Parliamentary Briefing

If you're heading for Vienna, you may find the perfect antidote to all those rich pastries and rococo buildings in the clean, airy minimalism of the Levante Parliament Hotel, tel: (43-1) 228 280. The brainchild of Turkish-born industrialist turned hotelier Fuat Mehmetoglu, the 70-room, Bauhaus-inspired bolt-hole is built around a courtyard close to Austria's legislature in tony Josefstadt. All guest rooms feature flat-screen TVs, tastefully understated decor, and bathrooms with heated stone floors and glass-enclosed rain showers. The hotel's bar-restaurant, Nemtoi, keeps things sweet and simple, too. Dishes like gnocchi served with cilantro pesto or homemade ravioli with mint-and-potato stuffing and...