a bit hard to find, a lot big grey-white buidlings, the hotel reception area is on one floor & the rooms are spread over several different floors (the buidiling is an shared apartments buidling). staff good, speak english & value is fine. but overall location is good, metro-tram stops 5-10 mins walk & st stephens cathedral 10-15min walk

My wife and I stayed at the Pension Dr. Geissler in July 2010. We were in Vienna when the 2010 International AIDS Conference was being held, so rooms were scarce. We chose Pension Dr. Geissler because it was located in the heart of the city and was quite reasonable priced.

At another time, we might have been quite happy at the Pension Dr. Geissler. Unfortunately, Vienna was experiencing a heatwave while we were there and the Pension Dr. Geissler doesn't have air conditioning. We knew that when we booked, but found that we just couldn't sleep. The only thing that opened to the outside was a patio door, but it had no screen so that insects flew in if it was opened. Also, the street was so noisy that one couldn't sleep because of the din of the traffic. We lay on the bed and counted the hours go by. There was no air movement in the room. We sweltered.

The rooms are quite spartan, and are small, but were very clean.

The breakfast was OK, nothing special but certainly nothing to complain about.

The staff was superb. The cleaners were efficient and thorough. The desk personnel were extremely helpful. We have only good things to say about the staff.

If the weather hadn't been so hot we might have been content to stay at the Pension Dr. Geissler. However, we ended up abbreviating our trip to Vienna and leaving early. To their credit, the people at the Pension Dr. Geissler were very accomodating when we announced that we were leaving earlier than we had planned.

If the hotel upgraded its facilities (even if only by providing fans) it would be a good place to stay. They have a staff to be proud of but the facilities are deficient.

This pension is on a side street of off Schwedensplatz, which is a great place to catch the Underground or the Tram from. We were able to walk to Stephensplatz in about 10 minutes. It's also right next to an internet cafe, which was handy. The building is part pension, part normal residences. When you arrive, buzz the office on the 8th floor to let you in. There's a flight of about 10 stairs and then an elevator to take you to the top of the building to check in.

Our room on the second floor was full of fun curiosities. First off, we couldn't figure out how to work the doorknob (part of the fun of travel, I know). We were grateful to have a personal bathroom, though the toilet and a tiny sink were off by themselves in a closet-sized room next to the front door. The shower and a larger sink were off the bedroom, entered through a door-sized opening in the closet. There was a nice sized living room with couches, a tv, and bookcases. The bedroom had a large bed (for 2 people).

This pension sort of had a 1970's feel to it, particularly the huge wall units and the style of the chandelier. My husband's grandparents grew up in Vienna and our room at this pension reminded us a lot of their house

Breakfast is included and served every day on the 8th floor of the building. It consists of cold cuts, bread, fruit, yogurt, cereal, butter, juice, milk and coffee, tea or hot chocolate.

In general, this was a nice, affordable hotel. The proprietors were friendly and helpful with maps, pamphlets, etc. I believe they spoke English well, though I did most of our interactions in German.

Bottom line, as a vacationer, I was dissappointed, mainly because the rooms are in such poor condition.

This place is great someone that 1) absolutely wants to stay in the cities center, 2) just needs a place to lay there head at night and possible shower in the morning, and 3) needs to do it on a tight budget.

To me, there were too many compromises: while in the city center, it is not in a particular pretty area and is far enough away the city that you still need to ride the rail.

On the positive side, the staff is friendly, the breakfast wonderful, and it is right next to a transportation hub so you can take a street care, Ubahn, boat, or any other form of transportation.

The Bedroom:
Smallest room I have ever stayed, the beds were almost on the ground, the mattress was merely a lightweight foam, the linens well used, the furniture old, and a host of other unpleasing attributes. It did have a TV with one english speaking station, CNN International.

The Bathroom:
We took a room that had its own bathroom and shower. It was extremely small and cramped, the grout was deteriorated, the shower spilled on the floor, etc. While it didn't seem clean, it might be just the oldness that made it appear so.

Food:
The hotel serves a full European style breakfast that is enjoyable. The coffee was very good and all incredients fresh.

There are a few restaurants in the neighborhood but they are all very ethnic. We did not try any of them.

Parking and Transportation:
We drove into Vienna with a large station wagon. This is a mistake but we did it knowingly. The Pension was able to allow us to use one of two parking spaces in their tiny parking garage. To be honest, I don't a second car could get in it. I recommend that you do not consider this place if you are coming in by car.

However, if you are coming in by public transportation, this place is one minor block away from a central hub, allowing easy access by just about any other form of transportation including the Ringstrasse streetcar and boats.

Accessibilty:
This pension is on the top floor of an eight story building. There is on lift that can either hold 1 person and 1 suitcase or 2 people and no suitcases. Because it is narrow and the door must be pulled open, this place is not for the wheelchair bound. Those that have strong legs can take the stairs and those without must take the small and slow lift. Be prepared to wait for it.

This pension has no WiFi but there is a decent Internet Cafe (that doesn't open at the stated times) just around the corner and is open until 11 PM.
Pricing:
We stayed at Dr. Geissler to save some money. I think it is the cheepest place in the city center. However, I would rate it low on value. It did not really feel like we were in the city center yet paid for such, plus the rooms were of a low standard.

So if I had to do it again, I would rather stay outside of the city or at one of the outside Pensions and simply taken the train into the city center.