Vienna Apartment vs Hotel: An Honest Comparison

The Big Question Every Vienna Visitor Faces

Vienna attracts over 8 million overnight visitors each year, and the accommodation landscape has changed dramatically over the past decade. Where once the choice was simply between a hotel star rating, today's travellers can choose from traditional hotels, hostels, serviced apartments, and short-term rentals. Each has genuine strengths, and the right choice depends on your group size, trip length, budget, and how you like to travel.

This guide offers a straightforward comparison. We will look at real numbers, practical differences, and the situations where each option shines. No hard sell - just honest information to help you plan.

Cost Breakdown: Real Numbers for a Vienna Stay

Let us look at a concrete example. A family of four visiting Vienna for five nights in shoulder season (May or October) might compare these options:

Hotel scenario: A mid-range 3-star hotel in the city centre typically charges between €120 and €180 per night for a family room or two connected doubles. For five nights, that is €600 to €900 for accommodation alone. Breakfast buffets cost €12 to €18 per person per day. For a family of four over five mornings, that adds €240 to €360. Lunches and dinners eaten out every day can easily add €80 to €120 daily, or €400 to €600 over five days. Total: roughly €1,240 to €1,860.

Apartment scenario: A 40 m² serviced apartment like the Quartett at Old Vienna Apartments costs €70 per night, or €350 for five nights. With a fully equipped kitchen, a family can prepare breakfast and several other meals in the apartment. Budget roughly €25 per day on groceries from a supermarket like Billa or Hofer, totalling €125 for the stay. You can still enjoy restaurant dinners on a few evenings - say three dinners out at €60 each, adding €180. Total: roughly €655.

That is a potential saving of €585 to €1,205. Even if you eat out more often, the apartment's lower nightly rate and kitchen access create a significant buffer. For longer stays or larger groups, the savings compound further.

Space and Privacy: More Than Just Square Meters

A standard double room in a Vienna hotel typically measures 18 to 22 m². For a couple, that is adequate. For a family, it quickly feels cramped - luggage on every surface, children sharing beds, and nowhere to retreat for quiet time.

Serviced apartments offer a fundamentally different layout. Even a smaller apartment like the Duett (16 to 25 m²) provides a separate sleeping area and kitchenette. The Quartett at 40 m² offers a living space, dining area, fully equipped kitchen, and a separate bathroom - roughly double the usable space of a hotel room at a lower price. The Superior apartment at 60 m² accommodates up to six guests with enough room for everyone to have personal space.

Privacy matters, too. In a hotel, you share corridors, lifts, and breakfast rooms with hundreds of other guests. In a serviced apartment building, you come and go as you please. There is no lobby small talk, no queuing for the breakfast buffet, no housekeeping knocking at inconvenient moments. For families with young children or for couples who value their own rhythm, this independence is often the deciding factor.

The Kitchen Factor: Why It Changes Everything

A fully equipped kitchen is perhaps the single biggest advantage of choosing an apartment. It is not just about saving money - though that matters - it is about flexibility and comfort.

With a kitchen, you can prepare breakfast when you wake up rather than rushing to catch the hotel buffet before it closes. You can make a quick lunch before heading out for the afternoon. You can accommodate dietary restrictions, allergies, or the preferences of picky eaters without the stress of navigating restaurant menus in a foreign language.

Vienna's food markets make self-catering a genuine pleasure. The Karmelitermarkt, just a 10-minute walk from Herminengasse, sells fresh bread, local cheese, charcuterie, seasonal fruit, and prepared foods. Supermarkets like Billa, SPAR, and Hofer are never more than a few minutes away. Shopping for groceries also gives you a more authentic connection to the city - you see how locals eat and live, rather than experiencing Vienna only through tourist restaurants.

For families with babies or toddlers, a kitchen is practically essential. Warming bottles, preparing pureed food, and having milk and snacks readily available makes travelling with small children vastly less stressful.

Flexibility and Self Check-in

Hotels operate on rigid schedules. Reception desks may close at night. Check-in requires queuing and presenting documents. Late arrivals can be stressful, and early check-in often incurs extra charges.

Modern serviced apartments like Old Vienna Apartments offer self check-in via key lockbox or smart lock. You receive your access code in advance and arrive whenever suits your schedule - whether that is 3 PM or midnight. There is no reception desk to staff and no queue. For travellers arriving on late flights from London, Barcelona, or Istanbul (all common routes to Vienna), this alone can save a night's accommodation cost since you do not need to book an extra hotel night just to guarantee a late arrival.

Check-out is equally simple. Leave the key, close the door, and go. No waiting at the front desk, no minibar disputes.

When a Hotel Is the Better Choice

Fairness demands acknowledging where hotels genuinely excel. If you value daily housekeeping, room service, a concierge, or on-site amenities like a spa or pool, a hotel delivers these services in a way apartments cannot match. Business travellers attending a single overnight conference may prefer the simplicity of a hotel with its front desk, luggage storage, and restaurant.

Solo travellers on short trips - one or two nights - may find the cost difference negligible and prefer the social atmosphere of a hotel lobby or bar. If you are visiting Vienna for a single weekend and plan to eat out every meal regardless, the kitchen advantage of an apartment becomes less relevant.

Luxury travellers seeking five-star service, turn-down service, and a minibar will naturally gravitate toward Vienna's grand hotels like the Sacher, Imperial, or Bristol. These experiences are part of the trip itself, and no apartment can replicate them.

Location: The Overlooked Variable

Both hotels and apartments can be centrally located or inconveniently distant. What matters is proximity to public transport and the neighbourhoods you plan to visit. Old Vienna Apartments sit on Herminengasse 12 in Vienna's 2nd district (Leopoldstadt), just one minute on foot from Schottenring station where the U2 and U4 metro lines intersect. This gives you direct access to virtually every major attraction: Stephansdom, the Ringstrasse, Prater, Schoenbrunn (via transfer), and the Danube Island.

The 2nd district itself has transformed in recent years into one of Vienna's most vibrant neighbourhoods. It combines the authenticity of a residential area - real bakeries, neighbourhood cafes, local parks - with easy access to the city centre. Unlike the tourist-heavy 1st district, prices in local restaurants and shops are noticeably lower.

The Verdict: It Depends on How You Travel

There is no universal answer. But we can offer a rule of thumb: the larger your group and the longer your stay, the more an apartment makes sense. Couples on a two-night getaway may find either option works. A family of four staying five nights or more will almost certainly save money, gain space, and enjoy greater flexibility in an apartment. Groups of friends travelling together can share a larger apartment for a fraction of what multiple hotel rooms would cost.

For stays of a week or longer - whether for business relocation, medical treatment, university exchange, or extended holiday - serviced apartments become the only sensible option. The cost savings are substantial, the kitchen becomes essential for daily life, and the space prevents cabin fever.