Last day of my parents holiday and my Mum's bag was snacthed from her CHAIR in the hotel RESTAURANT! Disgraceful! Her mobile was obviously stolen, so when, in tears, she asked to use the hotel phone she was told it would be ahcrged to their room!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT ACCEPTABLE!

We stayed four nights and found the Falkensteiner to be fantastic. The room was clean and well sized. The breakfast was amazing. The bar was a friendly and comfortable place to while away the late evening. Staff were really helpful and the laundry service was a little expensive but efficient. There is a computer in the lobby if you want to get on the internet which was really helpful to check opening hours etc. You can walk to most major attractions in under 15 minutes or the u-bahn is only 200 metres or so.

Although it was far from perfect, I found the Falkensteiner to be an excellent value for the money. You might not.

Most of the upper floors have not been renovated yet, and lack high-speed internet. When I asked the front desk to move me to a room with internet, they informed me that the only rooms with high-speed are smoking rooms. In fact, all the renovated rooms (at the time I visited) were smoking rooms. I suppose that in a country where most people smoke like chimneys, this isn't much of an issue, but for this American it was a little disappointing. Other than lacking high-speed internet though, the room I was initially put in was not far behind the newly renovated one in terms of quality.

I wound up taking the smoking room with high-speed internet, and was pleased to find that, possibly due to the recent renovation, no real smoke odor was noticeable in the room or in the linens.

The room was attractive, stylish, and well laid out considering the relatively small space. It was quiet, well air-conditioned, and gave me an excellent night's sleep. Housekeeping did a superlative job. The on-site "spa" area is pleasant and quiet, with a small sauna and workout area.

The hotel features a bar serving small plates, but no real food. Fortunately, the continental breakfast is quite nice. Decent restaurants are a 5-10 minute walk away, as is the nearest U-bahn station. A decent and safe location, but may prove to be a bit too far from the center for tourists who are keen to be within walking distance of major sites. Vienna does have an excellent transit system, however, and you should not be afraid to use it.

The staff of the hotel spanned the gamut from cheerful and pleasant to chilly and unhelpful -- but I found this to be a reccurring theme in Vienna. Tourists/visitors definitely seem to provoke a love-hate reaction, but I'd think a hotel should be more careful to hire only those who believe they have some responsibility to help visitors have a good visit!

So that's the Falkensteiner -- I had a good experience and found it an excellent value in this high-priced city, but you might not. You might get a wonderful renovated room, or you might be forced to choose between smoke or internet. You might get a helpful staffer giving you restaurant recommendations, or you might get one who seems highly offended that you'd ask them to do anything other than take your credit card.

Bottom line is: you can probably do better in Vienna (especially if price is no object), but even when it is disappointing, the Falkensteiner will hardly ruin a visit. And when it's not disappointing, it's a wonderful value!

This was a great hotel. The room was not large, as is normal for European hotels, but was absolutely clean (white sheets and a white bath/shower are top of my requirements) and has obviously been recently renovated. For the price, this was the best hotel of our European trip. The buffet breakfast (included in the room rate) was fabulous. I wish we had stayed there for more than one night, and I will definitely stay there again on my next trip to Vienna.