ACE Cultural Tours aims to provide experiences immersing travellers in history and culture, and wherever possible, this applies to our choice of accommodation too. In this blog join ACE in investigating one of the hotels our travellers will have the opportunity to stay at during an upcoming tour. During Music & Opera in Vienna our group will stay throughout at the five-star Hotel Bristol.
An original advertisement for the Hotel Bristol, 1906.
Hotel Bristol, Vienna, Austria
In November 2024 ACE will take a group to Vienna to experience three spectacular performances in the State Opera House, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Massenet’s Manon and Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. This tour offers an opportunity to experience beautiful musical performances whilst exploring the culture of the Austrian capital, Vienna.
View of the Hotel Bristol exterior, 1913.
We are delighted that the group will stay throughout at the glorious five-star Hotel Bristol, Housed in a beautiful Art Nouveau building with a rich history of celebrity guests including Edward VIII, the Bristol is right on the doorstep of the State Opera House and a five minute walk from the Musikverein.
Established in 1892, the foundations of the current building were laid in 1898 on the site of an earlier hotel. Upon completion, the Hotel Bristol boasted 235 bedrooms, a large dining room and the first electrical lift of its kind in Vienna. Between 1913 and 1916 the hotel saw further development and reconstruction but was taken over by the Österreichische Bank (Austrian National Bank) during the Great Depression, in 1930.
View of the Art Deco interiors and staircase of the Hotel Bristol.
The old wing of the hotel, known as the Altes Bristol (or Old Bristol), was destroyed by bombing in 1945 when Allied troops occupied Vienna. For a short period of time following the Second World War the hotel served as a headquarters for Soviet and then American soldiers. On some of the brass railings of the hotel small irregular indentations can be seen which are thought to have been left by the soldiers occupying the hotel and were chosen to be ignored during later renovations as a memento of the hotel’s rich past.
The Prince of Wales suite of the Hotel Bristol.
The Hotel Bristol prides itself on a history of prestigious visitors and guests, including Rubinstein and Puccini. The hotel’s Presidential Suite, the Prince of Wales suite, is named after Edward VIII (1894-1972), who resided at the Hotel Bristol during his visits to Vienna, firstly when Prince of Wales.
“Legend has it that Edward VIlI had made his decision to abdicate as King and
marry Wallis Simpson during one of his stays at the Hotel Bristol.”
- Hotel Bristol Stories
A view of Hotel Bristol (right) with the State Opera House (left) in the foreground.
From their base at the Hotel Bristol, ACE travellers on Music & Opera in Vienna will experience wonderful operas at the State Opera House, splendid concerts at the Musikverein and some of the best cultural sites of Vienna.
Image credits:
Illustration of the Bristol | Gesellschaft für graphische industrie by CC0 via Wien Museum
Old Hotel Bristol Advert | Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Hotel Bristol 1913 | Brüder Kohn KG by CC0 via Wien Museum
Art Deco Staircase | © Hotel Bristol
Prince of Wales Suite | © Hotel Bristol
Bristol and Opera House | © Hotel Bristol
