Christmas in Vienna: A Most Iconic Stay at Hotel Sacher | SIMPLY SLOW TRAVELER
Welcome back to the beautiful Vienna!
I am happy to bring you to another couple of festive days in the Austrian capital
and show you another absolutely beautiful and iconic hotel, the Sacher.
Right by the Opera House and Albertina Museum, the Sacher is an absolute institution in Vienna
with such a classical Viennese style and with a family history that goes back nearly 150 years.
Early in the afternoon we checked into our suite,
named after the famous Peter Grimes opera.
The whole room is beautifully decorated and besides a tiered stand with sweets and fruit,
we were also welcomed with custom embroidered pillowcases with our names,
which is such a fine touch that shows how so very welcomed you can expect to be at the Sacher.
Our suite had views to some of the most iconic monuments in Vienna
and in particular to the Opera House, the Albertina Museum and the Hofburg Palace,
all of them glowing perfectly in the dim autumnal afternoon light.
Even the bathroom was so luxurious and I made right there and then
a point to have a fully relaxing bubble bath later in my stay.
After getting settled in, we went on a tour of the hotel.
If it is today one of the central points in Vienna for many visitors,
it is much in part thanks to Anna Sacher, who took on management after her husband,
the founder, died and made it one of the most coveted hotels
in Vienna for royals and high society guests.
It is here that you can find the original Sachertorte,
which was in fact created before the hotel itself by her father-in-law.
Besides the Café Sacher, the hotel also has a couple other restaurants
as well as a beautiful bar, which I will show later.
One of the main traditions of the hotel since its inception
has been the embroidering of some of its most distinguished guests' autographs
on a special tablecloth on display.
The other main tradition, naturally, is the original Sachertorte
that anyone can have at the Café Sacher.
It is open to the public every day, but hotel guests are specially treated
with priority tables to enjoy this iconic Viennese cake.
For dinner, we went to the Rote Bar, one of the hotel restaurants
serving very traditional Austrian and Viennese foods,
immersed in an intimate environment with live piano music,
all in the most stylish Viennese fashion.
After starting with a pancake with mushroom as an amuse-bouche,
we then shared a marinated trout for entree,
which was not only beautifully plated but also absolutely delicious.
For mains, we went with a grilled pike perch fillet
and a very traditional Tafelspitz, or boiled beef,
along with horseradish and Viennese potatoes, for a most traditional meal.
We finished off with a most delicious Nashi pear Tarte Tatin
and a selection of the softest and richest ice creams,
a perfect way to end our amazing dinner.
As it was still relatively early in the evening,
we decided on going on a walk around the city center,
just a couple of minutes away,
to admire the very festive spirit of the streets beautifully illuminated
and the central Christmas market around the Stephansdom.
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After an hour of slow-paced walking around the center of Vienna,
we came full circle back to Sacher,
where our cozy suite awaited us with a few nice treats,
all set up for a good night's sleep.
The next morning brought blue skies
and after a cup of coffee admiring the views of a very calm Vienna,
we got ready to go down for breakfast.
As nothing is short of the most classical luxury in the Sacher,
the breakfast is served in this most amazing ample room
with bright chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and marble cladded walls.
After eating our warm savory dishes,
we went for a sweet treat from the buffet
that is abundant in some of the most iconic Austrian cakes
and where the original Sachertorte is the star of this beautiful array of options.
There is even a small stand for kids with special treats
and coloring books to keep them entertained at the table.
After breakfast, we went to this most beautiful grand signature suite,
fully and beautifully decorated for Christmas for a very special demonstration.
Our task was to learn and then replicate the process of decorating the original Sachertorte,
from putting in the apricot initial glaze
to then finishing with the melted chocolate shiny glaze.
The actual making of the torte and its recipe is a secret known by only a few people,
but it was so nice to be able to decorate our own torte,
one of the thousands they make every day to serve at their café or to ship to all over the world.
In the end of this amazing experience,
we could bring home our own Sachertorte in its iconic wooden box
with our own names engraved in each.
Before lunch, there was still time to make a quick trip for some tea shopping
that I had already planned at the beautiful paper and tea store,
a stop that I strongly recommend for any tea lover spending a few days in Vienna.
We then went for a light and delicious lunch at one of the Sacher's cafés,
the Café Belletage, located right above the Sacher shop
and with a very Viennese café decoration.
After lunch, we went to the very refined and soberly decorated Blaue Bar,
where we sat for a demonstration of two of their signature cocktails.
The first was the Sacher Martini,
with apricot and citrusy notes created to go perfectly with the Sachertorte.
The second was a fresh and very visually appealing Brew Negroni,
perfectly matching the environment of the bar.
After spending an hour or so relaxing while sipping at our cocktails,
we came back to the room as I went to get ready for a relaxation time at the spa.
The spa area is also beautifully decorated with a classical but modernized style.
I had a one hour fully body relaxing massage,
a most perfect way to finish the afternoon of my second day at the Sacher.
When I got back to the bedroom, night had fell almost completely over Vienna
and it was time to get ready for our last sweet treat
of our very festive stay in this beautiful and so very classical city.
We went down to Café Sacher and ordered a slice of the most famous original Sachertorte
and tried also an original Sacher fudge tea along with a warm cup of tea
surrounded by the beautiful scenario of this iconic Viennese café.
After visiting the Sacher store and buying a couple of souvenirs for the family,
we went on a last stroll around the city center before getting back to our room
where I prepared myself a bed to relax for the rest of my last evening in the beautiful Vienna.
I hope you enjoyed this second video of my stay in Vienna at Christmas time,
I hope you join me on my next one, this time in Paris.