Mercure Nestroy, Vienna

...as I have stayed at Mercure hotels before in Barcelona & Paris & was left impressed by their value or money, clean & decent rooms & I always received a decent breakfast. When on holiday I look at hotels to provide me with a bed at night & a decent breakfast, the reminder of the time is spent out & about, sightseeing.

We arrived at the hotel & was swiftly & efficiently checked in, the informed us that they didn't have a restaurant which ...
...restaurants. The room behind the reception desk is only used for breakfast or corporate events when a buffet is arranged.
More surprisingly our room was just a short walking distance behind the reception desk & the breakfast room, when we arrived at the room I was surprised to see two glass doors. Once opened & you entered the room & within three feet you are confronted by a thick pair of closed curtains, pulling back the curtains was like ... more

I stayed at this charming little hotel last December for a week, I booked it through Air Miles, they gave me a choice of hotels to stay in Vienna but with the few thousand air miles I had collected it limited me to a small number of hotels close to the city centre rather than plush five star establishments. Price equivelant would have been approx £55-£60.
I chose this one as I have stayed at Mercure hotels before in Barcelona & Paris & was left impressed by their value or money, clean & decent rooms & I always received a decent breakfast. When on holiday I look at hotels to provide me with a bed at night & a decent breakfast, the reminder of the time is spent out & about, sightseeing.

We arrived at the hotel & was swiftly & efficiently checked in, the informed us that they didn't have a restaurant which wasn't a problem as the hotel is surrounded by decent restaurants. The room behind the reception desk is only used for breakfast or corporate events when a buffet is arranged.
More surprisingly our room was just a short walking distance behind the reception desk & the breakfast room, when we arrived at the room I was surprised to see two glass doors. Once opened & you entered the room & within three feet you are confronted by a thick pair of closed curtains, pulling back the curtains was like being on stage!! Behind the curtains lay a decent sized 'L' shaped room with a division. Between the front door & curtains & the division lay two comfortable chairs & a table, a separte table & lamp for writing & a generous coat stand.
Behind the division lay the double bed, wardrobe & separte top featuring the TV & other facilities. Down the 'L' shaped part of the room was two rooms, one featured a bath, shower & two sinks, the other a WC although it was big enough to hold a bath, shower & two sinks!
The rooms were clean, well equipped & nicely decorated; the only thing missing was a window. In the first week of December that was hardly a problem, as we left the hotel in the morning just as it was becoming light & got back in the darkness, the hotel is situated on a quiet side street & there is very little to see out the windows.
However, the lack of window did cause one problem, that first week of December was rather warm & the room with its lack of window became very hot & stuffy. The hotel has air conditioning in all the rooms but it's switched off during the winter & the staff were unwilling to switch it back on. Getting to sleep each night was a real pain as the heat built up during the day making the room uncomfortable. Ideal time just to open a window to let the room cool down if we had one.
It also brought to my attention if there was ever a fire outside the room preventing a hasty exit the lack of window would be a big concern.

Breakfast was served just outside our room door in the little seated area; it was a buffet style with hot & cold food. There was something for all tastes, hot scrabbled eggs, bacon & sausages, yogurt, cereal, croissants, toast, marmalade, cheese, tea, coffee and so on.

Location of the hotel was ideal, turn left from the front door, turn left at the bottom of the street (about 200yds) & you were about 20 minutes walking distance from the centre of Vienna. There is a tram service should decide it is too far to walk. Along the way there are sufficient amount of cafes & restaurants & you can walk the streets at night without the fear of being mugged.
Turn right at the hotel front door towards the Strauss Gedenkstatte & there are many more decent restaurants. The staff at the hotel were very helpful & spoke good English & apart from the lack of window I wouldn't think twice about going back, but would ask for a room with a view next time! 

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