The cheapest nicest hotels in Vienna

For a ‘wow, I’m in Vienna’ moment, this pair of boutique stunners strike gold. You’re right in Vienna’s historic heart here, with horse-drawn carriages clip-clopping by and Gothic St Stephen’s cathedral so close you can practically touch its spire. The Hofburg, Vienna’s imperial palace, is just a 10-minute toddle away through streets full of gaze-lifting grandeur. The dark glass mosaic façade of Topazz stops you dead in your tracks as you waft through the old town streets. Rooms in a monochrome palette of black, cream, champagne and gold are infused with art deco glamour, with sumptuous Wiener Werkstätte designs, oval window seats, geometric and naturalistic prints and duck-footed lamps.

Cross the street and Lamee has a very different feel. Inspired by Hollywood starlet and inventor Hedy Lamarr, the hotel evokes 1930s modernism in gold-touched rooms with floaty drapes, rich velvets and polished veneer headboards. Perched atop the hotel is the 9^th floor Lamée Rooftop, where you can play ‘spot the landmark’ over organic wines from the hotel’s own winery, Lenikus, or antipasti and a signature spritz laced with vermouth and wild berry tonic.

Address: Lichtensteg 2/3, 1010 Wien, Austria
Prices: From about £145 per night, with breakfast at £25 per person

Hotel Beethoven, 6^th district

Composers adored Vienna and none more than Beethoven, who lived, composed and shot to classical megastar fame here more than 200 years ago. His musical legacy is unravelled in all its spirit-soaring glory at this neo-Renaissance pad, sitting right opposite Theater an der Wien, where Beethoven composed his opera Fidelio. Owner Barbara Ludwig has unleashed her vivid imagination and razor-sharp eye for design on six floors channelling different aspects of Viennese life – from coffeehouse culture to art nouveau, Beethoven to women who have shaped the city. Historic limited editions wallpaper, engravings, theatre programmes and stage designs firmly root interiors in place. The slick, parquet-floored rooms in golds, blues and greys have pops of personality in murals, prints and vintage lighting.

Best of all, the Beethoven really nails the hotel-as-home concept. Breakfast is a stupendous spread of speciality eggs, fresh-from-the-butcher sausages, homemade muesli and Wienerwald honey. Complimentary coffee and pastries are served in the afternoon, and you can find quiet moments in the mezzanine library. At the weekend, everyone is invited to salon concerts of cello and piano, with a free glass of fizz during intervals. You’re right in the thick of things here – steps from the State Opera, Ringstrasse, Naschmarkt and gold filigree-domed Secession, where Klimt’s sublime 1902 Beethoven Frieze cavorts across basement walls in an ode to art nouveau.

Address: Papagenogasse 6, 1060 Wien, Austria
Prices: From about £190 per night, with breakfast at £24 per person