The Ring – Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel

On my previous trip to Vienna I read about a highly recommended designer boutique hotel, offering style as well as casual ambiance and decided to check it out. Located at the heart of the beautiful city of Vienna, Austria, The Ring, Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel offers a unique design experience throughout its 68 spacious guest rooms and elegant suites, the stylishly chic “Drings” bar and the excellent, award-winning restaurant by the name of “at eight”.

As I was crossing the famous Ringstrasse I was greeted by the impressive, historical building facade of The Ring Hotel, full of old charm and character.

Mastering the art of blending new and contemporary design with charming historical features is no easy task. However, The Ring, Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel has succeeded in doing so, while creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

I met up with Carl-Peter Echtermeijer, the Assistant General Manager of The Grand Hotel Vienna and The Ring Hotel, Vienna, to find out more about the hotel’s style and design concept:

What differentiates The Ring hotel from other 5-star luxury hotels?

The Ring, Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel differentiates itself from other 5-star luxury hotels due to the size of the property (68 rooms and suites), the overall concept (casual luxury), the location in combination with the name (The Ring, located on the famous ‘Ringstrasse’), the history of the building (it used to be a bank), the concept of the restaurant (aroma cuisine) and the theme of the bar : vodka (over 40 exclusive vodka brands) as well as the unique day spa.

How would you describe the hotel’s design concept / inspiration / style?

The design e.g. overall concept is ‘casual luxury’, this means that we aim for diverse and distinguished international guests, trendy-hunting creatives, young urban and mobile professionals that combine their lifestyle whilst traveling and staying in hotels. The concept is a mixture out of boutique (due to size), design (due to the numerous design elements), the overall look-and-feel, the different facilities and guest offers (f.e. the guest packages, the great vodka cocktails, the guest book full with guest reviews of famous VIP’s and celebrities) as well as the personal service.

Who is the hotel’s architect / interior designer?

Parts of the interior design and the hotel’s architecture have been defined by Lab Architects, a Viennese architecture company.

What can you tell me about the prominent design features of the hotel? Are there any unique design elements you wish to mention?

The most prominent design features of the hotel are : the front of the hotel : classical, the antique elevator in the lobby, the unique bar front (covered with spectacular installations of ‘mathematical art’), the bed, the Nespresso machine in every guest room and suite. I would like to mention the mixture of classical and modern features in the largest suite of the hotel : Ring Suite.

Is there any specific use of color and/or materials throughout the hotel’s interior design?

We used specific colors for the interior design following the ‘Café-au-lait’ concept : warm brown and beige tones along with pistachio-green and sensual red. Furthermore specific wooden items in the hotel are made of Zeprano-wood.

Who is the audience you are targeting? And how do you serve their special needs?

We are targeting the young urban professionals and trendy-hunting creatives, those who focus on a casual luxury way-of-living and want to experience this also when staying in a hotel. Furthermore we target the overall entertainment industry : famous bands, musicians, top-models, architects, film stars, producers, overall VIP’s within this industry. One may find some sensational inputs in our large black guest book in the hotel lobby.

We do serve the special needs of all our guests by offering a detailed ‘guest relation program’ in which we define, together with the booking agencies how to satisfy our guests.

Are there any specific accessories of well-known local and/or international designers?

Some lighting highlights are from Molto Luce, the hotel does offer more some accessories like a Nespresso-machine in every room and guest amenities by Molton Brown. Some rooms and suites do have a nice collection of books.

How would you describe the general look & feel a visitor will sense upon entering the hotel?

Feel ‘home-away-from-home’ in a casual luxury way.

Are there any historical or unique features to the hotel’s structure?

As the building was a bank building in the past, we were able to keep specific historical items like the old stairway and the unique Ring Suite where one may find beautiful stucco.

In what way does the hotel compliment its surrounding area?

The area where The Ring, Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel is located is dominated by the traditional Viennese 5-star luxury hotels. The presence of The Ring is therefore vital as many guests are looking for something new. In addition, many small boutiques, PR agencies, small consulting companies, artist offices etc. are located in the neighborhood and of course welcomed The Ring!