The Ring - Part II

Building on my experience with the first four cafes at the hotels along the Ringstrasse in Vienna, I continued my research and visited a few more. I gained quite a bit of weight during Part II, but hey, I do it for YOU! :)

Ritz Carlton Vienna
While the Ritz Carlton at first glance is not a typical Vienna-born hotel and the name suggests more of a 'chain', it does have quite a bit of Viennese charm. It is also housed in one of those grand, spectacular looking buildings that looks like it is over 100 years old - and maybe it is. As soon as we stepped in, we were greeted very friendly. Although we were dressed very casual after walking through the rain and cold and weren't in any way fancy (picture a wool with a pom pom), they gave us the red carpet treatment from beginning to end. The lobby is absolutely beautiful and feels no less grand than the original Vienna hotels. The lounge cafe (Melounge - very clever name combining the Viennese traditional coffee 'melange' with 'lounge') was very welcoming and the service was impeccable! A friendly, young man was our server and of all the cafes I visited, he provided that American-style 'customer-first' service that I love so much. My soy cappuccino and my husband's melange came in under 5 minutes and they were great! For dessert, we had a cheesecake, which seems to be their speciality as it was €10 (!) a piece, and their signature Ritz-Carlton chocolate cake. Apparently in Vienna every cafe's signature cake has to be chocolate. Both were delicious but also quite the hip hugger... (see you tomorrow gym). What I enjoyed most about this lounge-cafe was the ambience. I swear there is some calming scent in the air and the tables and chairs are far apart so you have a lot of privacy. This place also had the most comfortable chairs. Those high ear chair-types that make you feel like you are sitting in your own cocoon. It was definitely the most expensive place we visited but also the best so far. And when I thought it couldn't get any better, the nice, young waiter helped me into my jacket... Sigh...
Coffee: 5 out of 5 stars
Cake: 4 out of 5 stars
Viennese atmosphere: 4 out of 5 stars
Two desserts and two coffees for €25,50
 





Hotel Sacher
Hotel Sacher is without a doubt the most famous house on The Ring - although it isn't exactly on The Ring but behind the Opera. To be honest, I had mixed feelings about going there. There is always a long line outside the cafe and their famous signature cake - the Sacher Torte - is known for being somewhat dry. To my surprise, we were seated within five minutes although the line was out the door once again. Getting a table for two was fairly easy. Larger groups may be an issue. There is a hostess, which is absolutely necessary at a busy place like this. The waiter took our order immediately and we received our coffee/tea and cake within five minutes. The coffee was good and the Sacher Torte was moist and delicious against all my expectations. My friend had a different cake - unfortunately I forgot the name - and it was also very good! The ambience itself is the type of Viennese flair a tourist would expect when coming to Vienna. Red velvet chairs, gold trimming on the walls and ceilings, and portraits of the era when the emperor still ruled over the Austrian empire. Due to the large volume of guests and rather than the cafe being one large room but several smaller apartment-style living rooms, the tables are fairly close together and everyone can listen in to your conversation - and you can also hear theirs. We were a bit disappointed that the waiter didn't show up ever again after bringing us our order. We sat there for 1 1/2 hours without ever being asked if we wanted to order anything else. There is no personal service like at the other hotels. It felt more like a being in a hamster wheel of inflowing and outflowing tourists from around the world. After we paid, we checked out the hotel lobby, which was charming but surprisingly tiny. It does not look anything like portrayed in the made-for-TV-movie series 'Das Sacher' but was nonetheless absolutely beautiful.
Coffee: 4 out of 5 stars
Cake: 4 out of 5 stars
Viennese atmosphere: 5 out of 5 stars
Two desserts and one coffee and one tea for €22,30


 



Hilton Vienna Plaza
Across the street from Vienna's old stock exchange and a short walk from Vienna's historic main university is the Hilton Vienna Plaza. Thanks to the mainstream media, I cannot hear 'Hilton' without thinking of the two blonde sisters. Nonetheless, I wanted to give this chain hotel a try. Just a few years ago, this hotel was refurbished to reflect the 1920s art deco style. The lobby is really bright and welcoming and the staff wears 20s inspired uniforms. There is no real cafe at the hotel but guests can get coffee and a dessert at the small bar-restaurant combo 'Emile', which has nice swing music playing the background. There were four desserts on display - and that's all they offer. The bar-restaurant is unfortunately not very cozy and doesn't make you want hang out for a while. The staff was...well...just the minimum amount of friendly that was apparently necessary. None of them ever smiled and there was no overtly friendly greeting or pulling the chair out so you can sit down easier. Instead they received very loud instructions from the person in charge at the bar. Our coffee was really good and the desserts were ok. The apple strudel was average and the plum tart was good because it wasn't super sweet. We were very surprised when we received the check: two desserts and two coffees were only €10! Apparently they had a €1 coffee special, which was not advertised anywhere. So I guess they win in the price-value-ratio category.
Coffee: 5 out of 5 stars
Cake: 3 out of 5 stars
Viennese atmosphere: 2 out of 5 stars
Two desserts and one coffee and one tea for €10


 



Palais Hansen Kempinski
This hotel was initially not even on my radar but my husband insisted we check it out - and I am so glad we did. Although the staff took a while to take our order, the experience was enjoyable from beginning to end. The cafe is within the lobby itself, which is airy, beautiful and has a big skylight. The music of a piano player welcomes guests and the tables are far apart giving patrons privacy. I am not sure if the live music is on every day, but it was on Sunday. Cakes are on display next to the bar but you can also order specialty desserts (crepes aka Palatschinken, etc), which are freshly made. The ambience was lovely and quiet although the lobby was full with guests. The coffee was delicious and had the perfect drinking temperature. And boy oh boy that Linzertorte was the best I ever had. Not just the best Linzertorte but one of the best cakes in town. If I had to name one area of improvement it would be the couches. They are so deep that you cannot lean back and still be able to talk to others around the table. It was quite uncomfortable after a while. Nonetheless, I am going back for sure - especially because I want to try their high-tea special that comes with an etagere of savory and sweet goodies. All in all, this hotel surprised me the most and I am glad I finished my hotel-cafe-experience-on-the-ring on such a high-note.
Coffee: 4 out of 5 stars
Cake: 5 out of 5 stars
Viennese atmosphere: 5 out of 5 stars
Two desserts and one coffee and one tea for €20,20


 

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