We are visiting Vienna in late June. How important is an air conditioned room at that time of year? Is it typically hot and humid? Okay, so I have 1 more question. Is there a preferred area to stay in for tourists besides the Inner Stadt? Thanks in advance. I realize the answer may be subjective depending on taste, interest, even age, but for a typical 1st time tourist, is there clearly a B neighborhood assuming there's an A and a C. Same goes with heat. Some people like it. I don't!

We visited in mid July ; before we got there it was really hot (90s) so we took only summer clothing.
The day we arrived, it rained and the temp. dropped so much, we had to go out and buy a few things. It was rather cool for the following 2 weeks.
I visited 2 other times in August and it was very hot!
I stayed in the Inner Stadt but Vienna has a VERY good public transport if you are staying outside.
It is a lovely city with great history, museums, and fantastic cafes.

You can't do much wrong with staying in the Innere Stadt, or 1st district. The border sections to the neighboring districts are also nice (especially the Ringstrasse itself, with many hotels).
I like the 8th district (Josefsstadt) in general. The 6th (Mariahilf) has also many hotels, but often near or on the main thoroughfare, the Mariahilfer Strasse (which I don't think is THAT nice).
Landstrasse district (the 3rd) has many hotels grouped in the area where the train station is - and which is not that cosy IMO.
Grinzig (in the 19th district, if I am not wrong) is a nice, pittoresque neighborhood - but can be busy with tourists sampling the wine in the garden restaurants. Some like the atmosphere, others don't like the rather long streetcar ride (no subway there) downtown.
Anything on the Eastern side of the Danube is not really that nice for a first time tourist.

In a nutshell: For a first time visitor, I would recommend a nice hotel on the Ring that encloses the 1st district, or right in the 1st district.

You don't have to look up each address to find out where the hotel is since Vienna's zip codes tell you the district with the 2 middle digits: 1010 = 1st district , 1120 = 12th district.

And, by the way, air condition does not sound like a bad idea. I would not make it a total must if you find a hotel which totally blows you away, though.

I was there in Aug '04, and AC would have been very welcome. June could go either way.

If you stay outside the ring, the district is not as important as being close to a metro or bus stop.

Thank you for all your replies. Cowboy, can you tell me the name or number of some of the areas on the east side of the Danube? I like staying in neighborhoods that are fun to just stroll through and want to avoid booking a room (because it's a great rate)in a neighborhood I wouldn't enjoy hanging out in. Thanks in advance.

Vienna maps - see www.tourist-net.co.at/map_e.htm and www.wien.gv.at/stadtplan/suche.asp?lang=en or use viamichelin.com to map an address.

The districts on the east (or north) side of the Danube are XXI. Floridsdorf and XXII. Donaustadt. UNO City is out there. This is not where I would consider staying.

Musicteacher already gave the name/ numbers of the districts you may want to avoid.

The only reason to go east of the Danube I could think of is to visit the Danube Tower (great views, especially at dawn/ night, with a restaurant on top), the UNO City (well, not THAT much to see/ visit anyway), or if you are in the need for a large-scale US style shopping center / mall like the Donauzentrum, which is right at the subway stop "Kagran" of the #1 line.

But you can do even "mundane" shopping in downtown Vienna, e.g. on Mariahilfer Strasse with many department & fashion stores where you find regular goods at regular prices.

The regular downtown supermarkets also often have a wide range of typical Austrian food and beverages, and sell the same schnapps and wines, chocolates, or sausages and cheeses at lower prices than the cute little stores in the 1st district which are more tourist-oriented.

On a hot June day, you could also do a bus ride to Kahlenberg mountain which overlooks Vienna and can be reached by regular bus services covered by the multi-day pass you will probably get.

For "sightseeing", I would also recommend the streetcars. There is a multitude of lines which start in the center and go cross town or to the outer districts, e.g. to the Central Cemetary. The #1 and #2 streetcar lines are almost famous for replacing expensive sightseeing tours since they circle the 1st district on the famous ring streets with the Imperial buildings in both directions. So you can hop off and on every 200 to 300 yards.

You see more than in a subway (how smart was that, huh), and whenever you get into a neighborhood that bores you, you can take the next tram back to where you started. Subways are best if you really want to go from A to B for a purpose, e.g. to Schloss Schönbrunn, and don't want to waste lots of time on the commute.

Cowboy, Thanks for all your advice. It's much appreciated. Seems like you know your way around Vienna well. Do you happen to know of any great hotels or pensions that are located on (the west side) of the Danube that have air conditioning and are under $200 USD per night? This one looks hard and I think even using Priceline won't get us a good deal because we'll be in Vienna the end of June. That has to be high season. Thanks in advance if you can help.