The Vibe: Avantgarde, cool, minimalist.

The Area: Hip and happening Leopoldstadt, just north of the Danube canal and city centre.

The DNA: SO/ Vienna is a cutting-edge design hotel by Jean Nouvel. No Art Nouveau or Wiener Schnitzel here, but sleek and minimal guestrooms, floating cantilver roofs, video-animated ceilings and a magnificent vertical garden.

Suite-Me-Up: Echoing the hotel’s sleek exteriors, the stark, ultra-modern rooms and suites are decorated in a monochromatic white, cool grey or velvety black. The SO VIP Suite combines all of these and features a large dining room for 12 people, a kitchen, four flat-screen TVs, and a huge wellness bathroom with a Jacuzzi and Turkish bath. And if that’s not enough, you wake to stunning views over Vienna from an ultra-large Hollywood bed.

✅ free Wi-Fi • size matters: 182 rooms (29-43m2) (312-463 sq ft), including 26 suites (55-180m2) (592-1,938 sq ft) • hotel opened: December 2010 (previously Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom) • architecture & interior design: Jean Nouvel • on-site parking (charged) • bathroom amenities: Hermès • pets allowed on request • 24-hour front desk • wheelchair accessible