The new DoubleTree by Hilton Vienna Schönbrunn (External Link) opened at the end of March 2023. The hotel was previously known as the Radisson Blu Park Royal Palace. The operator had promised extensive renovations to meet the usual standards of a DoubleTree hotel and we were very excited to experience the new Hilton member in Vienna.

LOCATION

The hotel is located directly opposite the famous Schönbrunn Palace, right next to the hotel is the Vienna Museum of Technology. Vienna's Westbahnhof train station is in the immediate vicinity, making the location a good starting point for a visit to Vienna, especially for guests arriving by Westbahn and/or wanting to explore Schönbrunn Palace in more detail.

The hotel building itself is located on the edge of a park and therefore offers a very green and quiet view for some of the rooms. The building itself was only built in 2011 and is therefore still quite modern in style.

ARRIVAL, LOBBY & CHECK-IN

The cab driver had dropped us off at the back of the building, the main entrance is on the side of the park and has a driveway, but we only found this out later. After a bit of searching, we nevertheless found our way into the hotels lobby.

The lobby of the hotel is effectively the covered inner courtyard of the building. It is located in the middle of the main building and extends over two floors. In addition to various seating areas, the check-in counter and a snack and drinks store, it also provides access to the bar and restaurant.

Our check-in experience was rather quiet, not many details were mentioned. As no upgrade was announced in the app, we reluctantly asked if a particularly nice room was available, to which a higher-ranking colleague passing by was asked without further ado and she assigned us the highest bookable suite category in the hotel with a smile. We were very pleased about this, but a little surprised. If we hadn't asked, we would have ended up in the standard room and we know from our experience that many customers never question the room on offer, but are extremely happy about an upgrade. At the end of the check-in process, we received the long-awaited DoubleTree cookies and made our way to our room with great anticipation.

To our surprise, however, the cookies did not correspond to the recipe we were familiar with (see Original Recipe (External Link)), we could neither taste the familiar cinnamon flavor nor were there walnuts in the cookies. They were just normal cookies with chocolate chips, not bad in taste, but nothing special either, they definitely didn't trigger the memory of an original DoubleTree cookie.

ROOM

We had been given a KING JUNIOR SUITE WITH VIEW AND BALCONY. The suite we entered was really elegant. The furnishings were modern, there were wooden floors and there was a large balcony along the entire length with a view of the park. The size was also very striking for a DoubleTree, according to the website the room measured 60 square meters. The suite was divided into a living area and a bedroom. In addition, there was a large bathroom with a shower and bathtub as well as two washbasins. Between the entrance and the bathroom was a large dressing area. The toilet was separate and right next to the entrance. Both rooms had a TV, the living room had a couch that could also be converted into a bed as well as a small desk and several chairs. Of course, we also had a small minibar and a Nespresso machine.

Our first impression was very positive, although we were a little surprised at this point where the promised extensive renovation work was hidden: the pictures of the suite and the other rooms looked exactly like the pictures we could find from the Radisson Blu days. Apart from the fact that we had expected a change based on the press release, this was not a problem, the rooms were modern, high quality and clean.

So we thought: but then we made a realization that would fundamentally change our image of the hotel. As we fell comfortably into the bed, we were very surprised by our landing. Nothing reminded us of the typical Hilton bed we love to sleep in. The bed was firm, yet we sank deep into the mattress, which made it difficult to move comfortably in bed. During the night, we noticed that the mattress reflected heat unpleasantly and ventilated very poorly. After an extremely bad night's sleep, we went to inspect the bed in the morning and found that the mattresses consisted only of thick blocks of foam - no springs, no air, no different materials. We suspected that the mattresses, just like the rest of the furnishings, were from the old days and had nothing to do with the standards of the DoubleTree chain.

Unfortunately, we also have to mention the fact that the king bed was made up of two single mattresses, which were covered with a continuous topper. Nevertheless, you could still feel the gap.

Sleeping on these beds was so uncomfortable for us that we asked to be moved to another room, regardless of the category, as long as it had a different mattress. Unfortunately, we were told at the front desk that all rooms in the hotel were equipped with these mattresses.

We were shocked, then remembered that we still had a sofa bed in the room and asked if we could use it. This was finally made up for us, but unfortunately the mattress was very thin and saggy and to our surprise the very uneven bed was made up without an additional topper. This was therefore also unusable and did not meet the standard we would have expected in a Doubletree, not even for an extra bed.

WIFI SPEED

The Wi-Fi speed we were able to measure at the DoubleTree by Hilton Vienna Schönbrunn was 20.9 MBps for downloads and 14.5 Mbps for uploads. Even if this is just enough for video conferences and streaming, our expectations of a newly opened hotel are also significantly higher here.

From a security standpoint, the Wifi was open to everyone and there was no restricting who could access it, which is not ideal.

ROOM TEMPERATURE

The lowest temperature we could measure with the air conditioning switched on was 20.1 degrees Celsius, in combination with the very warm foam mattress we found this too warm to sleep. We tried to achieve more air movement in the room by opening the windows, but as the balconies are used by other guests for smoking and the sun protection on the house unfortunately ensured that the air tended to be drawn into the rooms, it was unfortunately not possible to leave the windows open overnight.

HOUSEKEEPING

Our suite was very clean, the housekeeping team was also very friendly. However, there was one incident that surprised us. We had agreed a slightly extended check-out time and still had the do not disturb sign on the outside of the door, yet at 12 noon sharp they knocked on the door extremely forcefully and repeatedly until we opened it. However, we were then only asked when we would be leaving the room so that the cleaning could be scheduled. This behavior is absolutely not okay, it would have been easy to ask the colleagues at the front desk when the check-out is agreed and, if in doubt, to call our room and ask us. Forcing guests to open the door and putting us under pressure by knocking vigorously should never be an option, especially not as the first option.

BREAKFAST

The breakfast buffet was offered in the main restaurant and the selection was quite varied. In addition to the cold cuts, yogurts and cereals, fruit and some vegetables, there was also a waffle station where you could bake your own which produced quite good waffles. Of course, there were also some hot dishes at the buffet as well as a large selection of bread, rolls and sweet baked goods. Still and sparkling bottled water was available. Next to the hot dishes there was a selection of Heinz sauces, which were, however, offered in the largest possible unit, accompanied by small soup bowls, which were of course still far too large to fill up a sensible amount. In addition, hot egg dishes could be ordered at the table, but unfortunately there was no menu with the available choices.

The restaurant consists of one gigantic room, which is divided twice with open dividers, once for the buffet and once to divide the large dining room. Due to the arrangement and the rather dense seating, it is rather noisy and also very hectic in the room. A stronger division of the room would create a more pleasant atmosphere.

Unfortunately, it was also very difficult to make contact with the staff at all, there were far too few employees. After we finally found a member of staff to take our order, he immediately ran on frantically without making a note of our wishes, with the result that our order was made incorrectly and we had to order again. The egg dishes came very carelessly arranged on large white plates, but the taste was okay.

Because there were too few staff anyway, the buffet was not well looked after. Empty dishes were occasionally refilled, but less care was taken to ensure a nice appearance, and the buffet was not cleaned in between so that it looked very "used" after a while, as can also be seen in our photos this time - even though we always try to document dishes appetizingly. Once we asked about a missing item from the buffet, the employee just said that a colleague would take care of it, we should just wait. After ten minutes we asked again and got the same answer.

Please don't get us wrong, the quality of the breakfast buffet was ok and everyone could get their fill. However, the presentation and service were simply not up to the standard of a newly opened DoubleTree hotel, Hilton is placing the brand in its premium class.

LOUNGE

Unfortunately, there is no lounge in this DoubleTree, but this is also rare to find in this brand.

RESTAURANTS & BARS

The main restaurant not only offers a breakfast buffet but also an a la carte menu at other times of the day. There is also a separate bar area, which is served by the same staff as the restaurant. Once again there is a shortage of staff, which unfortunately leads to increased service times.

ROOM SERVICE

Room service is offered according to the website, but there was no menu in the room. As our telephone was not labeled, we were also unable to call.

SNACK SHOP

It is worth mentioning that there is a 24-hour snack store in the hotel lobby, which offers a wide selection of snacks and drinks.

GYM

The gym at the DoubleTree was modern, clean and very spacious. It offered a good selection of equipment and had floor-to-ceiling windows with a beautiful view of the surrounding park.

POOL

Unfortunately, there is no pool at the DoubleTree by Hilton Vienna Schönbrunn.

SPA

There is a small spa area with a sauna and a steam bath, as well as a room with loungers for relaxing.

OVERALL SERVICE

Good service and a hard-working team of employees can make up for many shortcomings in a hotel - at least that's how we feel. An understanding employee who tries to find solutions is usually enough for us to overlook one or two challenges. Unfortunately, we were not able to experience this in any situation at the DoubleTree by Hilton Vienna Schönbrunn, which disappointed us all the more. There were a few situations that particularly stood out to us:

In-room phone: our in-room phone was mislabeled or even incorrectly programmed, at least none of the direct dial buttons worked. After a few attempts, we called the hotel from our cell phone, but no one at reception picked up, even after several attempts. So after a while we went to reception ourselves and asked. The first thing we were told was that external calls were not answered today because it was a public holiday in Austria. We couldn't understand this, after all the hotel was very well booked, so why couldn't guests reach the hotel from outside? Now we asked for the internal extension for reception, as we wanted to be able to call from our room next time. Unfortunately, no one at the hotel was actually able to give us this number, although we asked multiple times. We suspected that they didn't like to be disturbed by guests, but once again we have to ask how this is supposed to meet the standard of a DoubleTree hotel.

Sofa bed: When we asked about the sofa bed after the first night, the answer was initially that we were welcome to use it, but we should then simply move the bedding and covers from the other bed to the sofa bed ourselves and set up the bed ourselves. It was only when we asked if the housekeeping team could help us with this that we were reluctantly told that the request would be passed on. Apart from the fact that we didn't expect to have to make our own bed in a DoubleTree hotel, the covers etc. naturally didn't fit on the much smaller couch bed.

We have already mentioned the shortage of staff in the restaurant and bar area, which of course also plays a role in the experience. Unfortunately, it has to be said that the majority of the staff at the DoubleTree Hotel made an untrained and lackluster impression on us. There should be a huge investment here in better training, more staff and a better atmosphere in the team - to convey the understanding that the guest should be considered king.

STAY DETAILS

We stayed for two nights at the beginning of June 2023. You can currently book the standard room from 90 € per night if you book in good time, depending on the booking period.

STATUS RECOGNITION

The status recognition of our Diamond status was also a bit bumpy. Of course, we received free breakfast and ultimately also a huge upgrade - but as mentioned above, this was only given to us on request.

On the day of departure, we asked for a slightly later check-out, which was immediately and rigorously refused without us even being asked for our room number. We asked them to check again and see if at least one hour was possible. The answer remained unchanged.

In the end, we were told that 30 minutes longer would just about be possible, everything else was out of the question. Nevertheless, as mentioned above, we were disturbed in our room at 12 noon, so no one had even bothered to communicate the 30 minutes internally.

RATING 30VIEWS

BELOW EXPECTATIONS

Please read about how we rate.

SUMMARY

Unfortunately, the DoubleTree by Hilton Vienna Schönbrunn is not up to the usual DoubleTree standard; in fact, apart from a name change, there has been little change in the hotel since its re-opening.

The main problem is the poor and simple mattresses, which do not correspond to the DoubleTree standard and do not allow a good night's sleep. The modern design of the rooms and suites hides this fact at first sight.

Moreover, the hotel is plagued by staff shortages and there is a certain lack of enthusiasm among the rest of the team, or at least the feeling that every guest is appreciated.

Until these issues are addressed and resolved, we would not recommend staying at this hotel if you value the standards of the Hilton and DoubleTree brands.

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