Vienna, young and old, trendy and traditional and the unexpected!
Over in the Museum Quarter on Lerchenfelder Strasse stands a hotel with a welcoming sign above the door stating “We are all mad here”.
This is the Twenty Five Hours Hotel.
Who would have thought it was possible to break from the traditional expected hospitality found in 99.9% of all hotels I have ever stayed in.
The Grandpa style shirts and chinos of all the staff are befitting of a relaxed atmosphere presented by a team of fun loving, can do, friendly individuals.
There appears to be no hierarchy so expected where responsibility is pushed to your seniors or colleagues.
The staff here are the best of the best I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Smiles, accommodating any request, a real can do attitude and a response so reassuring that you just feel at home.
If you should have a request or ask a question you are met with “of course” a sort of “why not?” Or if you have a complaint they appear to go out of the way to resolve the issue practically, quickly and pleasantly.
The reception/lobby area is as mad and as quirky as any I have ever seen.
When we arrived our room was not quite ready, but rather than hang about, we were given a pass to the Mermaids Cave! A place where we could freshen up and change, before leaving our bags with reception so that we could get on with exploring this beautiful city. And that was after we had a chance to use the adult swings or share the loo!
There is nothing standard at all about our room… nothing! Given it was our anniversary weekend we were upgraded to a suite on the 7th floor.
There is no headboard, loads of sockets everywhere, no fancy toiletries just delightful smelling all natural lemon and honey liquid soaps in dispensers that say ‘Stop the water while using me!’
The sink is deep, practical and has an old fashioned tap that swings out of the way when you shave .. a real personal gripe I have when I wet shave. An adjustable magnifying mirror, well lit area, a hair dryer in a basket on the floor, plug sockets with flip covers, a wide shelf and a bucket for rubbish….and that’s just the sink which is opposite a functional shower.
The hot water here is instant, set not too hot, plenty of pressure and the cold water … well so clean and fresh you can drink it!
Our room is a blast! With solid floors, rugs, stools, sofa, chairs, tables and a dishwasher and microwave! Yes, this room has a small kitchenette area with sink, coffee machine, fridge, pots and pans.
But then it is the small things you notice too, like the UE boom speaker that you can plug into your USB port, the juggling balls and even the gym mat!
A really practical accessory for use is a ‘Freitag’ bag should you need one to carry your laptop during your stay.
The bed is comfortable and bed side lights, individual.
Unlike other hotels the hangers are not attached to the rail! There is loads of space for clothing too.
One gripe I had was the position of the safe, located on the floor of the wardrobe. You can still see it, so it’s hardly out of sight, so why not position it at a sensible height that makes using it more friendly.
At the opposite end of the room to the bed, stands a practical wooden table made from planks. Surrounding it are shelves, plugs and books.
During our five day trip this became our planning area to look at maps, make notes, and a place to charge phones.
When you come to leave the room, the Twenty Five Hours Hotel continues with their wit and humour by providing every room with a book of door signs.
We chose breakfast in the hotel. This is offered at a discounted rate if you book the days you’ll be staying in advance. It’s not the cheapest breakfast we’ve had but value for money and choice of fresh everything made it an easy cost to bare.
There is a central island in the restaurant area from where drinks hot and cold are served, but surrounding this is a variety of fruits, cereals, breads, salads, cheeses, hot foods, honey and jams.
They’ve got this down to a T, everything fresh, nothing too much trouble.
We even tried dinner here one night and were just simply in awe of the simplicity of how everything just works.
They call themselves ‘1500 food makers’ in the restaurant … when I asked why, I was told 1500 is 25 hours.
As I said we were in a suite .. but the standard rooms are just as much fun as I discovered when I asked to see one of the other rooms.
We’ve stayed in many hotels, but the Twenty Five Hours hotel in Vienna just has to be your first place to stay for location in Vienna, for total honest sanity and a truly relaxing atmosphere.
Check out the hotel here.
