Hotel Imperial

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This article is about the hotel operator in Vienna, Austria. See also Imperial Hotel, Tokyo for the hotel building in Tokyo, Japan; or Imperial Hotel for the Japanese hotel chain operator, or Rockaway Beach Hotel for the 19th-century hotel which was alternatively called the Hotel Imperial.

Hotel facts and statistics
Hotel Imperial
Hotel Imperial on Austria's national holiday (October 26, 2005)

Location	Ringstraße, Vienna, Austria
Opening date	1873
Developer	Heinrich Adam
Architect	Arnold Zenetti
Website	http://austria.starwoodhotels.com/imperial.html?&L=en

The Hotel Imperial is a five-star luxury hotel in Vienna, Austria. It is located at the Ringstraße.

The building was designed by architect Arnold Zenetti and built under the direction of Heinrich Adam in 1863. Initially, it was planned as a city palace (Stadtpalais) of Duke Philipp of Württemberg (1838-1917) and his spouse Duchess Marie Therese (1845-1927), nee Archduchess of Austria, and its original name was Palais Württemberg. However, the Duke and the Duchess did not like their new home very much and, after having moved there in 1866, sold it only five years later. For the Universal Exhibition it was converted into a hotel in 1873. In 1928, two storeys were added. But the original architecture is still very much in evidence and is an integral part of the luxurious atmosphere.

The hotel's famous guests are too numerous to list. It has had some infamous guests as well, however. Adolf Hitler, who worked at the hotel as a day laborer during his youthful period as a virtual tramp in Vienna, returned as an honored guest following the 1938 Anschluss. One of the less dignified arrivals at the hotel was that of Benito Mussolini, who was shepherded through the back door on Sept. 13, 1943 following his spectacular rescue by German paratroops in Unternehmen Eiche (Operation Oak).

Today it is an exclusive five-star hotel in Vienna. Guests of state are normally housed there, such as the Emperor and Empress of Japan on their visit in 2002.

A speciality of the house is the Tart Imperial, based on a secret recipe which is said to come from an apprentice cook who created it when Emperor Franz Joseph opened the Hotel in 1873. This confection can be ordered worldwide because it is possible to hold it fresh for two months.