At the height of Covid-19 in April our member hotel, the elegant, centrally-located InterContinental Vienna, cooked and delivered up to 300 meals a day to senior citizens and people in need.
The target was to help people who had to stay at home. This initiative received so much positive response from the community that the local association of horse carriage drivers (“Fiaker”: an iconic Vienna tradition) offered to support the hotel with the deliveries. There were many volunteers on bicycles or in cars who also wanted to help and delivered the meals to the doorstep from the hotel’s location overlooking the historic Stadtpark.
In these interesting and challenging times this famous hotel changed gear in mid-step. From a location only moments away from the world-renowned Vienna State Opera and stylish shopping on pedestrianised Kärntner Strasse to a community meals provider.
Who would imagine that behind its functionalist exterior the hotel's magnificent wood panelled lobby hung with chandeliers and the grand ballroom ideal for hosting elegant events are now empty? No longer in the state-of-the-art fitness centre are guests working out, nor dining on gourmet cuisine in the chic Parlour restaurant nor savouring classic cocktails in the refined Intermezzo Bar. The usual hotel services are suspended.
Now the priority has been to repurpose the hotel as a "a great example of bringing the community together and helping each other" says Maître Hôtelier Brigitte Trattner, the Intercontinental Vienna’s General Manager. "We wanted to help and will not stop! Our next project was cooking for the nearby hospital, the Rudolfspital, providing 150 free meals daily to the medical staff working night shifts", she added.
Norbert Simon
Bailli Délégué
