Hotel Am Brillantengrund

The Hotel am Brillantengrund is probably the sweetest property in the gritty neighborhood of the Neubau. The digs aren't the chicest in town, but the Brillantengrund employs a hands-on approach to service that can't be beat.

The 30-room hotel has a wealth of lovely details. Outside, the two-story 18th-century façade bursts with flowers. There's even more plant life in the spacious inner courtyard, where guests can eat breakfast in the summer. Flowers dangle from wrought iron trellises, and the interior is painted a perfect shade of Austro-Hungarian yellow.

Unfortunately, the rooms are not decorated with quite the same level of care. They're dark, average-sized spaces with big wooden armoires. Bathrooms are clean but not any brighter, and feature colored tiles in hues like avocado and mustard. Apartment-style rooms with kitchenettes are a bit more modern.

We love the staff here. You won't find any of that classic Hapsburg officiousness, just people skilled at solving problems. Some of the concierge staff have worked at the Brillantengrund for over two decades!

Bicycles are available for rental and the hotel has its own parking garage, so transportation is a snap. If you plan to hoof it, Mariahilf is about five-to-ten minutes away, twenty minutes to the Ring and the Opera, and a solid half hour to the Innere Stadt.