Vienna experts, what do you think?

[Laurie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Laurie]

I'd like to spend several days in Vienna, and RCI has 2 Vienna resorts listed.

One is Clubhotel Cortina, in the suburbs on the outskirts of town. I just found an exchange for my desired dates, to piggyback with another European exchange for next year. I put it on hold - BUT it's a hotel room with not even a coffeepot (how would I live??) and a good 10 min walk + 20 ride into center city. It gets decent reviews on tripadvisor as Hotel Cortina.

The other is Hotel Deutschmeister, closer to center city, at which RCI rents Extra Vaca hotel rooms at about $450/wk. They haven't loaded 2014 dates yet - but there have been several dates for 2013. I was waiting/hoping for them to load 2014 dates, when this other option showed up. Of course no guarantee any 2014 dates will ever appear.

We once did a Paris stay at Royal Regency and the metro ride back and forth got tiresome - but it was really hot & crowded, IMO not so pleasant - so next trip we rented in center city instead. Austria's transportation system could be more enjoyable, like Switzerland's.

If you've been to Vienna, any thoughts about Cortina's location, as opposed to a theoretical rental at the other? You can look up even when RCI's offline by putting in resort #C741. TIA!

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

Deutschmeister is one metro stop or two blocks walk from the Ring (which is where the old medieval walls of Vienna stood until 1866). Most of the sights are walkable from there. I would take it over an option in the suburbs.

[barndweller Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close barndweller]

It has been a very long time since I was in Vienna. We stayed in dorm rooms at a school that was closed for the summer vacation. It was a leisurely stroll down hill to the city center. I would hold out for something close to the Ring or rent rather than exchange. There are coffee cafes on every street corner so morning coffee isn't a problem. But be prepared for the prices. Ack! Vienna was the most expensive city I have ever visited. Except for the Opera. That was really cheap compared to the US.

[jerrry94087 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jerrry94087]

We stopped in Vienna on our drive through several European countries in 2011. Spent one full day there. This day was enough to visit literally every single attraction marked on the tourist maps. Maybe we could have stayed for two days there, but a week is clearly too long for this city.

I would recommend: add few car trips and visit several other cities: Prague, Krakow, maybe Zagreb (we didn't go there). This will make weeks trip much more enjoyful.
On the other hand, Bratislava was a huge disappointment. This city isn't really built for people to live or for tourists to visit.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

Vienna is not a city that you can see in a day, but some excursions outside would be enjoyable. Bratislava, capital of Slovakia can be reached by train in about an hour or slightly longer by hydrofoil down the Danube. Budapest and Salzburg are doable as day trips by train. Of course, I would give Budapest more than a day. It would also be a mistake to try to cram Prague into a day trip.

As to prices, it is not nearly as pricey as Zurich, Stockholm, or particularly Oslo, but is more expensive than Budapest or Prague.

On thing I find particularly annoying in Vienna is that it seems all fast food restaurant bathrooms, and those of some other restaurants, have installed pay toilets over the past few years, and now you even have to pay just to wash your hands.