Baltschug Kempinski

I'm not sure why an earlier report questions the location of this hotel - It is approximately 10 minutes walk with fantastic views, up and over the Moscow River to St Basils and Red Square. I suppose if you are either a)Old and infirm, b)Disabled or c)American Obese, you might find a 10 minute walk a bit of a problem, but personally I found the Baltschug's location to be perfect as a base for sightseeing, shopping and business meetings. The bedrooms are huge, immaculately groomed, impeccably designed, and feature just about everything you could need. The bathrooms are spotless. The foyer bar is a great place to sit watch the Great and the Good do their informal business or have their political tete a tete's,(often with armed minders in tow so those of a nervous disposition should perhaps consider a different hotel). My only real complaint was with the hotel's own Japanese restaurant, which was totally devoid of atmosphere, and the food was exceptionally average. I would have expected more for the extremely high prices charged. On one hand, I think that the hotel rate is an awful lot of money to pay for a few hours in a bedroom every night, but on the other hand, a luxury hotel in the very centre of one of the great cities of the World is always going to set you back a few dollars for the priveledge.