Hotel Erzherzog Rainer - Vienna, Austria     

My wife and I were due to stay here for 6 nights while I attended a conference at the Technical University. We booked through a booking agency. The hotel is very nice, clean, neat and tastefully decorated. But I had never had a room so tiny. There was room for one suitcase. The double bed took up most of the floor space; there was a tiny round table that had to double as a computer desk for my laptop, with two chairs. There was a crow's nest of modem and Ethernet cables, and a shortage of electrical outlets. No air-conditioning; only a fan - to use the fan, we had to unplug either the minibar fridge or the TV. A small window opened onto a central courtyard. It was stiflingly hot, even with the fan. Maximum temperatures were between 28 and 32 Celsius, but in the room it was unbearable. It was like sleeping in a sauna. Within 10 minutes of our arrival, I asked for a room with air-conditioning, or a larger room. There was none. Then I asked for another hotel. The manager threw his hands in the air and told me that there would be no hotel available. It was the 2008 Euro Soccer final in Vienna - which was also the excuse why we had to pay 200 Euros for that night. I checked out the day after our arrival, and I was made to pay a 100 Euro cancellation fee, even though the booking for this hotel and the one we moved to was done through a central booking agency. The manager agreed that the room was very small and hot, but that was it. The lovely hotel, the great location and the superb breakfast all amount to nothing if you have a room like this. Don't even think of staying here in summer, unless you enjoy sleeping in a tiny, overheated box room and dealing with management staff that are not helpful.

We stayed here for a long weekend in May 08. The hotel is in a perfect location. An easy 10min stroll to the center of Vienna, all the tourist attractions and a tube station. The hotel is beautiful, very traditional settings with high ceilings, red carpet and even a turtle pool. Breakfast is great - huge buffet selection of both hot and cold food. Our room is nice and big. We had a window facing the inner courtyard. There was a generator somewhere in the courtyard which was a bit loud when it came on but we didnt notice it too much. Rooms were kept very clean with daily housekeeping. Overall loved the hotel, would recommend it to anyone.