Marilyn Monroe … still a legend and still a Hollywood star nobody forgets. From December 22^th, 2011 to February 26^th, 2012 an exhibition called ‘Marilyn: Intimacy’ at the ‘Novomatic Forum’ in Vienna shows devotional objects of Marilyn Monroe for the first time in Austria. Until today the memories of Marilyn Monroe are kept alive by her fans, one of them is the German collector Ted Stampfer. He has been a fan of Marilyn since he is ten years old.

He was able to gather nameable pieces of the inheritance of Marilyn Monroe on several nameable auctions and this definitely allows a unique access to Marilyn Monroe. The ‘Novomatic Forum’ will be transformed into a ‘memorial place’, a great memory to a real Hollywood star, a sensational trip in history, where one can see what has been left over and what is memorized: personal objects of the tenure of a world star …

The Novomatic Forum is close to The Ring, Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel … and no, we did not transform the hotel into a memorial place but we simply liked to 2 pictures of Marilyn Monroe done by the famous artist Steve Kaufman, that is why they are placed at the restaurant at eight …

It all started in 1294 with the “December market” in Vienna, which is regarded by many as the forerunner to the present Christmas markets. Over the years, the city of Vienna and its authorities have worked on the historical and authentic image of a Christmas market, away from plagiarism. Now Vienna hosts around 25 markets, ranging from smaller to larger ones, offering a collection of wooden stalls on a square, open space or a defined number of smaller streets. At almost all markets one finds a unique selection of stands selling traditional and typical Austrian Christmas food and drinks, handmade clothing, art and handcrafted items, handmade toys, candy and so on.

What is so special about a Christmas market in Vienna? Is it the combination of snow, crispy winter air, the lighting, the aromas flying through the air, the products one can buy, the crowd or just the complete atmosphere? Yes, and you should definitely go there when it is dark to get the best experience.

The Christmas Market season 2009 starts on Saturday, November 14^th as the Advent season descends upon Vienna once more, whereas a few markets start one week later. Most of them until December 21^st, 24^th or even 26^th, 2009. During the time of Advent Vienna is a lighting city full of nostalgia, elegance and romance, numerous concerts, beautiful decorated shop displays, x-ordinary lightings and not to forget, the traditional Christmas markets. Classical ones include the Christmas market at Schönbrunn Palace, the Christmas market in front of the City Hall, the traditional Viennese Christmas market on Freyung, the markets in the various streets at Spittelberg, Am Hof and in front of the church of St. Charles Borromeo (Karlskirche). A special one is the Christmas market at the museum Belvedere.

The Ring, Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel, is of course following the festive season, especially with its lighting curtain out of 50.000 LED lights that highlights the complete front of the hotel, the numerous special rates for all festive weekends, Christmas and New Years Eve but also the package “Christmas in Vienna @ The Ring” and the large selection of menus at the hotel restaurant At Eight.

The X-Mas season in Vienna is not only romantic and elegant; with roaring log fires and charming Christmas markets … it is also trendy and “hot” with winter DJ sounds, winter sport opportunities like ice skating and curling and perfect shopping locations. But no matter what you prefer, Christmas in Vienna above all can be one thing: an unforgettable experience @ The Ring, Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel.

Curious and thinking of visiting? Check out the following websites:

www.theringhotel.com
www.christmasmarkets.com
www.christmas-markets.at
www.vienna4u.at/christmasmarket.html

A few examples: Stein Group, Geisel Privathotels in Germany, Schössle Hotel Group and Bulgari Collection. Mostly all boutique hotels are furnished in a themed, aspirational or stylish way, boost between 30 and 80 guest rooms and suites and have special ‘unique selling points’ like for example their location, special features like a spa, themed restaurant or bar, the history of the building, their name, the façade or the connection to a specific luxury lifestyle brand like for example Bulgari Collection.

That is why boutique hotels are considered to be individual and unlikely to be found within the large hotel chains. The term ‘design hotel‘ comes along when parts of a small size hotel are designed by a well known designer or when the hotel did choose a famous interior design company for the room concept, restaurant or bar design or other parts of the hotel. Good examples of design hotels can be found on www.designhotels.com like for example the Lux 11 in Berlin, designed by Guiliana Salmaso – Silvestrin/Salmaso, London as well as Goetz Maximilian Keller – MK Architects, Berlin. This design hotel is situated in Berlin’s upcoming district of ‘Berlin Mitte’, The positioning and style of the hotel has been adapted to the various shops, restaurants and bars in this district. It was opened on July 1st, 2005 and one can see that the interior design and modern structure has been developed together with the historical setting of the building. The hotel offers 72 rooms, suites and apartments so it fits to the defined number of rooms boutique hotels in general feature. Look at the different color concepts and the use of various interior design elements … this is what design is all about.

Another good example of a design hotel is the Rockhouse Hotel, Jamaica. It is stretched across the cliffs of Pristine Cove in Negril, a great location! Interior design/architecture by Jean-Henri Morin, Australia and Cornerstone Design, Jamaica, this hotel can also be defined as ‘lifestyle hotel‘. The hotel can be seen as ultimate exotic escape. It offers 34 rooms and suites in 4 different categories, including villas. The rooms are built from timber, stone and thatch and designed to exist in harmony with the jungle-like garden and volcanic rock of the hotel’s setting.

Boutique and design hotels tend to position themselves, in addition to using the terms ’boutique’ and/or ‘design’, also as ‘hip’, ‘trendy’ or ‘lifestyle’ hotel, different terms with no exact definition. A lifestyle hotel can be seen as a hotel that tries to keep updated with traveler preferences as well as changes in overall travel. A lifestyle hotel can also be seen as a hotel that defines its target group / target audience as well as the travel preferences, habits, level of income, characteristics and ‘personalities’ of this target group, and by combining both a lifestyle hotel defines its interior design, hotel products, level of service, type of outlets etcetera, creating a ‘home-away-from-home’ feeling for the dedicated guest, offering the same ‘lifestyle preferences’ in a hotel as the guest does have at home.

As the big hotel chains see potential in this segment (Hyatt Hotel with their concept ‘Andaz’, InterContinental with their brand ‘Indigo‘, Rezidor does launch ‘Missoni‘ and Starwood has ‘Element‘), the future will show if this trend will continue. If travelers, which tend to prefer small hotels that cater more individually to their personal needs and preferences, will focus more strongly on ‘lifestyle hotels’ … good question.

• Jan Hendrik van Dillen – Palais Coburg
• Oscar del Campo, Imperial & Bristol
• Carl-Peter Echtermeijer, Grand Hotel Wien & The Ring Hotel
• Johann Mikats, Ambassador.

In May 2008 van Dillen, del Campo, Echtermeijer and Mikats met with Vienna Deluxe to determine which factors their luxury hotels have in common. At the traditional Café Griensteidl, it was remarkable to note what a magnet Vienna has become for foreign guests.”

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