Hotel: Hotel Sacher

Address: Philharmonikerstrasse 4, 1010, Vienna

Website: sacher.com

TraveLife Ranking: Five Stars

Rooms: 113 rooms and suites

Room rates: $180+

Awards: Voted Vienna’s best hotel.

History: The Sacher legend started in 1832 when a 16-year-old apprentice cook named Franz Sacher created what has become known as the hotel’s sweet treat called the Sacher-Torte - a rich, moist chocolate cake - at the Court of Prince Metternich. The Prince was so delighted with the cake that he ordered a lot more. His friends and subjects followed suit – making Franz Sacher a very rich man in the process. So rich, in fact, that he was able to open the Hotel Sacher in 1876 in one of Vienna’s most prestigious neighborhoods – right behind the State Opera House. This is the first hotel in Vienna to have electric lights.

Interior highlights: The hotel has just undergone a massive renovation to bring it up to today’s standards but it retains its old world charm with deep, rich paneling and overstuffed furniture. In the next room: Because of its location behind the city’s famed state Opera House, don’t be surprised if the person you hear singing in the shower next door is a Pavarotti.

The rooms: All 113 rooms and suites all individually furnished with antiquities and decorated with original oil paintings. The rooms at the Sacher are oversized by European standards but rank among the most moderately priced among Vienna’s five-star properties.

Amenities: Rooms come stuffed with all the latest cosmetic and bath products along with Egyptian cotton sheets and comfy furniture, oversized marble bathrooms, complete with separate shower stall. The historic rooms also come wired with all the latest high tech gadgetry.

Restaurants: BLUE BAR: a comfortable meeting place.
RED BAR: featuring piano music in the evenings and a new conservatory.
ANNA SACHER: Restaurants offering traditional Austrian cuisine and international specialties.
CAFE SACHER VIENNA: enjoy the Original Sacher-Torte and Austrian sweets.
SACHERSTUBE: small cafe with cozy atmosphere.

Shopping: The hotel is within a few minutes walking distance of the city’s famed Mariahilferstrasse, which offers some of the best shopping in Europe – along with some of the best restaurants and bakeries.

Close By A few minutes walk from museums, The Hofburg, St. Stephan’s Cathedral, The Spanish Riding School and across the famous Ringstrasse.

Tips: You can have a Sacher-Torte delivered to your home without ever staying at the hotel. It ships thousands around the world each year and costs around $40. You won’t be able to stay in any of the lavish palaces Vienna has to offer but the Hotel Sacher is a close alternative.

Note: The Hotel Sacher’s property in Salzburg (it goes by the same name as the Vienna hotel) is equally lavish and offers some of the best dining in the city of Mozart’s birth. Most of the historic sites concerning Mozart’s life in Salzburg are located a short walk from the Hotel Sacher.