing instead of holiday music.  When we complained to management (apparently, other people were complaining too) we were told the hotel is "moving away from religion."  Stay away from this secular hotel if you are coming to Vienna to enjoy its centuries old beautiful Christmas traditions.  All of the competitive hotels have absolutely gorgeous Christmas decorations and beautiful music.  There are lots of wonderful choices.  I am not sure what crowd the Park Hyatt is attempting to attract, but it is certainly not Christians trying to celebrate Christmas in this stunning city.

12/26/2016

Opus was my second Michelin star experience in Vienna and probably the one that worked best for my family.  My wife and daughter are vegetarians and sometimes have a sub-optimal experience in top restaurants (i.e.. the amuse bouche is not appropriate for them).  Opus had a full vegetarian tasting menu as well as two traditional menus (which my son and I both ordered).  They were all very good from start to finish.  I ordered the menu Opus, which included Sea Bass ceviche (excellent), scallop (very good), white truffle (which was good but not as great as I expected), haunch of lamb…Read more Opus was my second Michelin star experience in Vienna and probably the one that worked best for my family.  My wife and daughter are vegetarians and sometimes have a sub-optimal experience in top restaurants (i.e.. the amuse bouche is not appropriate for them).  Opus had a full vegetarian tasting menu as well as two traditional menus (which my son and I both ordered).  They were all very good from start to finish.  I ordered the menu Opus, which included Sea Bass ceviche (excellent), scallop (very good), white truffle (which was good but not as great as I expected), haunch of lamb (most disappointing dish as I found the lamb over-cooked), dry-aged sirloin (great), Vacherin Mont (a great cheese dish but not as nice as my wife's mixed cheeses) and Jivara chocolate (very good), as well as some great chocolates and other desserts served as a post dessert.  

My one negative was the timing between the dishes and it almost cost the restaurant a star.  While the food is critical for a tasting menu, I also argue that the pacing of the meal is as important.  Each course should lead into the next, both taste wise and timing wise.  This meal the timing was inconsistent, sometimes very soon after the previous dish but other times it felt like we were waiting forever.  I think part of the problem is they only had two people working in the front of the house and ran into bottlenecks when multiple tables had dishes due the same time.  This is acceptable in a good restaurant, not what I would expect in a Michelin star establishment (we ate at Steirereck the previous night and they probably had 15 people in the front of the house).  The food, however, was excellent and the staff was very professional and courteous, just a little overmatched.

12/26/2016

Spent three nights at the Grand Hotel Wien in a trip to see the Vienna Christmas Markets and it lived up to the Grand Hotel name.  I was expecting to be disappointed, often hotels with the facade and reputation of this hotel are tired and living on old glories.  That was not the case here.  Check in was smooth and the hotel room was a very nice size for an older hotel in the city center.  Service was impeccable.  Location is great, it was close to everything.  Only minor complaint was the a la carte element of the breakfast, it was arguably one star though the buffet was so good it…Read more Spent three nights at the Grand Hotel Wien in a trip to see the Vienna Christmas Markets and it lived up to the Grand Hotel name.  I was expecting to be disappointed, often hotels with the facade and reputation of this hotel are tired and living on old glories.  That was not the case here.  Check in was smooth and the hotel room was a very nice size for an older hotel in the city center.  Service was impeccable.  Location is great, it was close to everything.  Only minor complaint was the a la carte element of the breakfast, it was arguably one star though the buffet was so good it still was a five star breakfast.  Steak and eggs sounded great but the steak was a very small sirloin cooked to death.  Corned beef hash was ground beef mixed with red and yellow peppers and under-cooked potatoes.  The rest of the breakfast was great, though. Hot chocolate was delicious.  A Japanese area of the breakfast buffet included great miso soup.  The Med part of the buffet had great hummus, baba ghanoush and another spread I had not had before.  Cheeses were beautiful.  Good pastry.  Just avoid the cooked breakfast.

Given the location, great rooms and great service, definitely a Grand hotel.