annhig

hi, folks,

I've been researching hotels for a one night stop in Bratislava at the beginningof our trip to Austria in June, and they seem VERY expensive. Even at weekends they are mostly well over the €100 mark for not very well-reviewd places.

Finally, I've found the Michalska brana hotel in the centre [www.hotelmialskabrana.com] for £79 on Expedia and Booking .com [or €109 which I reckon is more at today's rates].

as we are ariving mid-afternoon on the Ryanair flight from Bristol and are only staying one night, we want to be fairly central, but close to the river as we are intending to get the hydrofoil to Vienna the next day [yes, I know that others commented on another thread that this was probably not as good as the bus or train, but DH loves boat trip ,so what the hell - who am I to argue?].

I've also e-mailed a couple of pensions that are not on TA - hotel pension arcus [www.hotelarcus.sk] and pension chez david [www.chezdavid.sk].

and what should we prioritise for our flying trip? the castle is apparently open til 8pm that time of year, but what else is there to see?

Can any out there help?

regards, ann

letsgo39

Only been there for a few hours and just not that interesting. I would go to Budapest instead.

Kristinelaine

We lived there for a year in 2001-2002 and I think for one night you will enjoy it. It's true hotels are expensive. You'll enjoy walking around old town and along the river and the castle has a great view. The cathedral is also nice. It used to be much less expensive (not counting hotels) than Vienna and other parts of Europe, but I'm sure it is catching up now. If you like opera, it is also very inexpensive compared to other places, and I think quite good.

annhig

hi both,

letsgo - 1. we've been to budapest.
2. we're flying into Bratislava. [though had thought about it, we could have flown into B'pest and got the rather longer hydrofoil up the danube to Vienna!] 3. we ARE only going to be there a few hours! [again, DH is keen, I'm not much, but then I'm getting Vienna!!]

Kristinelaine - thanks for the ideas. I'll google the opera now - I am waiting on a standby for the staatsoper in Vienna for aida with is approx. €90 each. so a cheapy would be good.

thanks to you both,

regards, ann

Kristinelaine

I'm so glad you are interested in opera. I thought it would not be so likely, but I would mention it anyway. Their symphony concerts are also very good. Hope you enjoy your short stay there.

annhig

resurrecting this thread to pass on a tip a got from another fodorite [thanks, Good_Will] that I just used for our Bratislava hotel.

i was just accessing its website so I could send my habitual confirmation e-mail, and thought it might be worth checking what their current rates for the dates of our stay are. Guess what? a double room was €99, rather than the €150 we were paying through venere. so i got striaght onto the venere website, cancelled the room I'd booked, and back to the hotel website to rebook.

curiously, there were no doubles available at the new price [strange as I'd just cancelled one] but there was a twin, so i booked it. the old rate included breakfast, and this one doesn't, but even if we have the breakfast, we'll have saved €30, as breakfast is €10 each. otherwise, the saving is €51.

I looked at our hotel in Vienna, but it's fully booked for our dates, so no chance of puling this trick there.

thanks, Good_Will, for the tip.

metlc

If you don't need to stay in or adjacent to the pedestrian section by the Danube, the Hotel Turist --

http://www.turist.sk/en-hotel.html

-- is a decent, affordable (50 Euro/night) altlernative. Not stylish, but beats anything I've seen under 150 Euros in Western Europe. (Loved the tall shower stall.) A ten-minute (3 km) trolley/bus ride from the river, city center and train station. (Airport is about six km by bus.)

annhig

hi metic,

thanks for the suggestion.

we really want to be near the danube so as to be able to walk down to the twin liner departure point the next morning. perhaps we'll try it if we return to Bratislava some time.

regards, ann

metlc

ann,

The Turist is one block from the #14 tram, which is indeed a ten-minute ride to the Twin City terminal.

BTW, the first morning departure on Twin City Lines (10:30 AM) is discounted to 17 Euros, as it usually is emptied out by day visitors from Vienna. (We had only six other people on board last month.) Arrival at Vienna is a great location, across the street from the Schwedenplatz U-Bahn junction.

There is also an older, slower Slovak boat that leaves earlier (and returns later Monday-Wednesday).

annhig

hi metic,

you are a mine of information, of just the sort that I was after when I started this thread. better late than never!

sadly, i think we are locked into the Marol, but I'm still happy with my deal at €99 booked direct, instead of the €150 we were paying via venere.com. And we are saving a lot by staying in B&Bs once we leave Vienna - average €30pppn, including breakfast.

I think we are paying €19 each on the 10.30 twin liner - perhaps they are busier on saturdays?

our vienna hotel is only 5 mins walk from the the dock according to the map - very convenient, as you say.

only 4 days to go..whooppee!

regards, ann

metlc

ann,

Yes, the Twin City Liner is indeed 19E on weekends. (We were on a Wednesday.)

The Marrol looks like a great place -- nicer than the Turist. And a good location, just a couple blocks east of the restored, car-free Old Town section. Hope you aren't too tired to explore it, it's quite charming.

annhig

hi metic,

that sounds encouraging. the girl on reception at the Marrol has been very helpful, answering my queries.

i'm hoping that it's downhill to the danube so we don't have to struggle too much with our luggage! we're having to leave home at about 7am to get the 11.30 am flight from Bristol so we might be a bit tired, but adrenalin and excitement usually keep me going on the first day. Day 2 is a different matter, but i can have a rest on the twin liner.

regards, ann

metlc

hi ann,

You sure you aren't staying over in Bratislava on Saturday? Cause if you are, you could catch --

http://www.snd.sk/?opera-7&predstave...ur&termin=2118

-- which I'm sure is a top-flight production for 27E. And its just two (well, maybe three) blocks from your hotel.

(Maybe you could take the Twin City Liner back...!!!)

roibert

check out for very cheap but very nice apartments
i rent off them once a year when i go

http://www.bratislava-apartments.sk/

annhig

hi roibert,

i've been and come back!

we stayed at the hotel marol's [not sure about that apostrophe] which was excellent.

for anyone else who happens across this thread, I would definitely recommend it, and also the twin-city liner [see above] as a way of getting to Vienna.

regards, ann