Stage 12 Hotel by Penz

The hotel's in a very central spot and easy to get to. I don't mind that it's a tourist area. The rooms were clean and breakfast was very good, no complaints there. The beds were cheap and uncomfortable, and the pillows gave almost no support. I asked the front desk for extra pillows late one evening, when things were quiet. The employee said they'd send them up right away, but they never came. Breakfast service was another problem. Daniel, the employee seating us, looked at the half-empty breakfast room and said there were no seats, then offered to put us at the bar. It was closed, dark, and unattended at 9 in the morning. I asked why we couldn't sit in the usual breakfast area, where we'd eaten the previous mornings without trouble. He hesitated, then found us a table, but another couple took it over. When I asked what to do, he told us to sit somewhere else. Later, I stopped him during the meal to ask his name. We felt we might have been discriminated against. At the very least, he was extremely rude and should check his attitude.

Room service was the worst part of our five-day stay. We were out from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on two consecutive days and returned to an uncleaned room. Staff said they could only clean between 4:30 and 5. We asked them to come earlier the next day and they agreed, but didn't show up, saying the hotel was too busy. When they eventually cleaned, they left used beer glasses and other trash, never wiped the table, and barely cleaned the bathroom. They didn't replace our water glasses once, so I washed them myself in the bathroom sink. I've seen better hygiene in 3rd world motels. The location was fantastic, and our room, advertised as having a “panoramic view,” was a decent size with a nice view. But the sheets and dressing gowns had holes, and the curtains didn't close properly, so outside light shone onto the bed all night. Reception staff were mostly nice, but gave us conflicting information and weren't helpful when we complained that the room hadn't been cleaned. Breakfast was OK, nothing special.

The elevator got stuck with me inside, and nobody answered when I pressed the emergency button. I had no cell signal and waited a long time before banging on the door until a maid managed to let me out. She said it happened all the time. That was the worst part of our visit to Austria. After a long day of travel, we were told to wait five hours for our room, then another two hours when we came back that evening. The desk staff were very rude to some foreign guests, as other reviews have mentioned. The rooms were small and bleak. A nightmare hotel.

I stayed here recently on a rail trip through Austria and Switzerland. The bar had a nice atmosphere and good value, and I found the staff friendly. The location was great and the rooms were clean. I'd recommend it.