Weekly hotels top five of five - Austria

(The Ring Hotel)

Next week, Vienna continues the 200th anniversary celebrations of Frederic Chopin, opening a new exhibition honoring the composer, who spent several years in the city.

The exhibition is staged at Vienna's Haus der Musik, also celebrating an anniversary of its own - it is ten years since the first Austrian music museum opened its doors and it remains a popular crowd puller for both Austrian and foreign visitors.

The museum has capitalized on the reputation the city already enjoys as one of the music capitals of the world - over 3.8 million visitors arrived in 2008 according to Euromonitor.

Alongside Mozart, Mahler and Chopin, most Europeans would also associate mountainous Austria with a ski break. Tourists flock to the country's 71 ski regions, lured by the low prices of many resorts and the long seasons in the Austrian Alps.

Vienna

Vienna counts three grand five-star hotels amongst its top five, with prices to match. The "funky" Ring hotel took top place, with guests praising the central location in downtown Vienna.

1 The Ring
2 Hotel Rathaus Wein & Design Wien
3 Grand Hotel Wien
4 Hollmann Beletage - Design & Boutique
5 Steigenberger Hotel Herrenhof Wien

Average Price of Top Five $315/€236

Graz

The modern Augarten hotel takes top spot amongst the hotels in Austria's second city. Guests loved the spacious single apartments/annexes, pushing the Mercure Graz Messe into second place.

1 Augarten
2 Mercure Graz Messe
3 Hotel zum Dom
4 Schlossberg Hotel
5 Grand Hotel Wiesler

Average Price of Top Five $231/€172

Linz

The capital of Northern Austria, Linz is only 30km from the Czech border and gave its name to Mozart's Linz Symphony. Hotel am Domplatz earned an "excellent" review from every traveler who stayed at the property (albeit only seven).

1 Hotel am Domplatz
2 Courtyard by Marriott Linz
3 Spitz Hotel
4 Austria Trend Hotel Schillerpark
5 Park Inn Linz

Average Price of Top Five $148/€110

Salzburg

Salzburg's location in the Austrian Alps makes it popular with skiers passing through - clearly reflected in the average price of the market. Although the average price was $261 (€195), Salzburg's top-rated hotel is a modestly priced Pension, at only $69 (€52) a night.

1 Hotel-Pension Bloberger Hof
2 Sheraton Salzburg
3 Hotel Goldener Hirsch
4 Hotel Sacher Salzburg
5 Hotel & Villa Auersperg

Average Price of Top Five $261/€195

Innsbruck

Like Salzburg, Innsbruck also benefits from heavy traffic during ski season, although the average price of the top five is slightly lower. Guests praised the historic Goldener Adler's location in the center, along with the authentic interior.

1 Best Western Hotel Goldener Adler
2 Hotel Weisses Kreuz
3 Romantik Hotel Schwarzer Adler
4 Hotel Congress
5 Hilton Innsbruck

Average Price of Top Five $170/€127

Data is taken from millions of independent reviews and rankings surveyed at TripAdvisor taken on March 24, 2010.

Website: http://www.tripadvisor.com