Best places to stay in Vienna and Salzburg

I suggest you take a look on booking.com. Even if you end up booking directly, you'll see more choices, along with reviews. We're going to be spending a week in Vienna at the end of April, so I've been through the process. Lots of places either have very high prices or many problems, or both. We ended up reserving an apartment, just outside the Ring, with good reviews and decent prices. It seems as if in Vienna, as in most big cities, you have to accept some trade-offs.

What is your budget?

While I am a longtime Rick fan ( over thirty years ) , I disagree with his view of chain hotels . They have distinct advantages and convenient location and what I call " support services " : food , laundry , local transport etc. are a big plus . Have a look at the area around Westbahnhof . We stayed at a Mercure next to the station . Nearby is an Ibis hotel , both part of the Accor chain . Attached to the station is a new Motel One . Ten minutes to the Altstadt on the U3 and plenty of places to get decent food . There is a terrific grocery store on the bottom level of the station with long hours and an unbelievable selection . This may sound somewhat mundane to those who have an unrealistically romantic view of daily life , but remember the principal reason for visiting a great city like Vienna are the wonders of the city itself . Relative to hotels in the dead center , this area on the western end of Mariahilferstrasse is not to be dismissed .

That's fine Steven, but even in Westbahnhof area--as a matter of fact, right across the square--is the Fuerstenhof which is well priced and also has a very nice old world feel without being a chain hotel. We stayed there on our first visit and loved it. Since then, every time we come back, we rent an apartment in Vienna. For someone like the poster who is there for very few days it would be better for them to stay at somewhere more central, like Pension Suzanne or Aviano. To each their own, but I really do not like to stay in any chain hotels, especially in a beautiful city like Vienna.

Use booking.com, stay in the city center (called Innere Stadt, never Altstadt, by the way), avoid chain hotels and definitely avoid the area around Westbahnhof. The public transport in Vienna is excellent so stay in the beautiful center, why not? There are even more amazing groceries there and would you rather have charm at your doorstep instead of grim and, traffic and strip clubs. Why not pick a top three and run them by us here for opinions.

One more thought , given your dates of travel , slightly further down this page , is a thread entitled " living without air conditioning in Salzburg " . The posts there are germane to your query . I think it is important to read them considering that AC is not ubiquitous in Austria as it is in the USA .

What kind of place are you looking for?

Susanne

HI,

I always stay in the Westbahnhof area , agree the Fuerstenhof is definitely recommendable as is the Mercure at Westbahnhof. The Motel One adjacent to the station was finished only a few years ago. True, you don't see many American tourists in the Westbahnhof area but a good number of tourists of other nationalities.

The immediate surroundings of the Westbahnhof are pretty grotty, but it's only a short U-Bahn ride to the centre.

Personally I stayed this year at the Pension Wild just outside the Ring, and was impressed.

So poster. Many have asked you questions so we can give you better info. Are you going to respond?

In Salzburg we were quite happy at the Alstadt Hotel Weisse Taube. We arrived by train and it is a very easy bus ride and short, short walk to the hotel. The location in the old town is excellent, the rooms and breakfast are nice, and it is reasonably priced. When our plans for lodging in Munich went south, the folks at the desk spent a lot of time searching the web and making phone calls on their own cell phones to secure us rooms. They get high marks from us on all counts. PS we thought the Salzburg Pass from the TI was among the best values we have encountered. We stayed three or four days.

In Salzburg we've stayed at the Hotel Goldenen Ente on 3 different occasions and had great stays. It's right in the old town.

We have stayed at the Hohenstauffen Hotel several times in the last ten years. It is on the opposite side of the river from the old town, near the Bahnhof. It is a family owned establishment with old world charm and new world amenities such as free wifi, a well appointed breakfast included. If you want a quaint family atmosphere this is an excellent choice. The prices are good, the information provided on sight seeing is without question, and it has a feel of home. Please tell Linda and Andreas that Kelly says "Hallo".

I have no problem with chain hotels if they are well-located, but I tend to stay in family-run places in the smaller cities. No reason not to mix it up occasionally, especially if the larger hotel has amenities that you need during a trip.

I have visited Salzburg on several different trips and my favorite place to stay is at Haus Ballwein on Moosestrasse. A 15 minute bus ride from Allstadt, Haus Ballwein is on a quiet, tree lined street in a countryside setting. A bountiful buffet breakfast and comfortable, traditional rooms add to the experience. There are several Pensions on Moosestrasse including Bloberger Hof which has a restaurant for their guests. Zoom in on Moosestrasse on Google Maps and you will find several more pensions to choose from. Enjoy your trip!

We just returned from a trip that included both Salzburg and Vienna; in Vienna I highly recommend the a hotel Am Dom Stephansplatz (in the RS guide)- you cannot get more centrally located (it is literally steps from the metro stop) and the rates were reasonable when booked online and ahead. I can't tell you what a welcome sight it was to see this place as soon as we exited the metro with our luggage from the train station! Convenient to all the Downtown core with restaurants and shops, the Hofburg, etc.And because of the proximity of the metro, close to everything else. Rooms and breakfast were great.
In Salzburg we stayed at the Wolf-Dietrich, which was fine but nothing special.