Grätzlhotel, Vienna - hotel review: Not just smoke and mirrors

This quirky accommodation group is turning Vienna’s commercial spaces into sleek suites. Christopher Beanland checks into The Tobacconist

The bedroom

Vienna’s distinct neighbourhoods are its beating heart – each alluring in its own way. Grätzlhotel is about enjoying those districts as a local (or at least as close to a local as you can get on a weekend break). The group converts former retail and commercial premises into sleek flats packed with piles of hipster magazines, iMacs, and posh picnic baskets in lieu of minibars.

In December 2015, it opened its new clusters of apartments, each grouped around a local café or bar that acts as an ad-hoc reception. But the original Belvedere apartments (formerly known as Urbanauts) – the first of which opened in 2011 – are well worth a look too; there’s a former tailor’s, an old blacksmith’s and a converted art gallery.

The Tobacconist is one of these. Yes, it’s a former fag vendor, which opened in 2013 as a retro one-room place to stay in Vienna’s 4th district – the Wieden neighbourhood. It’s a mere five-minute walk from the city’s newly finished, white-roofed, international Hauptbahnhof station, to which those who prefer slow travel can catch a train from London in two stops and around 10 hours.

The rooms

In Austrian German, a tobacconist is called eine trafik – which is apt as your head is about 15ft from the road in this ground-floor bolt hole. Luckily very few cars pass along this part of Belvederegasse, and when you open the blinds in the morning you look right out on St Elisabeth’s Church, which rises from a pretty square like a blooming flower.

The decor inside is minimal: plain walls, some 1950s-style tiling in the bathroom. Everything is clean, simple, and well chosen: Grätzlhotel is run by architects and designers, and it shows. The bed is comfortable, the shower room is utilitarian but pleasant. There’s a desk with a computer, kettle and teas, and a basket of treats (for a price) such as Austrian wine and crisps.

To get in, you’re emailed a code to access a safe outside the door which contains your key, and if you need help, there’s a mobile number on a piece of paper. There’s not much to remind you that this used to be a shop, but a great treat is to sit in the giant window and simply observe life passing slowly by in this civilised, residential district.

The bathroom

Out and about

Vienna is a flâneur’s city – the joy of simply strolling its neighbourhoods is huge. If you want art, you’re spoiled; take a five-minute walk to the east and you’ll find the celebrated Schloss Belvedere (00 43 1 7955 7134; belevdere.at) where, among other works, is Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss.

Ten minutes north is Karlsplatz, with its weirdly Baroque Karlskirche. The old Karlsplatz station buildings, by Frei Otto, are among the world’s most impressive examples of Art Nouveau, with rich ornamental gold decoration, and leafy motifs.

Much more famous is The Secession Gallery (00 43 1 587 53 07; secession.at), just across the other side of Karlsplatz square, which houses paintings from the turn of the century.

There’s a bike that you can use, for a charge, which is parked outside the flat – a nice touch if you prefer getting around on two wheels.

The food and drink

There’s no kitchen at the Tobacconist, and although the team recommends breakfast at the nearby Cafe Goldegg (00 43 1 505 9162; cafegoldegg.at), it would be even better to include a coffee and a Viennese pastry in the room rate. There is, however, a cute map in the room, showing other eateries nearby.

For a true taste of Vienna – it’s clichéd but still delicious – visit Gasthaus zur Oper (00 43 1 512 2251; plachutta.at) which is up beyond Karlsplatz and has been recently refurbished. It’s warm and modern yet incorporates elements of a much older wooden building, with nooks and crannies. It is, simply, a homage to the Wiener schnitzel and the star dish comes in bubbling breadcrumbs with a potato salad and enough bread to feed a regiment. They brew their own pilsner here too, which is really rather nice.

The essentials

The Tobacconist, Belevederegasse 22, Vienna, Austria (00 43 1 208 3904; graetzlhotel.com). From £85 per night, room only.

The writer travelled with Railbookers (020 3780 2222; railbookers.com) which offers three-night breaks in Vienna from £429pp, including B&B accommodation, outbound rail travel from London St Pancras via Brussels and Cologne, and a flight back to London.