VIENNA, Austria—Kempinski Hotels officially opened Palais Hansen Kempinski Vienna with a grand opening gala attended by over 700 guests. Designed as a hotel for the 1873 World Exhibition by Theophil Edvard von Hansen and Heinrich Förster, the building never opened its doors to guests, and it has taken more than 140 years for the building to be put to its original use.
Two and a half years of restoration and interior construction were conducted under the aegis of Vienna-based architect Boris Podrecca, the Austrian Atelier Hayde Architekten, and designer Jean-Claude Laville. On seven floors, the heritage-listed Renaissance Revival-style building accommodates 152 rooms and suites, a spa, two restaurants and two bars, a florist and a delicatessen, 17 private residential apartments as well as a hotel cigar lounge. Innovative touches like iPad check-in and an iPad in every room blends the building’s history with technology.
The Palais Hansen’s mezzanine level offers an 8,600-square-foot Kempinski The Spa, which includes six treatment rooms, Ottoman-style design elements, several saunas, a steam room, a hydropool, and a gym.
The hotel also offers a 3,020-square-foot ballroom, as well as six function rooms, ranging from 375 to 1250 square feet.
