Hotel Praterstern

We had a large room and a small bathroom. Very clean and plenty of towels. It is a shame that the reception skills are so bad. They are not unfriendly people, but they really do not know how to make someone welcome. The same for the person who takes care of the breakfast. She doesn't make you feel very welcome. The breakfast is ok. The style of the hotel is a bit of a mix of styles. A pitty because the entrance and building are quite nice. The interior is due to an update.

I wanted a place to crash on my last night in Vienna. As I would reach Vienna only around 9pm from my day trip to Hallstatt and since I had to check out by 8 am next day to catch my flight , I wanted an economical place to sleep. Most reasonable places were booked out and this was one of the few places I could find, being in city center and near to my previous hotel where my baggage was stored made me choose this hotel. The Pros for the hotel :- 1) They accepted my booking based on a email even though I had not made a pre payment or shared my card details (I had forgotten to carry my Credit Card and didnt want to use my debit card) . 2) Room was clean even though it ended before it started :-) 3) The Staff were polite , helpful and cordial. 4) The shared toilet and shower were clean , dry and with liquid soap ( a big concern for me since it was the first time I had ever booked a hotel room with shared toilet and shower. 5) There was a wash basin with running water in the room which was welcome. 6) Though the room was small there was still a decent wardrobe , TV , Bed lamp and small writing desk. 7) Location of the hotel is very good especially from public transport perspective. 8) There was a laundry service based on load , and at 9 euro I think it was a fair price considering the rates in Vienna, works good if you have a full load to wash. 9) One thing that really stood out for me is that during this trip which covered Prague , Budapest and Vienna where I was staying in some real good 3 star hotels , This was the only hotel which has a guide booklet in the room ( a proper guide and shopping guide booklet ) along with that in the welcome sheet they actual had valuable information for tourist regarding nearest grocery store , what can be done in the city and about some tours like the horse carriage which I was curious during my time in the city. such basic stuff was missing in other bigger hotels. The Cons: 1) WiFi was not free , the hotel should really look at this - WiFi is like air these days and is an automatic expectation of any guest, so much so that like water or electricity people expect it to be available and not at an additional cost. 2) For 42 euro the room was really small, I was expecting a small room but as I said above it reminded me of my closet back home. 3) Lights in Toilet , The light switch in 2nd floor shared toilet resembles an emergency / alarm button. Due to which I didn't switch it on and had to do my business in dark/mobile light because after 5 mins the hallway lights coming into the toilet got switched off. 4) Due to lack of a fan or AC the small room became quite hot very fast and I had to keep the window open to let in cold air to combat the heat. 5) They only have bottled beer :-) Summarization :- I would actually rate it Good but there is no option for that so I decided on Very Good. Overall its a nice place to stay though it gives you a feel of hostel more than hotel. I felt the room rate was a bit on the expensive side considering the size of the room , hotel should look into it along with free WiFi as these will ensure more value for money from guests point of view. One advise to the hotel , they should advise the guest about the need to switch on and the location/ look of the light switch as it can take guest by surprise when they see dark corridor and cant find traditional light switch.

for the money, this is a good value hotel, but there are a few things you should be aware of. Firstly, if you stay on the ground floor it will be noisy, as they dont close the corridor door to reception. Secondly despite claims to the contrary on other booking sites, wifi is not included. Also, the room on the ground floor I had does not have air conditioning. Also expect a 3% surcharge for credit cards if you pay at the reception desk. There are pros though, the place is very clean and the shower is good enough and the breakfast was also value for money. The location is great, and the hotel has a lot of charm. Ignore that fact that its across the street from the "Love Palace". They could make some improvements like making sure the TV channels are all tuned in. The "double room" wasnt a double room. It was two beds pushed together and the two top mattresses kept separating. It was a very soft bed. Its not a bad hotel, but I'd stay on the first floor at least, and pre-pay via 3rd party site or pay cash. Not having free wifi is ridiculous in the year 2019. They need to close that corridor door on the ground floor. Would I stay there again? If changes were made, yes.