Moscow's National Hotel - standard "outer courtyard" room means what?
Dec 21st, 2003, 08:55 AM
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Moscow's National Hotel - standard "outer courtyard" room means what?
I have so many questions. Thanks for indulging me!! Just booked the National Hotel, "outer" courtyard, standard room. From photos, it looks like a very busy street that the hotel is on. I don't want to pay for a street view room (noise??), but what does the "outer" mean in outer courtyard? I assume a courtyard to be on the inside (kind of like Embassy Suites in the US). Thanks again! All your responses to my various questions are really helpful!
Feb 9th, 2005, 11:03 AM
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Hello retired teacher! It warms my heart to know a retired teacher has enough savings to afford a trip to Moscow! You'll be very impressed with the city and all it has to offer.
As for the National, it's a terrific hotel in an absolutely terrific position. I had picked the National because of its location and also because of the reviews I had read about it. I had a less-than-desirable experience in St. Pete a couple years earlier, so going to Moscow meant holding nothing back (in the pocketbook).
We chose a standard room off the Le Meridien website. It included a very sumptuous breakfast buffet in a large dining room with windows overlooking the Kremlin and Red Square. Such a great way to start each morning! It had everything you could want, and more, and it was very delicious.
The hotel is indeed on the corner of 2 main streets. Our room was a standard twin-bedded room, not overly large, but had a nice desk and chair, large closet, and super nice bathroom/
dressing area. They supplied bottled water everyday, but we had no problem re-filling those bottles with sink water each day as well. They have a water filtration system which worked for us.
Turns out that the "outer" courtyard was only a mention of an outdoor courtyard area. But it was actually what I would call an inner courtyard. Think of the hotel as a square with a hole in the middle. That's what we faced. Nothing pretty, just a square opening to let some daylight in. There are rooms with large windows facing the streets, but our room was an inside room with only a window to the courtyard.
We were there in July, so the weather was warm (I live in Texas so hot is a relative term). However, the rooms have a wonderful a/c system so there was no problem sleeping. I cannot say how the noise would be on the street-facing rooms, but our inner room was very quiet.
The hotel is directly across the street from a subway line, which makes access to everything very easy. Plus you can walk just about everywhere from there anyway, and there are plenty of taxis waiting just outside the front door if that is your choice. We basically walked everywhere, took the train from DME airport and then hooked into the subway to the hotel. Really easy. Plus really cheap. The train was about 45 minutes and only a couple dollars a person.
Also across the street from the hotel is an underground shopping mall, several fast food type restaurants and also a food court on the bottom floor. We ate dinner one night in the hotel restaurant (about $85 for 2, no alcohol). That was over our daily budget, so we ate much less expensively after that across the street. We don't plan our trips around restaurants; just the wonderful sites. Others will disagree, but that is just not a priority when I travel.
I'd be glad to answer any other questions you may have. Moscow is a real treat. Hope you enjoy it!
Happy travels!
As for the National, it's a terrific hotel in an absolutely terrific position. I had picked the National because of its location and also because of the reviews I had read about it. I had a less-than-desirable experience in St. Pete a couple years earlier, so going to Moscow meant holding nothing back (in the pocketbook).
We chose a standard room off the Le Meridien website. It included a very sumptuous breakfast buffet in a large dining room with windows overlooking the Kremlin and Red Square. Such a great way to start each morning! It had everything you could want, and more, and it was very delicious.
The hotel is indeed on the corner of 2 main streets. Our room was a standard twin-bedded room, not overly large, but had a nice desk and chair, large closet, and super nice bathroom/
dressing area. They supplied bottled water everyday, but we had no problem re-filling those bottles with sink water each day as well. They have a water filtration system which worked for us.
Turns out that the "outer" courtyard was only a mention of an outdoor courtyard area. But it was actually what I would call an inner courtyard. Think of the hotel as a square with a hole in the middle. That's what we faced. Nothing pretty, just a square opening to let some daylight in. There are rooms with large windows facing the streets, but our room was an inside room with only a window to the courtyard.
We were there in July, so the weather was warm (I live in Texas so hot is a relative term). However, the rooms have a wonderful a/c system so there was no problem sleeping. I cannot say how the noise would be on the street-facing rooms, but our inner room was very quiet.
The hotel is directly across the street from a subway line, which makes access to everything very easy. Plus you can walk just about everywhere from there anyway, and there are plenty of taxis waiting just outside the front door if that is your choice. We basically walked everywhere, took the train from DME airport and then hooked into the subway to the hotel. Really easy. Plus really cheap. The train was about 45 minutes and only a couple dollars a person.
Also across the street from the hotel is an underground shopping mall, several fast food type restaurants and also a food court on the bottom floor. We ate dinner one night in the hotel restaurant (about $85 for 2, no alcohol). That was over our daily budget, so we ate much less expensively after that across the street. We don't plan our trips around restaurants; just the wonderful sites. Others will disagree, but that is just not a priority when I travel.
I'd be glad to answer any other questions you may have. Moscow is a real treat. Hope you enjoy it!
Happy travels!
Mar 6th, 2005, 02:46 AM
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Thank you kopp for the wealth of information you provided! I'm sorry that I didn't check back sooner, but my husband and I were on the road this past month as wintering in Illinois has been losing its charm since we've retired. I'm rather curious as to what problems you encountered in St. Petersburg as that city is also on our to do list. We are currently trying to decide whether we should add on a trip extension to the river cruise that we have booked, or if we would be better off waiting to travel independently in Russia after we have gotten a feel for some of the logistical problems we might face with this short introductory guided trip. Of course being a 'retired teacher' does have its downside in that one must always be aware of budget constraints, another reason why we may opt to extend our stay and only pay the airfare once.
Did you have some command of the language? If not, how did you manage to navigate on the train and subway systems? Again any advise, suggested reference materials, or recommended readings would be most appreciated!
Did you have some command of the language? If not, how did you manage to navigate on the train and subway systems? Again any advise, suggested reference materials, or recommended readings would be most appreciated!
Mar 7th, 2005, 10:02 AM
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Hello again.
St. Petersburg is a wonderful city. We stayed there 5 days and could have stayed much longer. There is rebuilding going on everywhere. It's kind of interesting watching them with their reconstruction. I especially enjoyed the sidewalk project, where a young man had a trowel and a very small wheelbarrow, mixing cement, pouring, etc. He had a very wide area to do, but he was using a small garden trowel. They just don't have our equipment. But then it will probably keep him employed for sometime.
The trouble we had in St. Pete was with the poor choice of a hotel. We stayed in what I think was a 2* hotel named Hotel Moscow. Built in the typical Russian style of gigantic-ness (kind of reminded me of a Vegas hotel from the outside--very large-seemed like city blocks long). Our budget was for a room about $100, which that fit.
It was one of the worst places I've ever stayed. To this day, I don't know what the beds/pillows were made of, but they were very scratchy and itchy. There were mosquitos everywhere as the maids would leave the windows open all day, and it was near a river. So when we'd get home late, the first hour or so we'd be swatting all the mosquitos.
And the bathroom--well, it was so filthy. We both took showers only once that whole time we were there--just couldn't step into the shower.
Breakfast was included and was, indeed, a large buffet. However, I don't know if it's the way they prepared the food or what, but it was very old-looking and tasted like--well, you get the picture. So each day we'd leave, looking for something to eat.
It seems to me (and I'm not an expert by any means) that when traveling to Russia, you either pay for a fancy place or get what we got. After we returned from St. Pete, my husband started talking about going to Moscow. All I know is I looked for a much better hotel then, figured it was all or nothing. And it turned out great at the National. Paid about $300 a night, but it was well worth it. Like the old saying, you get what you pay for. Generally $100/night is good enough for us, but obviously not in St. Pete.
As far as knowing the language, it does help to have a basic knowledge of their alphabet. That way you can at least translate literally letter for letter. The problem is the guidebooks have English words (like Neva River) but in Russian it's not even the same letters. My husband had the uncanny ability to read the signs and subway stops, so that's how we did it. But it is difficult. But once you figure it out, their subways are wonderful and the trains are good and cheap.
Happy travels!
St. Petersburg is a wonderful city. We stayed there 5 days and could have stayed much longer. There is rebuilding going on everywhere. It's kind of interesting watching them with their reconstruction. I especially enjoyed the sidewalk project, where a young man had a trowel and a very small wheelbarrow, mixing cement, pouring, etc. He had a very wide area to do, but he was using a small garden trowel. They just don't have our equipment. But then it will probably keep him employed for sometime.
The trouble we had in St. Pete was with the poor choice of a hotel. We stayed in what I think was a 2* hotel named Hotel Moscow. Built in the typical Russian style of gigantic-ness (kind of reminded me of a Vegas hotel from the outside--very large-seemed like city blocks long). Our budget was for a room about $100, which that fit.
It was one of the worst places I've ever stayed. To this day, I don't know what the beds/pillows were made of, but they were very scratchy and itchy. There were mosquitos everywhere as the maids would leave the windows open all day, and it was near a river. So when we'd get home late, the first hour or so we'd be swatting all the mosquitos.
And the bathroom--well, it was so filthy. We both took showers only once that whole time we were there--just couldn't step into the shower.
Breakfast was included and was, indeed, a large buffet. However, I don't know if it's the way they prepared the food or what, but it was very old-looking and tasted like--well, you get the picture. So each day we'd leave, looking for something to eat.
It seems to me (and I'm not an expert by any means) that when traveling to Russia, you either pay for a fancy place or get what we got. After we returned from St. Pete, my husband started talking about going to Moscow. All I know is I looked for a much better hotel then, figured it was all or nothing. And it turned out great at the National. Paid about $300 a night, but it was well worth it. Like the old saying, you get what you pay for. Generally $100/night is good enough for us, but obviously not in St. Pete.
As far as knowing the language, it does help to have a basic knowledge of their alphabet. That way you can at least translate literally letter for letter. The problem is the guidebooks have English words (like Neva River) but in Russian it's not even the same letters. My husband had the uncanny ability to read the signs and subway stops, so that's how we did it. But it is difficult. But once you figure it out, their subways are wonderful and the trains are good and cheap.
Happy travels!
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