Schaerer Coffee Art Plus in daily use
Why the Boutique Hotel Sans Souci Wien relies on Schaerer Coffee Art Plus
"Magic Moments" from check-in to the pleasure of a cup of coffee
In the centre of the Viennese museum quarter, a jewel of hospitality with incomparable charm awaits visitors to the Austrian capital: In 2012, the 5-star boutique hotel Sans Souci in Vienna opened its doors. Together with London architecture firm YOO, owner Norbert Winkelmayer, hotel director Andrea Fuchs and her team have created a refuge which delivers what it promises: ‘‘No worries”: Whoever checks in here leaves everyday life behind and is immersed in a world without worries.
Magic Moments
As soon as you enter the lobby, you can feel what Andrea Fuchs means when she is talking about the “magic moments” the Sans Souci team creates for its guests: Only a few steps away from the hustle and bustle of the busy “Burggasse", the circular layout of the reception area surrounds you. The carefully selected furnishings, elegant flower decorations as well as a subtle note of perfume stimulate the senses, making guests feel comfortable. This first impression is consistent throughout the entire hotel. Every small detail is perfect; an “oasis full of charm, enjoyment and lifestyle” is how the hotel director describes the hotel’s identity. Behind the structured turn-of-the-century façade, the Sans Souci surprises with a skilful mix of antiquity and contemporary designer furniture. As a homage to the museum quarter, but also because the owner and the hotel director are substantial art lovers, modern art covers the walls - the same goes for the spacious hotel rooms which shower the guest with all amenities of a 5-star hotel.
Magical moments of enjoyment
The “all-round feeling of well-being” of the Sans Souci is underlined by the high quality of the services and catering. Whether in the spa with two saunas and the longest hotel pool in Vienna, the meeting rooms with a view of the city, the “Veranda” gourmet restaurant is specialising in Austrian cuisine or “Le Bar”, which also offers private champagne tastings - all over the building, the “magic moments” promised earlier await. When it comes to catering, the Sans Souci follows a clear strategy: “When it comes to the food we prepare in-house, we need to buy as much as possible from family operations in Austria and our neighbouring countries, and we also strive to buy organic whenever we can”, asserts Andrea Fuchs. This starts with the mineral water and continues with the use of organic milk and eggs and the purchase of meat and vegetables directly from regional farmers.
“For our coffee, we chose an organic and fair trade-certified blend from the small “Alt Wien” Viennese roaster”, reports Andrea Fuchs.
5 stars of coffee enjoyment
To offer guests added comfort and to highlight the high service standards of the Sans Souci, all coffee specialities are prepared by the service employees in line with the guest’s wishes. During the hotel breakfast service, this ensures a very calm and relaxed atmosphere; and this is also an advantage when it comes to coffee service in the rooms, according to the hotel director: “It is not in line with our philosophy to provide capsule coffee machines and portioned coffee creamer in the rooms. This satisfies neither our standards for the quality of coffee nor our sustainability concept”. For this reason, the customer simply has to make a call, and the requested coffee speciality is brought to the room free of charge. This prevents unnecessary waste and, for milk-based coffee beverages, fresh organic milk or vegan milk alternatives are used, as it's the case in the rest of the hotel.
One for all
Whether for breakfast service, restaurants, bars or hotel rooms: All coffee specialities are prepared by a Schaerer coffee machine which is kept in the kitchen area between the restaurant and bar. “We first had a double portafilter. But when it was in use, we realised that during the peak times at breakfast - around 150 cups are served in one to two hours - we were simply too slow and could not offer uniformly high quality. That is why we chose a fully-automated Schaerer coffee machine together with our coffee machine partner Helmut Wiegisser from BOHNUN after a few months”, remembers Andrea Fuchs. High satisfaction, process reliability and simple handling were all reasons for installing the second Schaerer Coffee Art Plus Best FoamTM in the Sans Souci today. About two years ago, this model replaced its predecessor and now prepares around 55,000 coffee beverages a year.
Mugs and all.
Due to the many guests from the US and Germany, at the Sans Souci, mug-sized coffee beverages are most often ordered at breakfast. “Our guests from Great Britain, on the other hand, first prefer a tea and then often order an espresso. With the Schaerer fully-automated machines, we can serve these different coffee styles without a problem. Besides, we decided on the best milk system
from Schaerer so we could ensure high-quality milk foam, for example, for the ever-popular cappuccino. This is our third most popular coffee speciality and is served with a milk foam tower which our guests really enjoy”, says Fuchs. And to satisfy the growing demand for vegan alternatives such as almond or soy milk, the fully-automated coffee machine is equipped with an additional steam wand for manual foaming. “At the moment, we are considering expanding our menu to include filter coffee, as it is becoming more popular”. Getting on board with this trend while keeping with Sans Souci standards, the hotel director is currently looking for a charming way to serve this type of coffee and could imagine using a small filter coffee mug which is poured by hand at the guest’s table.
We introduce: Hotel manager Andrea Fuchs
For 30 years, Andrea Fuchs has been a self-employed company consultant in the hotel business and has signed a management agreement with the Sans Souci. The well-travelled manager is always looking for ideas which connect the people in the hotel. With this in mind, she published the book "Imagine Human Rights” together with Manfred Nowak. Illustrated by works from international artists including Yoko Ono, Catherine Opie, Edmund de Waal and Joseph Kosuth, it contains the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the UN languages of Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. “It would be great if these rights were the reality for all humans - regardless of their religion, origin or skin colour”, says Andrea Fuchs. Her dream: That this book someday finds its way into the rooms of international hotels.
