The Hostelz.com Review
Hostel Ruthensteiner is a well-run, very large facility with all the amenities required by the large and diverse crowd of backpackers that fill its rooms. Though too large to have much of a character, this hostel offers friendly service, clean facilities, a bustling hub, and excellent amenities.
The Location
The hostel is fairly easy to find and incredibly convenient for the city. Located only five minutes from one of the largest tram stops in Vienna, travelers can easily locate the hostel and use it for a convenient base while in Vienna. The subways only run until midnight, so be careful of late nights out. After midnight, your only transport option in Vienna is the night bus system. The hostel is also near an all night restaurant, a great backpackers' bar, and several grocery stores, for those wishing to cook.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The rooms come in all shapes and sizes -- from private doubles to large ten-bed dorms. All dorm rooms contain bunk beds, which are provided with incredibly crisp and clean sheets and pillows. Each bed has a corresponding locker, so be sure to use the right one. Most dorm rooms come with ensuite bathrooms, which are clean but do not come with soap or towels.
Common Spaces
Any type of common space desired can be found in Hostel Ruthensteiner. The bar/living room area is a great common room, and it offers a place to meet other travelers who might be planning their next city, pregaming a night out, or playing on the piano that's located in the room. The kitchen and dining room offer a place to cook and enjoy a meal, with three tables and twelve chairs. Alternatively, go out on the patio for fresh air, or the more close-quartered computer room, where computer access can be purchased and used on any of the four computers offered.
Summary
Overall, Hostel Ruthensteiner is a popular, convenient place to stay during a trip to Vienna. This hostel is the ideal location for those travelers wanting a convenient location, friendly atmosphere, standardized procedures, and clean facilities.
The Location
The hostel is fairly easy to find and incredibly convenient for the city. Located only five minutes from one of the largest tram stops in Vienna, travelers can easily locate the hostel and use it for a convenient base while in Vienna. The subways only run until midnight, so be careful of late nights out. After midnight, your only transport option in Vienna is the night bus system. The hostel is also near an all night restaurant, a great backpackers' bar, and several grocery stores, for those wishing to cook.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The rooms come in all shapes and sizes -- from private doubles to large ten-bed dorms. All dorm rooms contain bunk beds, which are provided with incredibly crisp and clean sheets and pillows. Each bed has a corresponding locker, so be sure to use the right one. Most dorm rooms come with ensuite bathrooms, which are clean but do not come with soap or towels.
Common Spaces
Any type of common space desired can be found in Hostel Ruthensteiner. The bar/living room area is a great common room, and it offers a place to meet other travelers who might be planning their next city, pregaming a night out, or playing on the piano that's located in the room. The kitchen and dining room offer a place to cook and enjoy a meal, with three tables and twelve chairs. Alternatively, go out on the patio for fresh air, or the more close-quartered computer room, where computer access can be purchased and used on any of the four computers offered.
Summary
Overall, Hostel Ruthensteiner is a popular, convenient place to stay during a trip to Vienna. This hostel is the ideal location for those travelers wanting a convenient location, friendly atmosphere, standardized procedures, and clean facilities.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
July 2010
Their Description
Hostel Ruthensteiner Details
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Hostel Ruthensteiner Reviews from the WebHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Great place to stay at very close to westbahnhoff. 30 mins walk to inner stadt. The staff is very helpful. The hostel is very clean. There's no shortage of washrooms/showers, never had to wait. Great common areas. Free Wi-Fi. Their rates are one of the cheapest in Vienna. Highly recommended. — fito , Canada (2010-04-13) Great stay! Everyone was very friendly. Rooms were clean and not a bug in sight. Rooms also came with a kitchen which was lovely because you could sit with the people you meet in your room as there's also a little table there as well. Bathrooms are kind of small though. I was put in the "summer house" because the main building was full, so I don't know if there are huge differences. Both had large common rooms and the atmosphere is so nice I met a ton of people traveling alone -- great place for a chat. Right near amain train station, but about ten minutes on that train to the center of Vienna. Didn't really matter at all though as everything else about it was lovely. Never felt like it was too far away. — Marian , USA (2007-11-02) Great! So close to Westbarnhof -- less than five minutes' walk, clean, recently renovated so everything is modern great atmosphere. when you stay make sure you get an awesome schnitzel burger 2.20 euro (go Left, left, left out of the hostel) and get on the pub crawl! Its one of the best hostels i have stayed at! — Mitch , Australia (2007-09-28) We Loved It! Very close to Westbanhof, but having a good map makes it easier to find. It's within walking distance of two excellent grocery stores, which makes it simple to prepare meals in the well-equipped kitchen! Just make sure you wash your own dishes before using them! Beds are fine and come with a roll of sealed clean bedding. We found even the six-person dorm roomy and the bathroom spotless. Reception staff was really helpful and internet access pricey but convenient (you can download your pictures too!). The free musical instruments make it a bit noisy at night, but never unbearable as quiet hours are enforced. The courtyard is beautiful for breakfast and the common area cosy. On the whole a very enjoyable and affordable stay! We definitely recommend it! — Two Canadian Girls , Canada (2007-08-25) Very Pleasant Experience -- Convenient and Clean My wife and I stayed here one night and it really changed my view of lodging in Vienna. The hostel was clean and downright pretty. It is conveniently located west of the West Bahnhof, and the neighborhood was nice, with lots of inexpensive grocery stores nearby. The staff were friendly and efficient. We loved the stay and recommend it to others. — Dylan2at , U.S. (2007-05-31) It was ok. The location is not too bad. I stayed at the other building they have across the street, and i must say -- it seemed dirty. The beds are bad, very uncomfortable, the shower was so small! I tried not to touch anything. It seemed that the main building was cleaner. — Shula (2007-02-06) It is quite near to the west station. It is rather cheap in my mind too. But I give it an average score because the room it provided to me was the smallest in my whole trip, which rather seemed a prison cell. The shower is just outside the cell so it could be quite noisy if someone had shower while you want to sleep. I still think they are too profitable by making such a small cell a room for four beds, for nearly no space except the beds. What a terrible small room. — Luo (2006-11-15) Stayed here for three nights in October 2006. It was the best hostel I stayed in on my trip. I recommend it highly. It's very close to Westbahnhof, so you can get anywhere quickly. The staff were English-speaking and very friendly. I paid around $20/night, and had no problem with settling my bill or working with the staff. One staff member was nice enough to let me use her Nokia cable to charge my phone -- she said she had it there for the guests, just in case! The common area was large and had a somewhat interesting look (red walls in one room), and you could enjoy it sitting by yourself or socializing. You can meet people if you want and it helps to have a bar there, serving cheap beer and wine. The bar was actually really great, and at night, played good music and there was a friendly, good atmosphere. The kitchen was in the back of the common area, and behind it, a laundry you can use. My clothes came out clean and fresh. There were lockers in the room and you have your own key to your locker. The beds were comfortable with clean linens. The bathrooms were clean, and I saw them cleaned a lot, so even though sometimes they smelled (which, yes, happened), it wasn't the fault of the hostel. They were consistently cleaning. The showers used those pumps you have to hit every thirty seconds, but the water was warm when I showered in the later afternoon. Having a sink in the room was very convenient. 2 euro for thirty-five minutes on the internet was a bit pricey, I thought, but I'm not sure how it compares to other places in Vienna. — LL (2006-11-07) This was the only hostel of our trip who could not guarantee us for sure a double room at the time of booking (April for August ). They said they have a flexible reservation system which allows guests to stay extra nights in thier room if they wish to do so. However, when we arrived to the hostel we have been accommodated in our booked "double" room. What a surprise to see it was so small that you can't even wholly open bathroom door beacuse it collides with the bottom part of the bed, same for entrance door which collides with the top of the bed. The mattress of the bed was a little bit larger than a single one but was not for sure a kingsize bed of a double room (and we are slim). Furthermore, the price shown inside the room was of 34 euros while we paied 52 euros at the reception. When asked for that, at the reception they said it was an old sign. Was it really a double room? At least the room was clean and the common areas of the hostel like kitchen and lounge were nice with a good vibe, but on the other hand the bar inside the hostel is open till late at night and you can't sleep earlier than when it closes. — Davide & Michela, Chiavari (GE), Italy (2006-10-02) I stayed here two nights in June 2006. This place was nice, clean, and generally quiet. Seemed to have a good atmosphere in the bar in the evenings, as there were a lot of people and everyone was very talkative. Cheap drinks, too! I stayed in the second building across the street from the original, where each dorm had its own bathroom and lockers for everyone. The location is great, right next to the train station and walking distance from the core of the city. Note though that this place does not have free internet access, although at one point they were advertising that they did. Hard to think of anything negative to say about this place. I'd definitely stay there again. — Scott from Canada (2006-09-22) This is a great hostel. Close to the beautiful city of Wien, nice rooms, very clean and a common room with a piano! I recommend this hostel. The best i've been during my interrail in the summer of 2006. — Filipe, Ruben and Tiago (Portugal) (2006-09-01) I thought the location was nice close to the train station and close to the first wombat, a bit out of the city center though. It's a very new very clean hostel that is in the wombat's format so it has small dorm rooms I think anywhere from four to eight people. The internet you had to put in two euros for forty minutes so it is not great for a ten minute email check. The kitchen is great to cook your own dinner, just remember to move your food when they are cleaning out the fridge. A little bar that I think stops serving beer at midnight, not as social as wombats. — Daphne (2006-08-10) Location was pretty good, and it was quite clean. But I didn't find the staff friendly at all, and I never found the kitchen while i was there. — Kath (2006-08-03) Good facilities and really nice staff at reception. It's near supermarkets and a cheap internet cafe, plus Westbanhof a main train station. It's a relaxing hostel for those wanting a decent nice sleep, but I met a few friendly travellers in the courtyard. — b (2006-07-10) I am a dedicated hosteler and this is one of the better ones! I have stayed at this hostel twice, once in 1998 and again last summer 2005. The garden is the same and as lovely as ever! A wonderful place to meet new friends and eat al fresca. They have completely remodeled(2005) the common area and kitchen and now includes a bar. They still close early but this is a residential area and are considerate neighbors. Fine by me and thankful for a quiet night's sleep, this hostel is a more laid back than a "party" place, much like Vienna itself. The staff, in particular the owner, was very helpful. I arrived ill and she directed me to an English speaking doctor right away and even called ahead to let them know I was coming. She even sought me out later in the day to see how I was doing. Great place, great city. — Nice Helpful Hostel (2006-06-09)