A view of a room

June 20, 2012

The outside of Vienna’s new Hotel Topazz is designed to look like a huge cylindrical silver vase, studded with large oval stones.  From the inside, the “stones” are oval windows, a feature of the rooms.  My room didn’t have one; instead, my floor-to-ceiling window opened out onto a small balcony.  Those rooms that do have the “portholes” also have a divan bed built in as a window seat.  I have to get by with admiring the mad lamps.  I can’t decide which one I like better: the one that has the legs of a gilded duck, or the one that looks like a hat with a fur trim (the duck wins, I think).

Topazz is very groovy, with warm-but-cool staff and perfectly located on a corner just a block from the cathedral and close to all the city centre’s attractions.  Even better, it has a free mini-bar and free wi-fi (and iPads to borrow on request).  Downstairs, the “salon” for breakfast has a warm, soothing vibe to start the day.  The menu is terrific. Try the poached egg with lentils, served in a glass cup. It was so delicious, I had it three out of four mornings I was there!

A Glass Half Full travelled to Vienna as a guest of the Austrian National Tourist Board.