EThere are two types of design hotels: some are so stylish that you can tell from afar, others want to be discovered and focus on exclusivity. The “Leo Grand” in Vienna is one of the latter, acting a bit as an insider tip, so shyly does the entrance look onto a side street. When we took a taxi from Vienna’s Burgring and turned into the maze of narrow streets between St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the Hofburg, we would have driven right past this building without the driver: no sweeping canopy with the hotel name, no double door portal, no shop windows that would allow a view of the Share lobby.
When you open the door of the white building, you don’t find yourself in a classic foyer, but in an intimate salon, where our luggage is immediately taken from us, a drink offered and we are complimented on the soft cushions of an armchair. One is just engrossed in marveling at the animal and jungle motifs that were painted here by an artist on the walls of the salon, when the formalities are already taken care of and we continue to “one of the most beautiful rooms” on the fourth floor. as the concierge assured.