Vienna

We stayed in this Wombats as part of a summer holiday, travelling around Austria & Germany. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I left the travel arrangements to my other half, as the trip was part of my 30th birthday present. You can imagine my "surprise" when informed that, as well as the lovely hotels we would frequent; we would also kip in two hostels. Actually - surprise doesn't even come close to my reaction. While somewhat concerned about staying in a hostel, I was willing to do it to save him money - but there was a whole lot of apprehension on my part.

Like most people my idea of a hostel is 25 people in a room listening to each other snoring - fighting over a communal bathroom and having absolutely no privacy whatsoever! This couldn't be further from the truth at Wombats. As a couple we booked one of the private double rooms with en suite bathroom and free linen, which apparently is great for a hostel!

Opened in May 2006, Wombats (The Lounge) already has a wonderful reputation as does its sister hostels in Munich and Berlin - and also another in Vienna. Wombats won the cleanest hostel worldwide award in 2003 and I soon seen why.

Ideally suited to young travellers or even an ideal base for a city break, this hostel checks all the boxes - bed with breakfast available, bar, dorm or private double rooms all with en suite shower room and toilet, excellent cleanliness and the location is ideal.

We were greeted (like long lost friends) at the reception by an extremely cheerful guy; he checked us in, explained where everything was and gave us our room key. We went upstairs, me still apprehensively. And what a surprise! The room had the absolute basics - laminate flooring, two single beds next to each other and a wardrobe and table - both straight out the Ikea catalogue. The walls were a pleasant pale yellow and the bed spreads matched. It was everything we needed and wanted. The bathroom looked the same as a normal hotel bathroom, tiled, corner shower and mirrors. What struck me straight away about the room and bathroom was how spotless it all was. To be honest with you, and I'm sure ill be forgiven for this, I was kind of expecting the remnants of the last student type people who stayed there to be festering under the bed - but after a thorough search in all the places that you would normally check - under bed, in wardrobe, shower, toilet, wardrobe etc you know the drill! It lived up to my initial impression - spotless.

Facilities in Wombats are excellent; you have a kitchen where you can cook and prepare your own meals. There are also tables to eat at. There is a bar in the basement named the Wombar, for the guests who aren't quite up to partying the night away, the bar is soundproofed and won't ruin your sleep after a hard day of sightseeing. There are laundry facilities to allow you to remain fresh and clean and also internet access to make the folks back home jealous that you're in Vienna! There are pool tables in the main reception as well.

Being the choice of travellers, the people who are staying there are laid back and just want to have fun. It's an ideal place to make new friends, if that's what you want; although you can opt to keep yourself to yourself, as we did. There really is a, easy comfortable atmosphere to the place which helps you feel at ease almost immediately after stepping through the door. There is a sitting area within the reception area, where you can also find the pool tables and PC's. There were many people milling around, sharing travelling tips and basically just making friends. To many young people, the social aspect of a holiday is just as important as where they are laying their head and eating for the next few days and wombats certainly delivers.

The location of the hostel (I find it hard to think of it as a hostel, more of a basic hotel) was fantastic - right on the Mariahilfer Strasse, which is the main shopping street in Vienna, with all of the main attractions a walk away. There are a large amount of restaurants and bars around so you don't have to walk far at night for entertainment. We found Vienna at night very safe and we felt comfortable there. The main train station, Westbahnhof, is a couple of minutes walk from Wombats.

You can walk out of the hostel, turn right down Mariahilfer Strasse and you are approaching the historical section of the city, here you can find the theatres and opera houses which are so famous in Vienna. We had the good fortune to stumble upon the annual film fair, at which a food court was set up with stalls from all over the world and street entertainers.

The only minus point I could find was the breakfast the next morning, it didn't appeal to us at all and we didn't bother having it - you don't pay for your breakfast unless you want it and at a price of about £2.50 its not going to break the bank if you decide to see what its like.

At a rate of about £20 for a room per night, its ideal value for money and this place has certainly made me a bit more open minded about hostels and I can say, hand on heart, that I would definitely consider a private room in a hostel again, - in a heartbeat! The only rule being that we thoroughly researched the place first to ensure it lived up to my inspections. I'm glad I stayed in this one first, as the one we ended up at in Salzburg wasn't exactly comfortable - but this is where your research comes in.

Although guests were predominantly travellers and between the ages of 18-35, there were definitely more mature guests staying

For all of you travellers that wouldn't consider a hostel - think again, research the hostels in the area you are going and give it a whirl! Especially if it's a Wombats.

We are starting to look at this years summer holiday, as we are getting married next year we will keep the cost down and are probably going to look into another hostel

thanks for reading

Sharon