Sorry that I did not read the replies.....a very unscientific observation is that having been to odd and sundry destinations in Europe--including northern Germany-- in May, July and August, of very disparate years, I found it was hot and sticky every place we went and w/o AC we would have been miserable!

So Germans should buy AC now to avoid that miserable feeling. Interesting thesis. Maybe we're not grumpy because it's too cold and rainy 24/7 but it's the extreme heat in our country that is located so close to the equator. :D
I need to check last years heating bill. This year I'll tell them, I'm not paying anymore. :D

It was just a simple question and people gave their opinions. Relax, we are just relaying our experiences while in Vienna. I would admit I like A/C here at home. But both times in Vienna it was 30C plus and sticky. Both of us were happy we had A/C. iris1745/dick P.S. No one said anything about Germans buying A/C. We are talking about Austrian's and we are not suggesting anything for the locals.

From Michigan:

I wouldn't think of paying a penny for AC anywhere in Europe. Bring Valerian and you'll sleep like a baby.

Hey logos999 what up? Like Iris says we're just answering a simple questions. I live in the Northwest of the US W/O air conditioning by the way. Hot here is 85 and after 15 years of living here i'm used to 75 degree summer days, not 90. I grew up in the desert and 80 degree summer days were cause to put a sweater on. Now I wear short sleeves when it busts up to 55 degrees. PLUS while it we do have our share of rain, heat here is on the dry side. It's not culture it's the climate you're used to. It isn't "American" either abd frankly I resent the implication that it's because I'm American that I would like air conditioning.

By "miserable" I mean extremely physically uncomfortable. The most difficult night of trying to sleep ever in Europe was in a non-AC hotel in Berlin. Big city hotels do not tend to have cross-ventilation, i.e windows that open on two different walls, and the asphalt and concrete of the city hold in the heat of the day well into the night. Humidity tends toward the high side as well, just as in many US big cities. Many European cities are not so different in climate and conditions than NYC and very few people would sleep comfortably in NYC w/o AC.

>I resent the implication that it's because I'm American that I would like air conditioning
I just thing this connection is quite obvious, even though you do resent it. :-) I even would say there an extreme correlation between "Americans" and "air conditioning needed anywhere on the planet". Must be about 100% and that's still quite interesting to me.

Imagine in the country you visit, maybe 10% have AC, 5% actually use it. This still would make 90% of the locals not having or needing AC. Not at work, not at home. (since it's not needed anyway) They should feel "miserable" every day, yet they don't.

How come that 100% of americans feel miserable and are unable to sleep at night, when 95% of the locals don't feel anything like that and they spend a whole life in that place where americans would feel miserable only spending a few days without AC.

Interesting question indeed, isn't it`?
Can it be, they don't ever leave their homes in their country or the whole country is air conditioned too? :D

Hi nfld; Well you asked a simple questions and you got opinions from many different peoples experience in Europe. But you also got one person that only respects HIS OPINION. You probably had a good 'chuckle'. Anyways, you created an interesting question, received some answers, now click on the web site I gave you and use that as an independant source. iris1745/dick

logos, b/c the locals are not sleeping in tall concrete bldgs w/o an ample number of windows that can be opened for cross ventilation.....I am not sure why you are taking offense at this post.

I live in Massachusetts, I do *not* have AC and if someone asked me if they needed AC when staying at a *hotel* in Boston, I would tell them, yes, absolutely that they need it. It seems that you are spoiling for a fight, when the OP merely wants travel info and opinions.

When we were in Vienna in August one year we were extremely grateful for the a/c in our hotel. The weather was very humid and warm, and going outside was quite uncomfortable, I remember stopping for coffee at Demel's and having the chocolate pastry begin to melt.

Wow, I sure didn't think this was a conversial or anti-American question!
Thanks for the advice and opinions. My current thinking is that I'm going to try for A/C, IF I can get something that sounds otherwise decent for CAN $150 or under (~€88). There are such places, but the catch is that they aren't central.
Oh well, these are good problems to have; I COULD be too sick/old/poor to worry about hotels in Vienna!

Hi, nf, you are correct, a nice "problem" to have..... :) This whole thread reminds me of the first time I perused Fodors in '04 before signing up to ask a question about a trip to France whose itinerary had us somewhat perplexed. It occurred to me then that maybe a travel book would have a website of some kind. Well I started reading the Fodor site and called my husband over to look. I was literally laughing out loud and said to him, " You cannot imagine that all these people are having heated discussions about all these letters that people write in!"

Little did I know that it would become an addiction, altho, I must say that I (mostly) try to stay away from the unpleasant arguments. I just felt that I needed to give the above poster some, feedback, shall we say, about the unfounded attitude about your simple request. Hope you have a wonderful trip!!

nfld, think again. If it would be needed there would be ample supply of rooms with AC ib the city. The locals don't need it. It is not a poor country, so lack of money to get AC isn't an issue either. Check www.hrs.de for better prices than 88 Euro and do check www.checkfelix.at

Americans do need AC anwhere, this is far from being anti-american, that's just a fact of life. They have a different culture, sometimes difficult to understand for the average person in my area.

I think socialworker is on to something with materials and design, things that are difficult to determine about a hotel from its description other than age. Another problem is the close proximity of buildings in cities that prevent air circulation.

My apartment in a suburb of Helsinki was comfortable, but hotel, restaurants, and most of all the bus were hot and humid in Stockholm the time I was there during the heat wave. Indeed, I do think the locals thought it was unusual, but not to be disparaged as it is cold for so many months.

I went to afternoon meetings in which the locals left all the lights off in the room in an attempt to keep it cooler--we just couldn't see our papers and it was easy to get sleepy--maybe an ulterior motive was that they could nap and no one could see.

Personally, I don't like to sweat that much unless I am hiking or exercising, but especially if I am wearing my nice work clothes and trying to make a good impression at business.

Many city travelers also like a/c so they can close their windows to block out traffic noise when trying to overcome jet lag while sleeping in a different hotel bed every few nights.