My husband and I were in Vienna for 4 days, June 19-23. We chose this particular apartment because we wanted to feel like we were living in Vienna, a short test run, so to speak, and why it was important to have neighborhood amenities rather than staying in a hotel filled with other tourists. The neighborhood and apartment description by Christian on Airbnb, was all as described. No wonder he is a “super host”! We would definitely return to stay at this apartment. For more details, continue to read.
Regarding the location:
We chose to stay in district 9 for its proximity to district 1 (15 min to Inere Stadt) by train); proximity to public transportation (U6 is less than 5 minutes walk from the apartment); the quiet streets; and, the variety of restaurants it had to offer. We ate dinner every night at a different restaurant in the neighborhood (Volksoper) and each one we chose offered excellent food, presentation and service. Within 1-4 blocks from the apartment there were several Austrian cafés, Italian, Indian, Spanish tapas, “modern” Korean, Tibetan, and mixed Asian restaurants. The main avenue, Wahringer Strasse, is an easy 2-minutes walk from the apartment and offers an extensive amount of shops, cafés, food stands, a large supermarket and access to several trams. A small grocery store chain, Billa, is 2 blocks from the apartment. The Volksoper, regional theater, is 3 blocks from the apartment. Funnily, it was presenting predominantly U.S.A. musicals such as Carousel, Peter Pan and, yep, The Sound of Music.
Side note: Public transportation is so well-organized (and clean!), it’s very easy to understand and to move around and within the various city districts.
Regarding the hosts:
Christian and his wife, Jane, were very quick to respond (within an an hour, usually much less than that) to any and every query. Check in/out was fast and easy. Christian and Jane live on the first floor in the building. Finally, Christian and Jane gave us printed, written (email) and verbal information regarding sight-seeing, restaurants and public transportation.
Regarding the apartment:
The apartment building and apartment are in a typical, charming Viennese style. It was very clean and spacious, with a spacious wardrobe and a modern kitchen with everything you need if you choose to cook and eat even “heavy meals.” We were supplied with coffee, tea, orange juice, milk and a delicious Viennese cake. As Christian proudly proclaimed, the tap water is excellent. Refill a bottle and save money purchasing bottled water. Additionally, amenities such as a king-sized bed (2 twins on a king frame) and WiFi were important to us, and in this regard the apartment did not disappoint. Also, the apartment was supplied with soaps, shampoo, a hair dryer, a supersonic iron and ironing board and even a lint roll. Although we did not use it, there is also a working, fairly large flat screen TV in the living area and many books to read in German and English.
NONE of the following points were negative issues for us but for those not accustomed to European living:
-The apartment does not have air conditioning. A rotating floor fan with an open window made for comfortable sleeping since the nights were cool. We did not need to use, but there is radiator-style heating in each room.
- The apartment is on a second floor even after a smaller flight of steps into the ground floor and the staircase is circular. More like 2.5 floors up.
- The bathroom has the toilet in one room and the shower/tub in another (so smart!); they are adjacent to one another.
- The tub/shower height is tall and the sink is tightly fit into the space.
- There is no curtain around the tub. I suggest one figure out how to maneuver the shower head so the water doesn’t spill out onto the floor or consider baths rather than showering.
As with most cities, four days is not enough to see all there is to offer. We would love to return to Vienna to continue to discover the city and enjoy the hospitality of the Viennese people. We would most definitely return to this apartment and recommend it to others.
Danke schön, Christian and Jane!