Radisson Blu-Hotel to close

The Radisson Blu-Hotel, one of Vienna’s luxury five star hotels located on the exclusive Parkring is to close at the end of the year.

The building is to be renovated. The hotel has been open for 28 years and will close on December 31st at 15.00.

Hotel manager Helmut Sommer said: “The number of overnight stays has nothing to do with these figures. The number of overnight stays has actually increased. But due to new competition the prices have not managed to develop. But Vienna is still a very attractive destination for tourists.

The Radisson Blu-Hotel has had its share of prominent guests over the past years such as Robbie Williams and the Swedish King and Queen hosted a gala dinner.

The building and the interior design is dated 1985 when it was renovated.

Sommer said: “This is no longer up-to-date for the time. This needs to be modernised.

The US hotel group does not want to carry out this work and the contract expires at the end of the year. The hotel will then close.

The future of the hotel’s 117 employees is up in the air and manager said a social plan was being worked on.

Sommer added: “We are looking for new training places for the interns. it is not ideal just to give them a few thousand Euros and leave it at that. We hope to be able to find them jobs in other

It is planned that the building will remain a hotel. The owner plans to restructure the building and a new opening is planned for 2016.