I stayed at the Hotel Wien for 12 days. Given the hotel alternatives in L'viv -- either cheaper and shoddy, or better but far more expensive -- it was a decent choice. In absolute terms, however, it was merely an ok property and not a great value.

Bottom line: Not a rip-off, but CONSIDER RENTING AN APARTMENT INSTEAD OF STAYING AT HOTEL WIEN. That's what I'm doing when I return in '09.

----------------

In addition to the central location next to the Taras Shevchenko statute, here are the positives about Hotel Wien:

(1) excellent hot water and high water pressure in the shower;

(2) the TV had BBC World News;

(3) at the front desk, Nadia (in her 40s) went the extra mile giving directions and advice; she didn't speak much English, but very pleasant and we got by using German;

(4) also at the front desk, Irina (maybe 30 years old) was quite pleasant, quick to smile, and provided a free map and drew directions;

(5) the hotel gives guests a "client card" valid for a 20% discount on all food and drink, including alcohol, at the little restaurant downstairs (Vienna Coffee House);

(6) the downstairs restaurant has good food and a pretty wide selection of food, beers, horilka (vodka), etc., and is open fairly late (seemed like midnight most nights);

(7) very clean room;

(8) negotiated a 10% discount because the stay was a full week or more (off-season, anyway).

----------------

HERE ARE THE NEGATIVES ABOUT HOTEL WIEN. None is a deal-breaker, but they really detracted from the experience:

(1) HIRE STAFF WHO SPEAK ENGLISH !

Other than Irina, the front-desk staff mostly spoke almost no English. This is simply unacceptable for a hotel that fancies itself a "modern, Western" property catering to North American and Western European tourists & businesspeople.

Surely they could hire people who are majoring in English at the local universities (Catholic University of Ukraine, Ivank Franko University, etc.)

(2) TOO MUCH NOISE FROM THE TRAM / STREET-CAR PASSING BY

I was on the second floor, right next to the tram. Woke me up too early after several late nights. Ask for a room on the third floor, if they have rooms there -- that might help a LITTLE. And bring earplugs if you're a light sleeper.

(3) BUY A TALL, BRIGHT LAMP FOR EACH ROOM

Like almost every place in L'viv (museums, restaurants, hotels), the room was poorly lit. The nightstands next to the bed had tiny, relatively dim lamps, and the nightstands were too low to use the lamps for reading in bed. You'll get a headache from eyestrain using the existing lamps ov overhead light to read.

(4) TREAT GUESTS LIKE ADULTS AND RESPECT THEIR PRIVACY - INVEST IN DUPLICATE KEYS OR ELECTRONIC KEY-CARDS

They require you to turn in your room-key every time you leave the hotel, and then go to the front desk to retrieve it when you return.

I don't like the idea that they know when you're coming and going -- why should they?

And it can be mildly awkward to retrieve the key from the front desk if you're, say, inebriated (I wasn't driving, after all). And MORE than mildly embarrassing to check in with the front desk for the key if you bring someone you've met back to your room (I'm not married, after all ;)

(5) TEACH THE RESTAURANT STAFF BASIC ENGLISH AND COMMON COURTESY

Two of the waiters/waitresses were fairly polite, and patient with my attempt to speak "toddler Ukrainian" (generally reading words or phrases out of my Lonely Planet phrasebook for the first few days till I memorized them). Two waitresses in particular, however, were absolute b----es. No nicer way to put it. Rude, impatient, made no attempt to speak a few words of English (or German, which I offered as an alternative).

One waitress actually rolled her eyes at me and sighed as I tried to order in Ukrainian. Another waitress actually TURNED HER BACK AND WALKED AWAY as I asked a question, because she was frustrated that the table was apparently taking too long, or requiring too much effort, for her liking.

(6) OFFER A TRULY NON-SMOKING AREA IN THE RESTAURANT.

Like almost every place I went in L'viv, the hotel restaurant allowed smoking in one of its two rooms. The other room seemed to be allegedly "non-smoking", but with no ventilation system designed to separate the two, the smoke did come into that room too.

(7) NEED MORE ENGLISH-LANGUAGE CHANNELS

They told me that they had English TV channels, plural. They actually have only one, BBC World News. I wasn't here to watch TV and didn't watch much, but it wouldn't be hard for them to provide North American channels, such as Fox News and CNN for Americans and CTV for Canadians.

(8) THE ELECTRICITY WENT OUT ON 3 DAYS.

Two outages were very brief, but one outage lasted for at least 3 hours. During this outage, there was no water, not even cold water, in the sink and shower. I had to postpone an appointment to the next day because I could not show up without having showered.

(9) THE BED WAS MEDIOCRE AT BEST

The bed was thin and borderline-uncomfortable. Not what I'd expect for this price, which is a large sum in Ukraine. (Their labor costs are dirt-cheap.) Maybe the bed is ok by Ukrainian standards, but my back hurts a bit after 12 days sleeping in it. Don't be such cheapskates. Buy a more comfortable, supportive bed.