Features

Meet in Vienna

30 Apr 2012 by BusinessTraveller

As the Austrian capital remembers the birth of Klimt, David Atkinson takes a look at meetings and incentives with an artistic vibe.

This year, Vienna is marking what would have been the 150th birthday of the father of Viennese modernism, Gustav Klimt, with a major cultural programme of events.

But the city has more reasons than that to celebrate. It remains the number-one meetings destination in the International Congress and Convention Association rankings and, last year, was voted the number-one city in the Mercer Quality of Living Survey, beating Zurich and Auckland into second and third positions.

The latest figures from the Vienna Convention Bureau (VCB) show that business is holding up well in troubled economic times – the city hosted 3,151 congresses and corporate events last year, which generated e838 million and some 1,412,133 bed-nights.

Some of the main reasons event bookers choose Vienna are its accessibility, infrastructure and value for money, says Judith Settele, the VCB’s marketing and project co-ordinator for the UK and the US. “The Klimt focus this year may encourage event buyers to look again at the city,” she adds.

From its traditional coffee shops to the architectural legacy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire of 1867-1918, Vienna retains a strong sense of culture and history. As well as a good range of venues, including capacity for large-scale events (see panel, facing page), the variety of attractions ensures interesting activities are available for delegates. Most of the key venues and hotels are located in the city’s first district, the central area encircled by the Ring Boulevard and on the south bank of the Danube Canal.

Art and classical music fuel the cultural life of the city, with the Opera Ball in mid-February the cornerstone of the city’s carnival season. The Museums Quarter, just beyond Ring Boulevard, offers all-day dining and late-night gallery tours.

As part of the Klimt anniversary, there are ten major exhibitions being staged across the city, such as “Klimt: up close and personal”, until August 27 at the Leopold Museum, and “Klimt: the Wien Museum collection”, until September 16. Meanwhile, two major new cultural infrastructure projects are under way. The new Kunstkammer (Chamber of Art and Wonders) at the Kunsthistorisches Museum is due to open in December, and the newly refurbished Liechtenstein Palais will reopen as the new home of Biedermeier art in 2013.

Other major projects close to completion include the Skylink extension at Vienna airport, located 16km from the city centre. Opening in July, it will add a terminal adjacent to the current one and increase the airport’s capacity to 24 million. It also promises a 25-minute minimum connecting time.

The new central rail station in the south of the city is due to be fully operational by 2015 and will become the hub for international rail arrivals, connecting the major trans-European network corridors of Paris to Bratislava, Gdansk to Bologna, and Athens to Dresden. The completed Bahnhofcity development, of which the new station is a part at Suedtirolerplatz, will extend to 59 hectares with offices, retail, hotel and commercial elements by 2019.

Vienna currently has 27,564 rooms across 409 hotels, including 13,210 in four-star properties, and 3,827 across 19 five-star hotels, according to November 2011 figures from the VCB. A slew of boutique and branded properties are set to boost those figures in the coming year.

The 32-room Hotel Lamée opens in mid-June, while its 33-room sister property, Hotel Topaz, was to open in mid-April, and the 202-room Ritz-Carlton Vienna will follow in August. Next spring, the 152-room Palais Hansen Kempinski will open in a restored neo-Renaissance building, while the 143-room Park Hyatt will open in 2013.

The city is also looking to new destinations and partners. “Vienna increasingly attracts business from the Far East,” says Renate Danler, chief executive of the Hofburg Vienna, the most prestigious of the city’s three convention centres. “We are seeing the highest participation rate coming from the central European countries and Russia, but the Hofburg Vienna hosted its first all-Asian event from Hong Kong in 2010. I think, like so many clients, they loved Vienna’s uniquely imperial touch.”

VENUES

Spanish Riding School

This 16th-century institution is the oldest riding academy in the world and home to the snow-white Lipizzaner stallions, which practise a form of classical horsemanship. Located in the first district, it has three meeting rooms in the historic setting of the main house, plus private access to the Baroque riding hall. The former can accommodate 100 delegates between them for drinks and canapés; the latter 700 people for dinner using a temporary floor. The Imperial Box in the riding hall hosts 30 people, so groups could combine a private performance of the choreographed dance show (the horses perform a routine to music, normally staged for the public each morning at 11am) with a tour of the stables. The stables yard has an open roof for a summer ball of up to 500 guests. Note that group riding lessons are not possible.

  • Michaelerplatz 1; tel +43 1533 9031; srs.at

Hofburg

Located in the first district, bordering Heldenplatz and close to the ministries for state banquets and trade shows, the former winter residence of the Habsburg family is a labyrinthine venue for large-scale events, with 35 spaces overall. The largest is the white-marble Festsaal, which holds 660 people for dinners or 1,260 theatre-style. The second wing was rebuilt in 1992 in a more contemporary style following a fire. The Large Redoutensaal features huge red-orange canvases by Austrian artist Josef Mikl and accommodates 450 people for a gala dinner. In the loft, the Dome, which looks like a giant golf ball, seats 20 people, while the Dachfoyer is a funky place for an evening drinks reception for 250.

Albertina

This centrally located museum celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2013 with a special programme, including a Damien Hirst retrospective. The 21 neoclassical Habsburg State Rooms form the mainstay of its event space – of these, the Hall of Muses is the largest, accommodating 250 people for evening cocktails. This could be combined with a private tour of the permanent collection, which spans masters from Monet to Picasso. The outdoor terrace is suited to intimate summer drinks.

Hotel Sacher

The landmark hotel, located opposite the opera house, is best known for the invention in 1832 of the chocolate-rich Sacher Torte, as well as its extensive private art collection. It completed a £45 million refurbishment in May last year, which included its 149 rooms and suites. Event space includes the arty Gustav Mahler room, with a gold-leaf motif and space for 40 delegates theatre-style, the formal Marble Hall, which seats 80 people for dinner, and the business-like Salon Metternich, with space for 20 people boardroom-style. The fifth-floor spa offers
high-end treatments.

  • Philharmonikerstrasse 4; tel +43 1514 560; sacher.com

The Belvedere

Klimt’s best-known work, The Kiss, can be found at this former Baroque palace, now split into two museums, the Upper and Lower Belvedere, connected by gardens. The Upper Belvedere has two event spaces for hire, allowing you to combine a meeting with a private view of the permanent collection in the evening. The Marble Hall has a real sense of history and can host a gala dinner for 240 people, while the Octagon is the only space available to rent by day. It’s located next to the Klimt room and accommodates 20 people boardroom-style.

Hotel Savoyen

The Austrian Trend group has 20 hotels in the city, and this four-star property has 309 rooms in a modern, minimalist style. It is located in the third district, next to the Botanical Gardens of Vienna. The Savoyen’s Olympia Mancini ballroom is the largest hotel venue in the city, hosting up to 1,000 people theatre-style. It’s split into five sections, with a separate lounge for breakouts during events. There are also three rooms upstairs, for 16 people boardroom-style in each. The group’s four-star Hotel Doppio was set to open this month with 155 rooms and two meeting venues. 

MAK

The Museum of Applied and Contemporary Art, located in the first district next to the city park, has a series of spaces – the columned main hall holds 540 people for a stand-up buffet, while the second-floor area seats 150. For smaller events, the Chimney Room has room for 12 people boardroom-style, and the Media Room hosts 20-30 delegates. Combine your meeting with a private viewing of the exhibitions, which include the frieze created by Klimt for the Stoclet Palace in Brussels.

  • Stubenring 5; tel +43 1712 8000; mak.at

Hilton Vienna

The largest conference hotel in Austria, located on the western fringe of the centre, boasts 579 rooms, including 82 Executive rooms, and 17 meeting spaces. Of these, the multi-functional Park Congress Centre, which has its own entrance, can accommodate up to 840 participants reception- or theatre- style, while the Klimt ballroom holds 460 delegates. The hotel also has a health club, while the adjoining city park is great for jogging.

  • Am Stadtpark 1; tel +43 171 7000; hilton.at

INCENTIVE IDEAS

Vienna lends itself to everything from walking tours to waltzing. Some of the best options include:

  • The carnival ball season Learn the Viennese waltz at one of the city’s dancing schools or ball venues, such as the Hofburg Vienna.
  • Art workshops The Belvedere is home to the world’s largest Klimt collection, comprising more than 20 of his works. But the gallery most closely associated with the artist also runs a gold-leaf workshop to imitate the style of his gold period. Evening workshops are staged in the Octagon room, and can be followed by a private viewing.
  • Cooking school Viennese pastry is world class and Café Residenz at the Schonbrunn Palace (cafe-residenz.at), just outside the city, offers groups tuition in the art of making apple strudel. The centrally located Café Demel (demel.at) runs Sacher Torte decoration classes.
  • Water sports The banks of the New Danube area host dragon boat racing, while the Danube Canal district, on the fringe of the city’s first and second districts, has wake-boarding classes for groups.
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