sabbin

I would appreciate any recommendation for our family of 4 at the smaller nice hotel in Old Town? I appreciate your help.

elina

Konventa Seta. I haven't stayed there, but when I was in Riga I wished that I would have. I don't know how the rooms are, but it is in a great location, and looks nice from the outside. It is a group of medieval, smallish town houses, and I think it is ***.

Kristi

Konventa Seta has a great location, right in the middle of old town but I haven't stayed there either. We stayed at the Radi un Dragi and thought the location was great, close to a bunch of reasonable restaurants, a minute from St. Peter's, close enough for us to walk to the train and bus stations. The room was fine and a breakfast buffet is included in the rate. The website indicates that it has family rooms. According to In Your Pocket, it's often fully booked.

You might take a look at this website, I thought it was very helpful for picking a hotel and finding good food. Konveta Seta is listed in upmarket, Radi in Mid Range

http://www.inyourpocket.com/latvia/riga/en/

sabbin

I appreciate your help. Thanks Jim

hsv

The third one advocating Konventa Seta! Plus, I have lived in one of their apartments for a couple of months while working in Riga.
Great location in Old Town, which is hard to beat. Breakfast is pretty good, too, especially their Muesli and some of their home-made pastries.
It is a three star hotel and the rooms feature mostly shower baths, but very nicely done in white. Absolutely up to Western Standards. There are predominantly hardwood floors and otherwise basic interiors, that, however, do not lack any Western convenience. In-room TV and a Workdesk.
A few of the rooms still display wooden bars in the ceiling, which can add some atmosphere.
The management is the same as that of Hotel de Rome, one of the city's premier hotels, which, too is in a great location just opposite the "Milda" Freedom Monument and at the entrance to Old Town. But if you pay for it yourself, I think, Konventa Seta offers a better value for a family.

You might also look into Hotel Gutenbergs right by the dome, which does get good reviews, too, but I don't expect you to be disappointed with Konventa Seta if you settle for that category.

Another gorgeous, but in fact posh option would be the Grand Palace Hotel, also within Old Town's limits. It is small and intimate and very luxurious. But it also certainly does come at a price.

Enjoy Riga and do post, should you have any further questions!

hsv

amy_zena

I was going to suggest staying outside of the oldtown.

At night (when it's not during the time where there's a lot of daylight) it's a bit sketchy sometimes in the oldtown. I would prefer staying at the Reval, which is very near the old town. I would feel safer walking (and returning to my hotel) in that area at night.

But this hotel is neither "smaller" nor "in the old town". So I suppose I am not really helping very much. Sorry!

hsv

amy_zena,

I have stayed at the Reval Hotel Latvija, too. While it has certainly been immaculately remodelled, and I did actually enjoy it and the views it sports, I don't think it fits the description of what sabbin wants, as it's Latvia's biggest hotel.
Besides that, I actually cannot agree about Old Town being sketchy. I have never ever felt uneasy there. Especially the area around St. Peter's where Konventa Seta is located is well frequented during later hours as there is the popular Dickens pub as well as the slightly struggling Paddy's Irish Pub very close by.
The long daylight hours, BTW, are only prevalent during summertime, and they are steadily diminishing by now. Winters get really dark, as everywhere this far North.
Where in fact I did feel uneasy (which was only once during my stays in Riga), was not too far from Reval Hotel Latvija, on Brivibas Bulvaris more towards the city limits at night. Maskava Forstate (Moscow Suburb) might be an area to be a bit careful, too. But in general I don't think that safety in Riga is an issue, and especially not within Old Town.

amy_zena

I lived in Riga for 2 years (2001 - 2003) and a couple of my friends in Riga had problems in the old town at night, attacked, drugged (in a bar), and mugged. It's the only reason I feel this way. I personally did not feel comfortable walking alone at night in the old town (during the darker months). But that's just me.

amy_zena

I feel it is important to be careful in the old town at night, to not take it lightly. Forgot to add that I myself was a victim of robbery during my 2 year stay in Riga (in my home, while I was home).

To the original poster, I am sure you will have a nice time in Riga, but be aware of your surroundings at night.

This is from the US State Department site:

CRIME: Crime in Riga is generally non-violent, although there have been cases of serious assaults. Street crime is a serious problem, particularly for tourists. In addition to falling prey to pickpockets in all public areas, there have been cases of tourists and residents being drugged in bars and restaurants and then taken outside or to their residences and robbed. In any public area, one should always be alert to being surrounded by two or more people at once. It is not uncommon for groups of juvenile pickpockets to attempt to overwhelm their victim. In addition, Riga has one of the highest rates of car theft in the world.

sabbin

Thanks for all your time and input to everyone. We certainly will be careful where ever we stay. Jim

walkinaround

i just returned from riga. i would recommend Mann-Tess as i think it would suit your hotel requirements.

A comment on the safety... I was prepared for it to be a bit dodgier feeling than i experienced. I felt much safer there than London, Paris, etc. I am not disputing the realities pointed out here, just perhaps cautioning that it may feel much safer than it really is and therefore it is easy to let your guard down.

hsv

walkinaround,

regarding safety, that's just my point. Riga of course is a big city and in such there may be a bit sketchy areas, but personally I know hardly any city of that size or bigger, where I felt safer. Riga is can certainly be enjoyed without worrying about safety.

anna_h

I just returned from Riga, staying at the Konventa Seta. I thought the hotel suite (bedroom+living room+bathroom) was clean but very basic; no tea/coffee, no shampoo sachets or proper soap, no cushions or flowers (even pretend ones). However the location more than made up for these minor observations. I felt very safe at night and found everyone to be really friendly. The public areas were nice and the food excellent. I would certainly recommend it to others as long as their expectations are not of a plush hotel.

hsv

anna_h,

good you enjoyed Konventa Seta. I think I pointed out on my first post to this thread that the interior was basic.
I still believe the Hotel is a good value - and it is a three star, which translates to being of Holiday Inn standard. Thus, you basically get what you pay for, and in this case that consists of a decent quality hotel in one of Riga's best locations if you are spending leisure time in the city.

marcus

We've just returned from another holiday in the Baltics and as far as safety is concerned, I've never felt more comfortable walking around at night, Riga's Old Town included. I'm sure there are some incidents but show me a city that's crime free.
As for accommodation I'd also recommend Ragi un Draugi. It's constantly booked out which in itself is a good indication. We met some tourists who had stayed in Radi un Draugi and Konventa Seta and they said both were equally as good.
Enjoy.

egils

I thought the attached posting I made to tripadvisor.com might be helpful to you. The Hotel is not in Old Town but has many positive attributes.

Hotel Latvija (website: revalhotels.com/eng/latvija/)
A great view, perfect location and wonderful service

I had not visited Riga in 15 years and was looking forward to seeing how the place had changed since its independence from the Soviet Union. Riga is transformed and is becoming a world class cosmopolitan city--testimony to the power of freedom, democracy and the business enterprise system. Great restaurants, restored Art Nouveau architecture, a plethora of outdoor cafes, well dressed people, great public transport system and much history?heroic and tragic going back to the 12th century. It really is becoming the Paris of the North once again.

The purpose of the trip was help set up my daughter for a year in Riga as a Fulbright scholar. The travel party also included my mother (born and raised in Latvia) and my wife her first visit. I had arranged two rooms at a weekend rate of 85 Euro through a direct booking by email with the very competent Revel Hotel reservation staff (Agnese). We arrived in the evening of August 27 at the modern first class airport terminal on a British Airways flight from London to begin our two week stay. Fifteen years ago the airport arrival in Riga meant a tarmac full of Soviet aircraft, no weather proof gangways, an ancient baggage handling system, no duty free shops and stern looking airport security and passport officials.

After two incredibly expensive days in London and the confusing environment of Heathrow we sensed a different more charming experience. We quickly found our driver Valdis arranged by the Hotel for 5 Lats ($10). He groaned at the sight of 10 pieces of luggage but successfully loaded them on to his Mercedes Van for the 15 minute drive to the Hotel. We gave him a good tip. (We ended up retaining Valdis for out-of town trips to Priekule, Liepaja, Ventspils and Rundale Palace.) After crossing the Daugava River ?with a wonderful view of Riga Castle and Old Town--we checked into the sparkling lobby of the Hotel Latvija on 55 Elizabetes Iela (street). The former Soviet style hotel in the center of Riga is now a full service hotel and recently renovated. It is the tallest building in Riga. Our rooms were on the 15th and 17th floors and we had an expansive view down Brivibas Boulevard, Freedoms Monument and Old Town (with the stately steeples of Dome Cathedral and St. Peters Church). The city perspective was just magnificent and inspiring?even saw fireworks displays. It cast a magic spell on my wife. We proceeded up to the 27th floor Sky Lounge for a late night snack and cocktails and the city view was even more impressive. We were delighted with the location, amenities, and service of the hotel so we decided to book it for the remainder of our stay in Riga. While it was fully booked with tours, businessmen, wedding groups and conference activity the hotel still had a surprising sense of intimacy.
A good feature was the First Client Card issued by the Revel Group (free registration on the web site) which gave us a 10% discount on meals and purchases on the hotel property. An interesting benefit of the card is the 50% discount on rooms if you check in after midnight if rooms are available. For checking email -- the business center offers 30 minutes of free internet access. There is an excellent top-floor sauna and fitness center on the 27th floor with 180 degree views which my daughter took full advantage. The morning breakfast buffet until 10:30 am (11:00 on weekends) included in the room rate was quite extensive. Most of the hotel staff is English literate and guests are all quite friendly. We met a group of Finns on a sports outing from Helsinki who praised the quality of the Latvian golf courses. The lunch and dinner service at the spacious Restaurant Esplanade is fabulous (ala carte menu)We entertained a number of our friends and relatives and were very pleased with the menu and high quality food and service. There are many other first rate restaurants nearby. For entertainment you will find the Voodoo discothèque, nightclub and casino in the lower levels of the hotel.

The Latvija is very conveniently located to trolley lines and buses, but since the weather was so pleasant we often just walked to various destinations nearby. The picturesque park across the street would take you to the Russian Orthodox Cathedral, the National Art Museum, various outdoor shopping stalls and onto Freedom Square and across the canal running into Vecriga (Old Town). For less than 3 Lats ($5 US) taxis can take you to nearly all sections of central Riga.

The location worked out very well for my daughter ? the University of Latvia is a short walk so she could register for classes and meet with her advisor.
I highly recommend the Hotel Latvija. There are other hotels with more spacious and well appointed rooms ?and you will pay substantially more. The combination of great views, location, services and price cannot be beat for a first time visitor from the US.