During a recent trip to Vienna, we had the absolute pleasure of staying in the Eco-friendly Hotel Schani for two nights. This hotel was so our cup of tea. Trendy, quirky, stylish, innovative and contemporary are just a few of many words to describe Hotel Schani. To top it off, Hotel Schani is wheelchair accessible. Let me give you the lowdown!
Hotel Schani Wien
Vienna is well-known for its art nouveau style and Romanesque architecture. A beautifully elegant and grand city with so much charm all around. So it was nice to try something different and a bit more modern for our second hotel stay of our Vienna trip. That’s exactly what Hotel Schani provided.
Location
When you’re looking for a hotel, location is always a main factor. You don’t want a long trek back to your hotel at the end of a busy sightseeing day. That’s what makes Hotel Schani the perfect hotel as it’s in a great location for public transport with Vienna’s Central Railway Station right across the street. You’ll have no problem catching a tram, bus, train or U-Bahn (subway) from this trendy hotel in the Belvedere Quarter.
Roll out of the hotel straight onto the tram (line D) and be in the heart of Vienna city centre within 7 minutes. Can’t get any better than that! I wouldn’t recommend walking to and from this hotel into the centre as it’s a little too far, but as I said, the tram is right on the hotel’s doorstep so it’s ideal.
Entrance
From the outside, the hotel looks super cool and modern. Lots of plants and lampshades hanging in front of the entrance make Hotel Schani really inviting. The path and streets outside the hotel are extremely smooth and clean as well as curb cuts. The main entrance is completely wheelchair accessible and all level.
Rolling through the entrance was very exciting as we are both major plant lovers so we loved all the beautiful foliage that welcomed us as we entered the hotel. #PlantGoals
Lobby/Reception
We then entered the reception/lobby area through automatic glass doors. I don’t think I’ve loved automatic doors as much as I loved them. They had the cutest image of two cartoon sketch people so when the doors closed shut it looked like they were kissing.
The front desk is a large box-like area that replicates storage boxes with “This side up” and “Fragile” printed across the top. Check-in is a little different to what you’d typically expect when arriving at a hotel. You’ll find self-check-in tablets/terminals which you’ll use to check yourself in. Once you’ve completed check-in your room key will pop out from the card slot under the desk. This is a very modern and independent approach but there are always staff at the desk if you have trouble checking in. Download the Schani app and you’ll be able to open your hotel room door with your smartphone. Pretty cool!
Although the reception area was incredibly stylish I did find the desk very high (perfect for standing height) and there was no lowered area for wheelchair users. This didn’t cause me any inconvenience as I was travelling with someone who was able to operate the self-check-in tablet for me, but solo wheelchair travellers would have to ask for assistance with this.
Wheelchair Accessible Room
Room 322 was home for two nights of the most restful sleep I’ve ever had. The beds were amazing and so comfortable. To say I was delighted with the beds would be an understatement. Vienna honestly have the best beds EVER! Just look at the thickness of those mattresses!
I usually struggle to get comfortable in hotel beds and suffer a lot of pain not to mention a lack of sleep when I’m away from home. So it was amazing to sleep all night and not have any pain waking up in the morning at Hotel Schani. We usually prefer a double bed, but Schani’s accessible rooms have twin beds. This wasn’t really a problem though and it worked out fine for us.
Hotel Schani has 135 rooms ranging from Smart Street, Smart Garden and Maisonette. Our Smart Garden accessible room had a lovely view down to the green courtyard, which I loved watching from my comfy bed each morning.
I loved everything about the interior décor of our room. It was fun, modern, simplistic and comfortable. Aside from the fact, the bed was amazing, the rest of the room was too. There was a floating box shelf dividing the twin beds, spotlights above each bed with a light switch and power socket, ideal for charging power wheelchairs, mobile phones etc. If you require the use of a portable hoist then you may find the beds unsuitable as there is no space under the bed. Otherwise, this bed setup is likely to be good for you.
The 40” HD flatscreen TV sat on the wall at the foot of the beds and after watching some TV we enjoyed looking through our holiday photos via Screen-Mirroring from our phone to the TV. Fancy don’t you think!
The desk was at a good height for my wheelchair to roll underneath and the desk chair was easy to move out the way. Next to the desk was a padded bench with storage space underneath for shoes and other small bits. On the other side of the desk was a shelving unit for clothes, bags etc.
We really liked our accessible room, but it was quite small meaning there wasn’t a great deal of space for manoeuvring my wheelchair. However, it was manageable for the amount of time we spent in the room.
Amenities
- King-size double or twin bed with luxury pocket spring mattress
- XL shower with Raindance showerhead
- Hairdryer
- 2 USB charging ports
- ultra-high-speed WLAN (200 Mbit)
- 40″ HD Flatscreen
- Individually adjustable air conditioning
- Comfort ventilation
Wheelchair Accessible Bathroom
The layout of an accessible bathroom is extremely important so it was a relief to discover Hotel Schani had it right. Our accessible bathroom was spacious and allowed me to move around freely without having to do a 6-point turn just to get to the sink.
Speaking of sinks! This sink may have been my favourite thing about the bathroom. It was perfect and exactly what I want need in a hotel bathroom. I was able to roll my wheelchair underneath without banging my knees, it was large and wide enough to allow me to wash my face and brush my teeth. Things I often can’t do in hotels due to inadequately sized sinks. Simple things that many take for guaranteed. Well done Hotel Schani!
I loved the bathroom décor especially the coloured box shelves and exposed bulb lighting above the sink.
The position of the toilet was good with space on the left side for wheelchair transfers. The fold-down grab bars was great for support and the toilet roll holder was within easy reach.
Next up is the roll-in shower which also had grab bars for support while showering and transferring. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a fixed shower seat or bench in the shower, but there was a portable seat (just out with the shot – I disappointingly forgot to take a photo of it). Although I liked the shower setup, I do think the shower tray has the potential to be slippery, so I’d recommend you take care if standing in the shower. A shower mat may be required to prevent any slips.
Food/Drink
Hotel Schani offers the best breakfast I’ve ever had in a hotel. I was seriously impressed with the wide variety of fresh food on offer at the breakfast buffet. Serving everything from fruit, vegetables, fresh bread and other baked goods as well as Viennese dishes, meats, cheese, cereals and more. You can even squeeze your own fruit juices, enjoy organic tea by Sonnentor (this was so good), Nespresso coffee and Julius Meinl’s finest Vienna Roast coffee.
Breakfast at Hotel Schani will without a doubt have you set for the day and will not only be the most important but possibly the freshest/yummiest meal of the day!
We opted to sit in the lobby looking out onto Hotel Schani’s garden. It was so nice to relax eating breakfast with a green oasis for our view and surrounded by awesome interior décor. The furniture and mix of styles were incredible and exactly our taste.
If you’re feeling hungry, but don’t want to go out, do what I did and order a quick snack from the hotel bar. I enquired what snacks were available and then requested what I wanted via WhatsApp with a member of the hotel’s staff. I’ve never stayed in a hotel with a service like this, but I absolutely loved it. I ordered the vegan lentil stew and although it doesn’t look the most appetising, it was delicious. It was a huge serving for only €4.50 and I ate the whole lot. It was too good to waste any.
Services & Features
- Hire scooters or skateboards (free of charge)
- Hire electric scooters for a fee
- 24-hour bar
- Baby cots (free of charge)
- Cashless payment: pay with bitcoins at the bar and hotel shop
- Coworking: great for meeting, working, networking
- Pets are welcome
- Screen mirroring: browse through holiday photos, listen to music etc
- Smartphone as a room key
- Hall lights on sensor
- Communicate with the hotel via WhatsApp
Final Thoughts
I had a fantastic stay at Hotel Schani in beautiful Vienna. The hotel is in a great location for public transport links and having a tram stop right on the hotel doorstep was amazing. Our accessible room was stylish and comfortable. Although the room was slightly on the small size it was still accessible and allowed us to have two lovely nights. I still can’t get over how comfortable the bed was. Hotel Schani is a great accessible hotel in Vienna and I wouldn’t hesitate going back.
For more posts on Vienna, you can check out my review of Hotel Donauwalzer and my ultimate city guide to Vienna for wheelchair users.
My trip to Vienna was organised by the Vienna Tourist Board. I was kindly welcomed as a guest by Hotel Schani. As always, all views and opinions expressed here are my own and have not been influenced or approved.
Main image via Hotel Schani
2 Responses
Another good blog. Thanks.
Thanks so much Mary 🙂