Altstadt Vienna

Class: First

Style: Cutting edge

Rooms: 42

In a city as storied and picturesque as Vienna, a boutique hotel made from an aristocrat’s renovated townhouse already has plenty to recommend it. Add to that an update by the Milan-based architect Matteo Thun (see also the Vigilius resort in the Italian alps) and you’ve the makings of a modern classic, in the form of the Altstadt Vienna.

It’s located just outside the Ringstrasse, close enough to what’s likely brought you to Vienna in the first place yet in a neighborhood frequented by more locals than tourists and shoppers — the Spittelberg is the kind of formerly dodgy and newly rehabilitated artsy district that hoteliers everywhere lust for.

The so-called Classic rooms are smart and contemporary, if understated, a fine reminder that Vienna doesn’t have to be all 17th-century opulence all the time. But it’s the new and surprisingly sexy Matteo Thun rooms that really stand out. Boudoir-inspired décor, rich textures, and a palette of deep crimsons and greys set the mood subtly, while the mural-sized photographic nudes do so more explicitly. A bit racy for some guests, certainly, but surely a welcome change for some others — the cold palette and ascetic airlessness of the typical design hotel doesn’t have a chance against the forceful sensuality of the Altstadt.