Hotel Lucia

"We spent 4 (sleepless) nights at Hotel Lucia. Unfortunately, we were primarily influenced by the 'family-run' description when booking. The positive points first: Proximity to the subway, clean bathroom with a very hot shower, very diligent staff in the breakfast service (in our opinion, however, there was a lot of cost-cutting regarding the quality of the offerings). The booked double room seemed loveless with the charm and furnishings of a youth hostel. 2 single beds were lined up lengthwise one after the other. Despite facing a side street, the nighttime traffic noise and the slamming of car doors in the morning gave us sleepless nights. The smell of grease and cigarettes from the restaurant below didn't make it any better either. The carpet was stained and very dated. There was neither a water glass nor a refrigerator in the room. It was also not desired that one bring things one had purchased oneself up to the room. To an elderly lady who asked for 3 glasses, Mr. E. Simulevski replied: 'This is a hotel. When you go to a restaurant, you don't bring your own food either.' The same gentleman of the family business always seemed abysmally indifferent and unempathetic to us. No greeting and at the end - as expected - also no inquiry as to whether one had a pleasant stay. The enthusiastic description on the homepage is not reflected in reality at all."

"Hotel Lucia was a rare and wonderful find. We used the hotel as a base for our trips to Budapest and Bratislava, as well as Vienna. The location is ideal, within a 5-7 minute walk to the metro/subway that takes you to all of the main stations. There are some good restaurant choices also within walking distance, and a supermarket within a few minutes. That leads to the downside of Lucia -- no in room refrigerator, at least not in our triple room. A spacious and relaxing room with a large bathroom and a couch. We really liked the couch because we could sit there and not lounge on the bed. The desk was good and there were two chairs in the room (again, we had a triple). Perhaps even more important than the location of the hotel are the great staff. The hotel is a family run operation and we had the pleasure of meeting the two sons who help operate/manage the property. I didn't get permission to use their names, but they were amazingly helpful in finding a place to eat and navigating the subway. We took the subway to Schoenborn palace and to the Vienna Opera House. Easy as pie. We grabbed takeout a couple of times (we were there four nights) and ate dinner in the courtyard. It was quiet and lovely. One other thing to be aware of: there is no ice maker and no iron, so if you want to chill your soda or something, or have a suitcase filled with wrinkled clothes, you're out of luck. That said, who cares about wrinkles when every question is answered helpfully, the location is perfect and the rooms, spacious. Would I go back? Absolutely."

"Hotel Lucia seems like it was originally a block of apartments - inside, it is a bit higgledy-piggledy. There are lifts to every floor. My room was a double, even though I am a solo traveller, which seems to be usual these days. The room was clean, the bed was comfortable and the thin-looking duvet was surprisingly warm. The bathroom was surprisingly spacious and the shower properly blasted out hot water. There's a big television with only the usual CNN and BBC English channels. NHK in English is quite entertaining. The carpet was showing signs of age, a bit threadbare and the internet could be slow (how about wi-fi boosters on each floor?). Really, the only negative is the "no hot drinks in your room" policy. No tea-/coffee-making facilities in a room is not uncommon, but when you go to the lobby to make a hot drink you are not allowed to take it back to your room. If you want a hot drink upstairs after a long day or if you wake up before breakfast starts then tough luck - down to the lobby. Maybe this is ok for groups or for families, but I am a solo traveller and found it uncomfortable to sit on my own in a deserted reception (well, deserted apart from Reception). The "green" courtyard is actually a paved-over courtyard Everyone on reception is friendly and fluent in English. They are also extremely helpful: I had to leave at 06:00 for an excursion, told them 2 nights before leaving and they made me a delicious lunch bag. Breakfast is continental plus - as well as yoghurt and cereals there are fruit salads, vegetable salads, cheeses, bread, pastries. A good selection, plentiful and delicious. The hotel is only a short walk from Johnstrasse U-bahn (a direct line to Staphensplatz and to the airport bus transfer). It is also about 15 minutes' walk from the Schonbrun Palace (but get the 10A bus back up the hill!). I couldn't find anywhere tempting to eat but there's a shopping centre for snacks and the city centre is close by. Overall, this hotel generally hits a 5, but for me the glacial internet and being forbidden to take a hot drink up to my room lose it a couple of points. Don't let that put you off, though - for the price it is excellent value."