Hotel Schwalbe - Vienna, Austria 

I highly recommend staying at HOtel Schwalbe. It's located outside the city center in a quiet, residential area that appears to be very safe. The metro is less than a 10 minute walk away from the hotel (very easy to find) and the metro ride is about 10 minutes into the city center (inner stadt). The hotel itself is extremely clean and quiet. The beds were comfortable, lots of sunlight in the rooms. Our room had a shower, sink, and table area, and there were communal toilets down the hallway (2 toilets for 4-5 rooms) - I was nervous about this at first, but there was no problem at all. I never had to wait to use the toilet. The hotel has a great breakfast - cold cuts, fruit, good coffee and bread. The lady who runs it has very good English, very friendly, and extremely helpful. The reception desk does close around 8pm or so - so you have to make sure to ask all your questions before hand. Overall - I had an absolutely wonderful stay and I would definitely stay at Hotel Schwalbe again if I return to Vienna.

The area around this hotel is very quiet and seemed quite safe for walking at night and for leaving a car parked all day (there were lots of nice cars parked in the neighborhood and plenty of available parking places). The U3 is a very short walk from the hotel and will get you to the Center in about 12 minutes. The mattresses in our room were VERY hard, and the shower had weak water pressure and luke warm water at best. However, the room was clean and spacious and contained a lovely antique-style armoire that added some charm. The ceilings were very high, and the windows were enormous. One thing our room really needed was some art on the walls, though; the massive, white expanses lent the room a rather institutional air. The toilets (outside the room) have no sinks in them, so you have to return to your room to wash your hands. The staff were exceedingly friendly and helpful. Breakfast consisted of cereal, yogurt, cold cuts, cheese slices, breads, jams, orange juice, and coffee. There is an adorable bunny rabbit living in the lounge area, but he stays in his cage when that room is unlocked.