DATA SHEET
Owner: Northwood Investors
Hotel operator: Event Hotels
Architecture: BWM Designers & Architects
Interior design: Goddard Littlefair
Landscape design: Lindle+Bukor
Photo credits: Mel Yates, courtesy of Autograph Collection®
This is a new era for the former Imperial Riding School, a major part of Vienna‘s cultural heritage. In the 19th century, it was a royal military equestrian school and then became home to one of Vienna’s largest movie theaters, and then was used as a garage for post office vehicles. Now it is welcoming a contemporary clientele as a 4-star hotel.
The project involved 18 months of renovation after four years of inactivity, and investments of about €45 million — of which €7 million for sustainability – to turn it into the new Imperial Riding School Hotel, a luxury accommodation facility of the Autograph Collection® chain, part of Marriott International. A true journey into Vienna’s aristocratic sophistication and Bohemian charm, which the architects deftly translated into modern style without diminishing its beauty.
The London-based Goddard Littlefair was in charge of the interior design. The Viennese BWM Designers & Architects planned the architecture and structural planning, and Lindle+Bukor did the landscape design, preserving the building’s illustrious past while maintaining its architectural integrity, combined with the modern style of a dynamic present. This narrative story extends seamlessly from the public areas to the private rooms of 342 rooms.
The bar features a striking metal installation that lightly extends over the entire ceiling. The restaurant is bound by walls decorated with mirrors and metal objects and a series of niches with private seating surrounded by suspended metal structures. The lighting project deftly accentuates every detail to create inviting, inspiring interiors and enhance the culinary experience.
The rooms combine equestrian touches with modern sophistication, including braided leather details and horsehair panels. The hallways are furnished with custom-made carpets that suggest the passage of dressage riders. The historic garden also pays tribute to the legendary imperial orchard, built at the behest of Emperor Franz Joseph I, with an open living room arranged in a horseshoe, inviting us to relax within its timeless beauty.
