Welcome back to Beautiful Spaces—a series of posts in which I talk about the places where I stay during my travels. It all started in 2013 when I realized that my contentment on the road is directly connected to how much I love where I’m living…and so made a commitment to find beautiful spaces to call home along the way. This is one such space. I was offered a discounted stay in exchange for this review. Opinions, as always, are my own.
Every traveler has her go-tos. The places she knows will be good no matter what. The places she knows she can count on for solid accommodations, food, or help navigating a new city. The places, in short, that she turns to again and again throughout her traveling life.
For me, some of these places are general. Like I know that I can find a great picnic lunch at pretty much any farmers market in Europe. And I know smoothie shops and vegetarian lunch spots will almost always be a good lunch option on travel days. Even if the food isn’t worth writing home about, it’ll be edible and leave me feeling good.
And some of my places are specific. Chains of hotels or shops or grocery stores that I know I can trust to deliver quality no matter which city I happen to be in.
For me, one of those trustworthy chains is 25Hours Hotels.
(Psst…If you decide to book, scroll to the bottom of this post for a discount code!)
So when Chad and I left Georgia in a hurry and needed a place to stay in Vienna for two nights, the first thing we did is give the 25Hours in Vienna’s Museums Quarter a call.
25Hours is a brand of art hotels scattered across major European cities like Zurich (where I recommend Zurich West), Paris, and Hamburg. Each one is a quirky work of art. Zurich West features fun colors and charming, almost child-like art. Zurich Langstrasse was all city motifs and retro-feeling decor, especially in the bar.
And here in Vienna, the hotel’s theme is the traveling circus.
In the rooms, the theme extends to circus performer murals and hula hoops, yoga mats, and juggling balls hung on the walls. In the common areas, iron cage bars line the back of the elevator and a table that tilts like a see-saw is surrounded by a cozy wraparound couch. In the spa, mirrors inside buckets grace one wall and chairs hang from the ceiling.
The whole place, in other words, is a work of quirky art.
Of course, the arty decor isn’t the only reason I book with 25Hours every chance I get. The other big factor for me (and Chad) is the breakfast.
In every 25Hours I’ve stayed in, breakfast has been an epic event. Three- or even four-sided bars are covered in all kinds of goodies with a local bent.
In this case, that included honey straight from the comb, porridge, homemade Nutella, breakfast cakes dusted in sugar, baskets of bread in all shapes and sizes, local cheeses and meats, crisp sliced veggies, salmon, fruits, jams, lightly sweet pretzel bread, bacon, sausages, eggs, and a make-your-own muesli bar. That’s not to mention the coffee and fresh-squeezed juices or the dozen other things I’m sure I’m neglecting to mention.
Every morning, we stuffed ourselves silly and lamented that we only had two days to do so.
Aside from an epic breakfast and colorful rooms, this hotel also has a basement spa featuring a sauna, steam room, foot bath, gym, and both indoor and outdoor relaxation areas.
Take the elevator to the top of the building and you’ll also find a trendy, popular bar with a bird’s eye view of the city.
Really, my only critique is:
That our room here felt a bit cluttered. There was a huge TV in the middle of the floor space and I would have preferred to have no TV at all or to have it smaller and on the wall instead of having to trip past it on my way to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
If you want to book with 25Hours (and I highly recommend it), visit their website. Use the code March_25hours for a 15% discount!