Schlossberghotel - Das Kunsthotel

Graz deserves to step out from behind Vienna into a spotlight of its own. Besides the humbling variety of architectural styles in its extraordinarily well-preserved Old Town, it’s rich in history: Archduke Franz Ferdinand was born here, Kepler taught and studied here, and the Ottomans and Napoleon’s army both swept through. In the center of it all looms Schloßberg, a verdant hill crowned with the remains of a 16th-century fortress. And at the foot of that hill, nestled on the east bank of the Mur and nearly as old, waits Schlossberghotel — Das Kunsthotel, more than a match for its heady surroundings.

It began its life as a hotel in the Sixties, gradually acquiring adjacent buildings and modernizing facilities over the decades; think of it as ancient mastery’s bemused retort to the contemporary boutique sensibility. Joyful, grounded eclecticism rules the roost here, most palpable in the vast range of original artwork displayed on just about every vertical surface they could hang a frame on. In fact, the hotel sponsors an “Artists in Action” program to foster ongoing works in progress right on the premises.

Balance is key: each of the 49 rooms and four suites is a study in space versus substance, tempering ornate period fixtures and antique furnishings with stretches of parquet flooring, sizable windows, and vibrant textiles. And there’s also an octet of futuristic apartments with all the idiosyncratic lines and floor-to-ceiling windows you could ask for.

The lobby bar and lounge keeps things convivial with amusingly mixed-period seating, carpets, and mirrors, equally suitable for a mug of coffee or a snifter of cognac. Take breakfast in the winter garden, or better yet, on the rooftop terrace, weather permitting; between the cataracts of ivy, shady reading nooks, whimsical stone paths, and sunbath, we’re sure something will blend perfectly with the captivating views over the city’s rust-hued roofs.