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Pension Nossek-Vienna - Very bad experience!

We DO NOT recommend Pension Nossek-Vienna. It was the last hotel on our GAS 2022 Tour. We got a separate room for my husband as he tested positive for Covid, and then I tested positive for Covid. We followed all protocols. In fact I never left my room as I was too sick to get out of bed. We wore N95 at check in and walking to our rooms. My husband was there 2 nights prior to me as I mentioned he tested positive before me on the tour. He wore N95 to get food to take back to our rooms. The front desk learned we were isolating due to Covid by our RS guide and WOW did their attitude change. Phone rings with a screaming desk clerk;

"DO NOT LEAVE YOUR ROOM FOR ANY CIRCUMSTANCE! I AM SENDING AUTHORITIES TO YOUR ROOM!
WHAT IS YOUR BIRTH DATE?"

Upon my inquiry as to how we were to get food, NO HELP, just a demand to stay in room, authorities are on their way.
This was Sept 2022, Austrias Covid protocol is if positive wear mask indoors for 5 days, no mask needed outdoors even if positive, I fond this rather strange. We had a flight in 2 days to return to US and with their threats we moved out of the hotel to another. We were not going to miss the flights due to any unnecessary detainment. We were past 5 days of isolation protocol.
The demands they made on us were not current Austrian protocol. It was a frightening event I wouldn't recommend.
I must add I'm rather surprised we haven't heard more than " Sorry about that from RS". Nor has RS addressed the fact that twice during our Covid incidents on the tour did RS come thru with assistance on travel, food delivery, upon testing positive. I was simply told I had to figure than out, RS couldn't help. I even put the RS Travel Assistance phone contact in my phone in case of Covid incident. We were prepared as one can be and it was not pretty. The most important issue to RS was turning in our audio boxes.
Yes RS refunded us for the days we missed due to Covid positive.

Posted by
7136 posts

I can see that this was a very trying experience for you and certainly not how you envisioned your trip ending. I am sorry you experienced this difficult time.

It sounds as if you were both off of the tour by the time you checked into this hotel. I am sure you are correct about the Austrian Protocol, however, the hotel itself may have had additional protocols in place. No one should be yelled at, but I wonder if the situation might have been different if they had not somehow felt "deceived" by you.

I think you made the right choice to go elsewhere to finish your stay in Vienna. Probably both you and the hotel were happier with that scenario.

I agree that you had a very negative experience there, but I also note that there were some pretty unusual circumstances. I don't know that I will write this hotel off my list of possibles quite yet. I do hope that you are feeling better now and returned to full health.

Posted by
2829 posts

Did the "Authorities" ever show up to your room?

What a bad experience! I sure hope RS sanitized the heck out of those audio boxes.

Posted by
1626 posts

This sounds like every traveler’s worst nightmare. I’m trying to understand the timing:

You are on the tour, and your husband tests positive. You sent your husband to the Pension, since that is the last hotel on the tour, and you stayed with the tour (?). Did you tell anyone at that hotel at the time he checked in that he was positive and ask about getting food? Or did he just wear a mask and go get his food like everybody else?

Two days later you test positive, and get a separate room at the Pension. Did the hotel know you were positive? Did you talk to anyone about how to get food? Or was it at this point that the guide told the hotel about you and your husband being positive?

I can’t even imagine how RS could be responsible for arranging for lodging, food, medical care, etc for every tour participant that tests positive. This is the known risk that each traveler takes in these times. Unfortunately people like to believe that IF they test positive they will be asymptomatic and it will be a slight delay while they sit around for 5 days. I’m sorry your experience was not this, and it’s a good lesson to others that being VERY ill in a country where you know no one and may not speak the language can be VERY challenging.

Posted by
1778 posts

I agree with the previous poster. If you didn't tell the hotel when you first tested positive for Covid, I can kind of understand their annoyance. I'm not saying their actions were right but if someone had Covid in my hotel and didn't tell me, that means that I wouldn't know to clean or air the room out or that someone had a transmittable illness.

It's a good thing you found another better hotel. As for the tours, it seems not all the guides follow the same rules. Unfortunately, as Covid seems to be here for the foreseeable future, people need to figure out themselves how to plan for this emergency.

It sounds like other people on the tour got Covid as well.

Posted by
846 posts

Hi, I'm just the Webmaster here, but for what it's worth, I'm very sorry that you had this experience.

I understand that our head of Tour Sales & Service will be reaching out to the OP directly. It sounds like we (office reps, not the guide) did reach out to lynndeltoro, but this communication may have occurred before the point at which a member of the hotel staff overreacted. This is inferred from communications in which we asked about what assistance we could provide whether logistical, medical, etc. The response was that she would get what she needed from the guide and the hotel. As we know now, the hotel was unhelpful and more help was desired at the time.

For the OP and others reading along, please note that we can't be responsible for providing food in these scenarios. The guide obviously can't make/provide food directly, and can't be expected to leave the tour to run custom food delivery for X tour members. While I can appreciate the initial challenge of finding what the local food delivery options are in a place you are new to, there are many food delivery services these days whether that's Uber Eats (or whatever Austria's version is), room service (if available), or local options you can find if you google "local food delivery."

I hope this information can help others reading along about what your options can be if you find yourself in this situation.