Hotel Sacher
Wien by Andreas Augustin was published in 2008 (160 pages). It is available in
German and in English. This review is based on the English version of the book.
The author Andreas
Augustin, who was born in Vienna, graduated from the Hotel and Tourism College
at Klessheim Palace in Salzburg. He worked as a journalist and newspaper
publisher before he decided to focus on the history of individual hotels.
By now he is the
author of several books about historic hotels published by the organisation “The
Most Famous Hotels in the World,” including The Sofitel Metropole Hanoi
(2001) and The Oriental in Bangkok (2013).
The main text of
the book about the Sacher Hotel is divided into eleven chapters. Here are the
headlines:
# 01. Travel Diary
# 02. Of Course I
Can!
# 03. The Next
generation
# 04. Frau Sacher:
The Sacher, That’s Me!
# 05. Potentates,
Magnates and an Assassination
# 06. Into a New
Era
# 07. The Guests
Return!
# 08. The
Chocolate Cake
# 09. The Third
Man
# 10. The Stars
Move In
# 11. Investing in
the Future
At the end of the
book there are three long lists of famous and important people who have visited
the hotel since it was founded in 1876. The headline of this section is “Who’s
Who in the Hotel Sacher.”
The text is
accompanied by numerous well-chosen illustrations, many of them in colour. The
style of writing is brisk. This book is an easy read, a quick read. It is
entertaining and at the same time informative.
When you have read
this book, you will know the history of the hotel. You will understand why it
holds an important place in the history of Vienna, of Austria and indeed of
Europe.
Sadly, there are
some minor flaws, mostly misprints or missing words. Here is a list of the
cases that I noticed while reading the book:
** Page 33 – “…
with extended…” It should be: which extended…
** Page 40 – “…
where his son had dies.” It should be: where his son had died.
** Page 41 – “It
was served to told Metternich…” It should be: It was served to Lothar von
Metternich…
** Page 41 caption
– “Eduard catered at the court of King Milan in Serbia and [the king] returned
the compliment with a visit to Sacher’s in 1896.” Two missing words are added
in brackets.
** Page 42 – “The
there were…” It should be: Then there were…
** Page 63 – “…
may robbed…” It should be: may have robbed…
** Page 74 caption
– “The tragic assassination of Sarajevo…” It should be: The tragic
assassination at Sarajevo…
** Page 99 – “In
spit of the Nazi flags…” It should be: In spite of the Nazi flags…
** Page 119 – “…
until his tenure was tragically cut short a few months earlier.” It should be:
a few months later.
I hope these minor
flaws will be corrected before the book is reprinted by the publisher.
If you are
interested in the history of famous hotels around the world and the role they
have played in their local communities, then this book is definitely something
for you.
*****
Hotel Sacher Wien (The
Sacher Hotel in Vienna)
By Andreas
Augustin
Published by the
Most Famous Hotels in the World
Available in
English and in German
160 pages, 2008
*****
Andreas Augustin with one of his books
*****
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