Going to Vienna in early June. Have narrowed hotel choice to: Radisson SAS, Kaiserin Elisabeth or the Intercontinental. Any advice would be appreciated.

The Intercontinental is wonderful. My husband stays there on business a lot of the time and says it is one of the best hotels he has stayed in. He says the best part in the wonderful cakes you can get there.<BR>Enjoy!

I just got back from Vienna last night and stayed at the Intercontinental. Last year, I stayed at the ANA Grand, and have stayed at the Kaiserin Elisabeth several times.<BR>The KE has the best location--just a few feet from the Karntnerstrasse and 2 minutes walk from St. Stephan's. The rooms are all comfortable, but only some are air conditioned and you may need that in early June if there's a heat wave (we stayed there in early June 2001 and it was boiling--we were so glad to have reserved rooms with AC!). The singles are small and only have a twin bed; the doubles can be very spacious. Views range from a beautiful view of the roof of St. Stephan's to no view whatsoever.<BR>The &quot;Interconti&quot; (as it's called) is a little farther away from the main sites, but still close in. It's right across the street from the StadtPark (city park), and that would be lovely in June, especially if you request a room with a view of the park. The building itself is not particularly attractive from the outside (very 1970s concrete) but inside is quite attractive. The rooms are not large, but certainly adequate, the beds are very comfortable (my single was a queen size bed) and there are nonsmoking floors. The toiletries are good--you'll get everything you need (OTOH, the KE has rather harsh soap in a dispenser). Free shoeshine if you put your shoes out at night. A very good selection of TV stations, including several English channels (BBC World, BBC Prime, CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg, Sky News), two music video channels, the French international channel, Al Jazeera, a Dubai channel, Japanese channel, Austrian, German and Swiss channels...<BR>The breakfast buffet at the Interconti is excellent--eat a good breakfast there and you won't need lunch. Their dinner restaurants feature Italian (and some Viennese) cuisine and the setting is attractive. I had mushroom risotto with truffle oil (very good), a glass of local &quot;blaufrankisch&quot; (red wine) that was excellent, and a rich cup of hot chocolate for dessert that came with a pitcher of whipped cream (great hot chocolate--I ended up having it several times in the lobby).<BR>The lobby bar/salon area is great fun--it's a hangout for diplomats, journalists, international businessmen. You get a a real sense of geopolitics! You will also notice a policeman on the corner every night--the hotel is across the street from the Iraqi embassy. <BR>Getting around town is easy from either the KE or the Interconti. <BR>Don't know about the Radisson SAS; my other Vienna hotel is the ANA Grand, which was a true luxury palace hotel, but all in all, I liked the buzz and vibe at the Interconti.

BTilke has summed it up well. I have stayed at Interconti and checked out Kaiserin Elizabeth and know people that have stayed at Radisson.<BR>I had club room at Interconti and cannot fault the service and extras. Room is OK but bathroom is claustrophobic with ceiling about 7 inches above my head (I am just under 6 ft) when you have a shower. I loathe the building though and find it depressing walking up to it.<BR>KE is definitely best location and has super quiet rooms at the back (no view)(Interconti' a/c system can be irritating and if you switch it off and open window. then (busy) street noise still comes up). The KE has their better rooms (recently done up) at about 218 euro - I would say superior to Interconti as more space and bathroom far better - e.g separate shower and bath, do not get that at Interconti. But cheaper KE rooms are just OK - so ask for best rooms. People staying at Radisson have said small suites are very nice, but standard rooms can be very tight. Restaurant at Radisson is very good. Of the three, I would go for KE as best value and hope you do not get a heat wave. June last year was fine (July and Aug can get hot).<BR>But the hotel in this price range I would go for is the Ambassador Hotel. As good location as KE and more of a 5 star hotel than KE, and definitely superior rooms than Interconti. I think aircon as well. Beautiful bar as a bonus. Should be about same price as Interconti. ANA Grand (now just Grand) is also superior to Interconti,. but more expensive,and probably not worth the diff.

Thank you for the information. <BR><BR>The KE said all their rooms are the same, so not sure I can ask for &quot;their better rooms&quot;. They gave me a rate of 153E with breakfast for a Standard Double.<BR><BR>Interconti Club Floor gave me a rate of 175E. I like the idea of the &quot;happy hour&quot;. <BR><BR>Grand Hotel gave me a rate of 233E for a Deluxe Dbl. Exclusive Dbl at 253E (both with breakfast).<BR><BR>I have not heard from the Ambassador. Any other comments based on the rates I've quoted.<BR><BR>Thanks again.

Given the prices you were quoted, I would go with the Interconti. Their breakfast is vastly superior to that of the KE (which is the pretty standard; the Interconti features just about everything you could think of for breakfast, including Japanese breakfast). Also, the KE *always* seems to be repainting its hallways, so if you don't like the smell of fresh paint...<BR>I found the Interconti's baths compact but not claustrophobic (but I'm not 6 ft). The Grand's rooms and bathrooms are definitely superior to the Interconti's, no question about that, but with the price difference, you could still have a nice room at the Interconti and dinner at a good Vienna restaurant. Although the Grand is a true luxury hotel and you will feel more pampered there, to me, the geopolitical buzz at the Interconti is pretty irresistable. I really liked that mix of people hanging out in the lobby bar/salon. Italians dominated the hotel while I was there, but as I was checking out, television crews from around the world were checking in to cover the OPEC meeting.

I cant imagine why anyone would spend 150-or more dollars when you can stay very nicely for much less.We stayed last may at Hotel Admiral.www.admiral .com.We paid 95 Euro.Has a great breakfast,was within walking distance of everything and free parking next door.

Lisa, <BR><BR>In case you missed it, here's a very similar thread which I responded to, posted a few weeks ago:<BR>http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessages.jsp?fid=2&amp;tid=34403614<BR><BR>I'm glad to see that BTilke's impression of the Interconti was similar to mine ;-)<BR><BR>BTW, the rooms facing the back at the Interconti are quite quiet - you don't overlook the Stadtpark that way but the view is also nice in that direction from the upper floors, plus there's a skating rink at the base of the hotel in winter, which is fun to watch as well.<BR><BR>Hope this helps,<BR>Andre

Jtune: We too try to travel at a lower price, but some like the luxury of 24 hour room service, exercise rooms, and bigger rooms and baths. We stayed at Pension Nossek with a view of St. Stephens on the pedestrial street. Everything within walking distance, helpful staff. We paid about $100 US for a larger room than we were use to, very well done with a larger bath and breakfast. <BR><BR> With the dollar declining against the Euro, 233 Euros is probably closer to $260.<BR>We stayed in Wien two nights, spent most time out and about and would not have used all the services if they were there. I guess that is what is so interesting about Fodor's site, the variety of the travelers as well as the places.

The one strike against the Intercontinental is that the chain is about to go up for sale--it may stay as Intercontinental, it may be absorbed into another chain (I think the Intercontinental and Swissotel chains would be a good match, but it's not my money). Whether the sale affects the international feel of the &quot;Interconti&quot; is up in the air.

Do not know why staff told you that for KE - it is nonsense - they give the 2 prices in their brochure and very obviously different standard rooms. But staff did seem a little up themselves. Comment re doing up corridors is valid.

Everyone was right, i just stayed at the Kaiserin Elisabeth and the hotel does smell like fresh paint. Actually ist not bad!