Admittedly it's been awhile, but the info is not out of date:

http://home.att.net/~db-ukraine

Thanks so much..anyone else with some Ukraine experiences?

The only thing I can suggest is to take a look at the Odessa city map (which is on the Black Sea coast) http://amour-club.com/section/10 while you are looking for non-Ukrainians and I can not give you any valuable advice

Do any of your Ukrainian friends know anything about the Kossiv National Park near Lviv? The House of Flying Daggers has been on tv for several nights and the final scenes were shot there (and some other scenes as well). The park looks absolutely gorgeous.

I am a U.S. citizen who has been to Kiev Ukraine and surrounding areas 3 times since June 2005. My most recent trip (June 2006) included a trip to Yalta/Crimea and the Black Sea. All 3 of my trips were great but an American may have a difficult time if not familiar with the local language. My wife, who is Ukrainian, was my translator during all of my visits. The Capital of Ukraine; Kiev is beautiful. Crimea and the Black are beautiful. I would put Ukraine on your "places to visit" list. From what I've read, Ukraine is a country trying to attract tourism from the United States as well as Western Europe. Citizens from the states are no longer required to obtain a visa if staying in the counrty under 90 days. I hope the day comes when tourism in Ukraine grows. I've been there 3 times and never crossed paths with another fellow American.

jriv777, thanks for your recent info on the Ukraine. We hope to go to Kiev (and maybe Lviv and Odessa) next September so any accomodation info you could provide will be helpful.

(Delta now has direct flights from JFK to Kiev so I'm sure tourism will follow.)

Kyiv has some very nice hotels. Dnipro, for example. I would stay on the main drag Khreshatyk (sp?)
Lviv - we're stayed at Dnister, nice hotel, helpful staff, near the beautiful St. George Cathedral. In the center of Lviv there's the Grand Hotel, nice and a little more pricey. Elegant accomodations. This year we're staying at a brand new hotel - Hotel Opera, right next to the opera house. Good luck.

Thanks, latraviata, I'll add this to my file!

mvor, my wife actually booked us an apartment while staying in Kiev on all three trips we've taken. They were all located pretty much in the city center. Overall, we've stayed in about 5 different apartments due to the fact that we left Kiev for a few days to visit the family of my wife. Upon returning to Kiev, we ended up with accomodations in another apartment for the remainder of the trip.
The most I've paid per night was $70.00 USD; I've paid even less for the others. In my opinion, you pretty much get your money's worth because these apartments are very roomy with lots of space. Every apartment we've stayed in had a kitchen complete with stove, refrigerator, microwave oven (in some) and dishes/utensils. The living and bedrooms were furnished with furniture that almost looked new. The bathrooms were, as well, complete with a tub/shower/toilet. Most even had a washer in the apartment; no dryer. They all had television sets with satellite tv (in some). Most important; the apartments had AC too. My wife has called the same lady when renting an apartment in Kiev; I believe she found her advertisment on the internet. She has also always accepted payment in USD as well as in the local currency. I believe the people who rent out apartments network with each other. On our last trip last month, she didn't have the apartment we wanted for the remainder of our trip and she got us into an apartment that was, again, nice with satellite tv. So if you don't mind making the bed each morning and cleaning up after yourselves, I'd say an apartment is the way to go!

jriv777, thanks for the info.

I've already found some apartments (which is our preferance when we travel but I'm concerned about not speaking the language). So I'm trying to put together a list of hotels/apts. and then will base the decision on how much time we allocate to Kiev. I'll post what I've found thus far but am open to suggestions:

http://www.kievapartment.com/about.html

http://www.sherbornehotel.com.ua/facilities.html

http://www.senator-apartments.com

It will be more expensive to stay near the center and Khreschatyk, but it's generally worth it -- especially for tourists.

You'll probably notice that different agencies tend to rent the same flats, so what's important is to get the best agency and price.

The most responsive I've dealt with has been the following.

http://www.gotorussia.com/hotels_and_apartments_apartments_in_kiev.htm


Also, take a look at this map:

http://travel.kyiv.org/kyiv/kmhm/kyivhotel.htm

Are these apartments in kyiv available for short-term, such as 3-4 days?

Certainly, as minimal as one day ...based on availability, of course.

Or, should I say one night?

I spent 4 days in L'viv last month - a truly beautiful city with great tourism potential. The countryside around is really pretty too, and the locals are friendly and helpful. I was there to research my family history but would love to return "just" as a tourist. I stayed at the Hotel Opera, next to the Opera (went there for a ballet - it's a magnificently opulent place and the ballet was superb). It's right in the city centre and you can visit most of the important places on foot from here. The hotel is brand new, very pleasant and clean, with large, fairly standard type rooms. Breakfast was adequate though not quite up to usual 4star standard. In the evenings we dined at some excellent restaurants. There is a delightful one near the corner of Bandery and Chuprynky streets called "The 7 Pigs", with local fare, local music and very atmospheric spaces. The Viennese Cafe (just down the Prospekt Svobody from the Opera) has several eating areas - the restaurant is small and plain, but the food was excellent.

One word of warning: The airport is quaint to say the least. Built in 1922, it resembles a 19th century railway station. It has two check-in desks, one on each side of a small central hall, which also serve as passport control and boarding gates. Although only propeller planes fly in to L'viv, with maybe 80 people on board, it took more than 3 hours to process all the passengers on my flight out and I nearly missed my connection in Vienna (none of the transatlantic passengers made their connections). Incoming flights have to use the same routes through the building. There is no shopping or catering whatsoever, so bring a packed meal with you to fully enjoy the experience. I am sure you will enjoy L'viv!