One of Vienna's coolest spots, Hotel Motto oozes flair and fun
Words: Jonathan Whiley
Old sport, I'm a sucker for the 1920s. The style, the sass, the hanky pankys (cocktails or otherwise). The sense of fun. At Hotel Motto in Vienna, nostalgia presents as a seductive currency; it has a strong claim as the city's coolest hideaway.
A boutique design hotel in the heart of the city (on the doorstep of the main shopping street and next to a metro station for easy access to the sights), it combines Parisian 1920s flair with a slice of modern Viennese lifestyle.
Think reimagined antique furniture (some from The Ritz in Paris), fabric-covered walls, splashes of soft colour and gold-accented tables ready for cocktail hour. Owned by Austrian entrepreneur and restaurateur Bernd Schlacher, it's located in a building that dates back to the 17th century and was once the home of Johann Strauss.
Opened in 2021, there are 85 rooms and six suites, an on-site bakery and a small fitness area with a unisex sauna and steam room. It presents as effortlessly styled, but it has been meticulously thought out, from the graffiti-style quotes on mirrored walls to illustrative silhouettes.
Lead image: Hotel Motto Lobby Reception, photographs by Oliver Jiszda.
Above image: Chez Bernard Bar, photographs by Oliver Jiszda.
One of the highlights is its restaurant and bar, Chez Bernard, on the seventh floor (with a rooftop on the eighth). Whether breakfast, lunch or dinner, it's packed and booking is highly recommended – breakfast is not included in the room rates.
Filled with greenery and set under a striking glass dome, it's an atmospheric spot (a DJ arrives come nightfall) popular among young locals, with a menu that is modern Austrian meets classic French.
Breakfast features the likes of croque monsieur and craft coffee (made specially for the hotel), while dinner includes wiener schnitzel (naturally) and cog au vin rouge. Staff, while friendly, are a little business-like – which feels slightly at odds with the playful nature of the surroundings. But it's a minor footnote; the rest is the bee's knees.
I whizz around Jaipur with Muskan, taking in the sights and sounds of this frenetic city. Horn toots and chatter are Jaipur’s looping soundtrack. Cows nonchalantly wander the roads, scooters crisscrossing around them. A man rides a camel through the middle of the street. Nobody blinks.
On our way to Amber Fort, an ancient and regal UNESCO World Heritage site first constructed in 1592, we pass crumbling palaces of old turned to overgrown gardens. We stop at Panna Meena ka Kund, an ancient stepwell designed to harvest rain water. A turtle swims majestically across the deep well.
Thick clumps of scrub cover the hillside like clustered moss, winding up towards the fort. A fusion of Hindu and Mughal styles its pink and yellow sandstone facade shimmers across the water.
Jaipur’s palaces are beyond opulent too. Home to the Jaipur royal family the City Palace, constructed during the reign of Sawai Jai Singh II, is a building of mythical proportions. Grand courtyards and ornate pavilions lead to manicured gardens and temples built in Mughal and Rajput architectural style.
It's a place made more beautiful by the passing of time; an exotic relic of a lost world where rulers carved their legacies into sandstone, chiselling forever temples of power and prestige.
I'm sad to leave a place of such self-contained beauty but lifted by the sight of Muskan who is waiting to ferry me back to Raffles. My chariot awaits. For one last night I get to eat, drink and sleep like a maharaja again.
