Park Hyatt's cashes in with hotel in former Austrian bank
The first Park Hyatt hotel in Vienna, Austria, debuted this month after a two-year top-to-bottom renovation and restoration of a 100-year-old building that formerly served as the headquarters of the Austrian Hungarian Monarchy Bank.
Situated in Vienna’s First District, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the 143-bedroom hotel has been redesigned by the Dutch interior design company FJStijl to include a 10,000sq ft (929sq m) Arany Spa in what used to be the bank’s "treasure room". The name “Arany” stems from the Hungarian word gold, reflects the spa’s location.
Spread over two floors, the spa features six treatment rooms, one of which is a couples’ room with private changing facilities and a shower.
What was once the bank’s vault is now a 160sq ft (15sq m) pool within the spa.
Fitness facilities, connected to the spa, include Technogym equipment and a separate wet area with sauna, steamroom, sanarium, vitality shower, and relaxation zone – all of which are also accessible to non-hotel guests.
“Vienna was a priority development location for us, along with other gateway cities in western Europe where our guests are increasingly traveling,” said Peter Norman, senior vice president of acquisitions and development for Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
In the former cashier hall, The Bank is an all-day dining restaurant within the hotel. Other F&B outlets in the property include the luxury Pearl bar, the Living Room – which offers a cigar and whisky lounge – and the informal Lounge snack bar.
Set within the new pedestrian Goldenes Quartier on the Am Hof square, the Park Hyatt Vienna also features 8,000sq ft (743sq m) of meeting and event space, just minutes from the city’s St Stephan Cathedral and the Hofburg Palace.