Austria hotels

During my visit to Austria, I stayed at Hotel Congress Wien (Wiedner Gürtel 34, A-1040 Vienna, Austria; phone +43 1 505 55 06) — a real find for location and price. I booked it through www.booking.com and the cost for my stay, May 19-29, 2009, was €472 (near $710).

Arriving in Vienna by train, I saw the hotel’s sign before I got off at the Sudbahnhof. It was an easy walk from the station to the hotel with my bags.

There were friendly people on the front desk, and my room (No. 103) was quiet and clean, with good bathroom facilities, a comfortable bed and a courtyard view.

The European buffet breakfast consisted of juice, coffee, cereal etc., and very good bread to go with the cold cuts of ham, cheese and so on. There was free Internet access in the lobby.

The hotel was walking distance from the Augartenpalais, where the Vienna Boys’ Choir sings, and from the Spanish Riding School, where the beautifully trained, all-white Lipizzaner horses perform in an opera-house-like setting.

There were plenty of restaurants in the area, as there always are around major railway stations in Europe.

In Salzburg I stayed at Hotel Haunspergerhof GesmbH (Haunspergstraase 30, 5020 Salzburg; phone +43 [662] 87 34 57 30), paying €147 ($221) for three nights, May 29-June 1. In spite of its convenient location to the main rail station, this hotel was a disappointment.

Staff at the front desk and in the breakfast room were unfriendly; housekeeping didn’t pick up the trash in my room, and there were bugs in the corridor and breakfast room. I absolutely do not recommend it!

THERESA LYNAM

Vancouver, WA