Hotel Birg-Cyrus

A good value hotel, south of the city centre

I arrived at the Hotel Birg Cyrus late on a cold night in January 2006, having already booked (via www.hostelbookers.com) 4 nights at the property.

The total cost of my 4 night stay was 171 Euros (3 nights at 44 Euros, and just 39 Euros for the Sunday night), a price which did not include breakfast but which still proved to be value for money. Breakfast can be had at the hotel, for an additional charge, and is served between 7 and 10am.

On the Hostelbookers website it states that the hotel operates a 24 hour reception. This was part of the reason I chose this hotel, as I knew that I'd be arriving at around midnight. However, upon arriving at the hotel I found the front door locked and all the lights in reception turned off. Standing in the freezing cold, with heavy snow falling, I pressed the doorbell and prayed that someone would hear. They did! After 30 seconds of frantic doorbell-pushing, a young man stumbled into reception and let me in. Although reception is only open 7am until 10pm, there is always someone on site to deal with people arriving outside these times.

Upon checking in, I was given a key for my room and a key for the external side door through which I should enter the hotel outside of reception hours. Despite the fact I'd obviously disturbed him from watching TV (or sleeping in front of it), the young man was kind enough to give me a tourist map and briefly point out the key sights and transportation points.

Unique Quality: Rooms are available for 1-6 people. My single room, although a bit on the small side, contained 2 beds and an en-suite shower room (just a shower and a toilet), with a separate washbasin in the room's small hallway. The room also possessed satellite TV (CNN, Eurosport and a handful of local and German channels), a wardrobe, a telephone, a table, 2 chairs. Fresh towels are provided and maid service is daily.

Importantly, the room was very well heated. Despite the sub-zero temperatures outside, the room was so hot that I was able to sleep on top of the covers in just a pair of shorts...and still wake up sweating!

The room doesn't have a safe deposit box or a minibar, and there is some traffic noise at nights as the rooms at the front face onto busy Laxenburgerstrasse.

A number of excursions (with pick-up at the hotel) can be booked from reception. These include daytrips to Budapest, Bratislava and Salzburg as well as guided tours of Vienna itself.

A good value hotel, but for some people it may be considered as being too far from "The Ring". Personally, I was happy to walk the 25 minute journey from the hotel to the city centre or, if I had wished, I could have been transported there on the U-Bahn in less than 5 minutes. Don't let the seemingly peripheral location put you off this hotel.

• Opinion of Price: less expensive than average
• Related to: Budget Travel

Hotel Birg-Cyrus Photo: Hotel Birg-Cyrus, Vienna

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