Mandarin Oriental, Vienna hotel review

Mandarin Oriental Vienna interior of lush luxurious hotel in light tones and some warmer accents in darker neutral colours

(Image credit: Jack Hardy)

The Mandarin Oriental Vienna brings together two worlds – the renowned international brand’s world-class, luxury hospitality, and the Austrian capital’s particular majestic flair – complete with a landmark Secession building, right in the heart of the city. The new, high-end hotel recently opened its doors, situated a stone’s throw from Vienna’s lusciously Gothic St Stephen’s Cathedral. Occupying a generous and handsome former courthouse building originally opened in 1908, the new Mandarin Oriental Vienna has given its historic home a new lease of life through a redesign by interior designers Goddard Littlefair.

Mandarin Oriental Vienna reception desk with golden artwork behind it

The new hotel brings everything the Mandarin Oriental brand is known to stand for: expert, fast and discreet service, timeless luxury and sophisticated design. The Vienna venue consists of 138 rooms, and the interior, both in the private and communal areas, is accentuated by carefully selected art and bespoke furniture, which elevates the whole. Nothing feels generic, and nothing repeats itself from other Mandarin Oriental outposts – apart from the brand's signature fan logo, which has pride of place here in the form of a specially commissioned artwork in the reception area.

Wallpaper* checks in at the Mandarin Oriental, Vienna

What’s on your doorstep?

Set right in the heart of Vienna, the Mandarin Oriental ensures that guests can find the right balance of local buzz and quiet retreat. Located in the heart of the capital, yet on a quiet street on the edge of the historic town and main shopping district, the hotel is a short stroll from many key Vienna monuments and tourist destinations. You can enjoy drinks at the modernist environs of the Loos Bar, go to the nearby State Opera House, or check out the art shows at the Albertina. Meanwhile, no visit to Vienna is complete without paying a visit to the Hofburg Palace, the former main imperial home of Austria’s legendary Habsburg dynasty. Everything is within walking distance and comfortably achieved, even in the freezing Austrian winter.

Who’s behind the design?

The courthouse building that previously occupied the block now housing the Mandarin Oriental Vienna was originally designed by Austrian architect Alfred Keller at the start of the 20th century. Quirky and expressive, yet at the same time box-shaped and affording the grand style typically found in central European capitals, the structure was full of bespoke adornments and personality, responding to the Secession style that was flourishing in Vienna at the time.

London-based interior design studio Goddard Littlefair was employed to not only bring the building to the 21st century and change its use, but also lead a sensitive restoration of many of its listed elements. Studio co-founder Jo Littlefair explains: ‘Historic buildings have a natural pull for us. What excited us most was uncovering the story of the architecture by Alfred Keller and the period it was built in. That narrative became the driving force for the design, even more so than the brand at the outset. The challenge, of course, was finding the right balance: respecting the building’s heritage while allowing it to evolve into something that feels alive and relevant today.’

Co-founder Martin Goddard adds: ‘Working with a landmark like this becomes a journey with the client and in this case, it was a very personal collaboration, driven by shared passion on both sides. The biggest challenge was the physical reality of adapting a building that was never designed to be a hotel. Service routes, back-of-house spaces, circulation, all of those practical elements required careful compromise. You have to work incredibly hard to make it function seamlessly without losing the character of the original architecture. That tension between preservation and transformation is what ultimately makes projects like this so rewarding.’

The room to book

Rooms at the Mandarin Oriental Vienna range from the bright and comfortable superior room to the generous suites, larger than many apartments: a two-bedroom royal suite is also available if you are so inclined. All feature an elegant palette based on muted colours and black and white marbles, with colour accents brought in through the art on display. The furniture is tailor-made to each room, and there is a range of helpful amenities that underscore the prevailing sense of luxury, including yoga mats for exercising and kimono-style robes for lounging.

Littlefair says: ‘We always start by thinking about the people who seek out Mandarin Oriental – they’re true connoisseurs of travel. They understand quality instinctively and are looking for a sense of exploration paired with sophistication. Translating that into design means paying close attention to materiality, craftsmanship and the smallest touchpoints, because that’s where luxury is really felt. Knowing how people live and travel today allows us to design spaces that feel intuitive, generous and deeply comfortable, without ever being ostentatious.’

For a long weekend, book the Deluxe Suite for its finely balanced size (not too big, not too small) and street site views. The bathroom and walk-in wardrobe area flow together seamlessly if all internal doors are open, while smart partitions allow various areas to be sectioned off, for discretion and comfort when needed, making it punch way above its weight.

For Goddard, the Premier Suite is a favourite: ‘It’s the guest room that best captures what we were aiming for, it feels like a Viennese apartment rather than a hotel suite. The layout works beautifully, it’s functional but relaxed, and it has that ‘comfy-cool’ quality where you genuinely feel like you could live there.’

Staying for drinks and dinner?

Housed in the large building’s covered central courtyard and bathed in light from the glass roof above, the Mandarin Oriental Vienna’s food and beverage offering is diverse yet cleverly compact. Sharing the same, large space, the hotel provides four different culinary destinations for its guests - and beyond, as all restaurants are open to external visitors too. Le Sept is the venue’s fine dining experience, located at the far end of the site and can be separated with movable partitions from the rest of the dining hall if required.

The versatile Atelier 7 Brasserie is the flexible all-day dining bistro, with a speciality in seafood; while Atelier 7 The Café and Atelier 7 Izakaya & Bar are the hotel’s café and bar, respectively. Head to the Brasserie for the most delicate scallops or a butter-soft octopus dish (a seafood tower is also on offer, if you’re hungry) – or stay at the cafe for some of the delicious and meticulously designed desserts Vienna is famous for.

Where to switch off

The Mandarin Oriental Vienna’s lower ground is dedicated to health, exercise and relaxation, housing the gym (complete with state-of-the-art Technogym equipment), spa and pool. Beyond the treatment rooms (a muscle recovery massage is a must to shake off that flight), the spa includes a sauna and steam room. Dedicated family hours at the swimming pool ensures the hotel is child friendly and everyone is catered for.

The verdict

There’s not much you might want when staying at the Mandarin Oriental Vienna. Flexible culinary options, beautifully designed, large rooms, relaxation treatments, and a polite and caring staff make up for a winning combination within a quiet corner of the city centre. The architecture elevates the whole, and it’s evident right from your first encounter with the brand at the entrance lobby’s strikingly elaborate glass chandelier (which was inspired by champagne bubbles) and the adjacent reception lounge.

Littlefair says: ‘The reception area is my favourite. It’s the corner hub of the hotel and the point where the visual storytelling really comes together. The level of detail there, particularly the embroidered artwork behind the reception desk, is a quiet acknowledgement of craftsmanship, and it feels incredibly satisfying to see it realised exactly as we imagined.’

Mandarin Oriental, Vienna is located at Riemergasse 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria

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Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).