NE flier

Hi all,

My wife, infant son and I are planning a trip to Vienna for later this fall and I need advice on selecting a hotel. Our budget is about 175 euro. We could go higher for a wonderful experience but would prefer to stay in this range.

Since we are travelling with our infant, we value space and would prefer a suite with two rooms, but that's not a must.

Our other main criteria is a good location inside or near the major tourist attractions.

Finally, since this our first time in Austria and we don't speak German, a hotel that has a strong concierge and reception staff who are service oriented and help us plan our trip would be a huge plus.

So far, we are debating between

-- Hilton Vienna Plaza, where we can get a one bedroom corner suite for about 175 euro per night, which includes executive lounge access -- we will probably want more authentic viennese breakfasts but it's nice to have the option to grab something in the lounge;

or

--the Hotel Rathaus Wine & Design, a "boutique hotel" that we learned about on trip advisor; the staff seems to provide excellent service but we wouldn't be able to get a suite; we are getting a regular room for about 160 euro per night

We would be grateful if anyone has insight on these hotels and can help us make a choice. And if there's another hotel that we should consider, we would welcome the suggestion. Our dates are in late October about 18th through the 21st.

We promise to come back and post on our experiences. Thanks for your insights!

deniah

ive stayed at the wein & design. its a really nice place, but its not a roomy place. boutique indeed.

vienna doesnt sprawl. as long as you are within district <09, you are in a "good location". both hotels are a proverbial stone's throw from another.

the wein & co doesnt have a lounge area, just a small courtyard and "breakfast" seating. nice breakfast eats but no hotel restaurant so to speak for dinner. if you are looking for a traditional, full service hotel, this is not it.

i like it, but maybe its not for you

NE flier

Thanks, deniah!! We aren't necessarily looking for full-service ammenities like a hotel restaurant as we usually prefer to take our meals at some authentic local places, and before the little guy was born, sometimes in more gastronomic restaurants. We plan to eat a lot of schnitzel and other traditional austrian dishes, and of course, as chocolate lovers we are very excited about sacher torte!

What drew us to the Rathaus was the reviews on trip advisor of the staff going the extra mile to help guests navigate the city and have a great experience. I imagine that's not something we are as likely to get at the Hilton, espeially since we lack status. I'm sure we could find that at the Kempinski but sadly that property is outside of our budget.

All things equal, I think a smaller property (so long as the rooms aren't tiny!!) would probably better for us, and we certainly don't mind the lack of restaurants, but want to confirm that whether they have a formal concierge or not, the Wine Hotel will be able to help us with things like restaurant recommendations, train tickets, planning tourist visits and maybe even concert tickets. In other words, I want to make sure that our main loss in going to the wine hotel over the hilton is space.

And of course if we are missing a property that would work, we would appreciate additional recommendations!

general45

Stay at the Hilton Plaza. My wife and I were in Vienna a couple of weeks ago. The Plaza is in a great location on the Ring. Before your trip is over, I think you will appreciate lounge access more than you think.
For us, we would venture out after breakfast, spend 3-4 hours sightseeing, come back to the lounge for a drink and snack and than head out again for more sites and dinner. The lounge was a great place to finish the day. With an infant in tow,this might also be a plan you might want to follow.
You also brought up the Hilton at Stadtpark on the Hilton page and this is also a very good location located across the street from a very family friendly park. It is also a stop for the Vienna hop-on/hop-off tour bus.
No matter which location you choose, there will be plenty of choices to sample breakfast, Vienna style.
Hope this is helpful and enjoy your trip to one of my favorite cities.

jspira

Although I don't know the exact rates for the period you are visiting, you should consider the Hilton am Stadtpark, also known as the Hilton Vienna now.

I stayed there and enjoyed my stay when all of the five-star hotels were completely sold out. The location, however, directly across from the Stadtpark and Cafe Prückel (am Stubenring) cannot be beat.

(In more recent stays over the past year or so, I've stayed at the Kempinski Palais Hansen twice, the new Ritz-Carlton, and the Imperial and all are excellent choices too.)

Hopefully my review of the Hilton will give you a better overview:
Hilton Vienna Review, Austria

general45

Get the Citibank Hilton Honors Signature Visa card- Gold status and 2 free weekend nights. That is free full breakfast if you are not upgraded to an executive floor room. There's your status.

MarLim

You might also consider the Danube Hilton, not downtown, but within walking distance to the Prater and with a metro station nearby. Nice location at the Danube river.

deniah

i never inquired about those things, but the staff was friendly, and i dont see why they couldnt do those things for you. (the hotel has low traffic). strictly speaking there is no dedicated concierge.

perhaps you want to give them a call and ask.

this hotel is in the 8th district which along with the 7th is very "bohemian" and upscale. it is next to rathaus which imo is the best building in the city. and along the west side of Ring Road which meter-by-meter is some of the prettiest places in the world.

you'll have a good time