estonia and lithuania
 

Going to Tallinn and Vilnius in a month's time. Anyone have hotel or restaurant recommendations? Any experience with the hydrofoil/catamaran from Helsinki to Tallin? Thanks. mpd

I do have some experience with Tallinn. What category of hotel are you looking for ?

I have multiple experiences with those catamarans. Only one experience with hydrofoils, and that shall remain my one and only. Hydrofoils sort of don´t like autumn storms. Catamarans handle those just fine.

Thanks for the hydrofoil vs catamaran hint. As far as hotel category, mid to high range - thanks.

A guide on the Internet called www.inyourpocket.com helped me out a lot. Took the bus from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Tallinn for only $10. Took the boat from Tallinn to Helsinki. It doesn't take that long so just go on the boat which is best for your time schedule. Why wait hours for a special boat? I just walked to the dock, purchased a ticket for the next available boat and got on it.

I stayed at the Euro Hostel in Helsinki. You can have your own private room or share a room. Free sauna in the morning.

You don´t have to wait for hours for a catamaran. There are over 40 daily crossings, and half of those are catamarans. Slow boat takes 4,5 hours, catamarans and hydrofoils 1,5 hours.

I was going to suggest the same inyourpocket wally suggested. I have never stayed in a hotel in Vilnius, and there are many brand new high end hotels in Tallinn that I don´t know about. For example many Old Town houses have been turned into classy hotels.

I have the inyourpocket guides for both Tallinn and Vilnius but was looking for a specific hotel recommendation from anyone who had stayed there.

OK, some of the Tallinn hotels I have stayed in:

Olympia – a big high-rise a little out of the immediate Old Town. Good, but has a business travel feeling.

Domina City – 18th century house in the outskirts of Old Town. Good, but breakfast is more modest than in Olympia.

Viru – a landmark of Tallinn. In Soviet times it used to be just about the only hotel in town, and its rooms were plugged. Good, nowadays in Finnish ownership and totally renovated ****.

St. Petersburg – An old house in the Old Town. Good, has a romantic feel. A little fancy.

Schlössle – Even fancier, and even older house, from 15th century if I remember right. Was the best hotel in town for years, propably some new ones have surpassed it. A place where you go to when you are celebrating something.

Domina Ilmarine – an old factory just outside the Old Town wall. Rooms are in two stories, beds up, living space down. At least it used to have a nice feel to it.

But like I said, at least a dozen new ones have opened during the past two years, and I have not stayed in any of them.

Thanks, Elina. I'll check them out.

mpd,

In your requested category I have experience with the Reval Hotell Olümpia, the Scandic Hotel Palace and the Radisson SAS.

<u>Ol&uuml;mpia:</u> A high-rise that isn't that appealing from the outside and was built for the Olympic Games (watersports competitions) that were held in Moscow. It has been renovated, though, and offers apart from modern rooms a pretty attractive rooftop pool and saunas. The Reval Hotels chain is an Estonian one and they have a few other properties in Tallinn as well as in Riga and Vilnius. While their upscale properties (as the Ol&uuml;mpia) cater primarily to business travellers, they are very well managed IMO and service is usually very friendly.

<u>Scandic Palace:</u> The Palace's location is hard to beat being located directly across the square (Vabaduse v&auml;ljak) from Old Town Tallinn. It is an older property with a facade that does not give away that this is an upscale hotel at a first glance. The rooms are traditional and held in dark woods and marine carpets. It was o.k. staying here for the location, but for the price I paid I thought the hotel should have been a bit better.

<u>Radisson SAS:</u> The Radisson is a very modern property. It is about a ten minute stroll from Old Town (as BTW is the Ol&uuml;mpia). You have a choice of three different room decors: Arabic (!?- quite unusual in that neck of the woods), Nautic and Local or something to that extent. It, too, is sort of a business type of place, but moren than just fairly nice. They also have a sauna (in general very popular with Estonians), but no pool.

I have also heard good things about the <u>Grand Hotel Schl&ouml;ssle (5 star)</u> and its sister property (4 star), the <u>St. Petersbourg</u>, both of which were already suggested by elina (who has excellent advice on the area). Both of them are under German management and have been around for a while. Both of them are located in Old Town. I think the small square in front of the <u>St. Petersbourg</u> is a bit more busy than the small side street the <u>Schl&ouml;ssle</u> is located on (Old Town Tallinn is not closed to cars and the cobblestone streets can get a bit noisy IMO).

Recently I saw a feature on TV about the <u>Three Sisters Hotel</u>, a property in three historic houses that has opened about 1.5 years ago. The reviews were very favourable. It is under management by a former chairman of Reval Hotels.

Regarding the Cat Ferries:
I would suggest using Silja Line's Sea Cat or Nordic Jet Line's Baltic Jet ferries. Both are very reliable companies and they arrive in Helsinki at very convenient locations. Estonian shipping company Tallink is also very reliable, but their terminal in Helsinki is not as nicely located IMO.

Check

http://www.hel.fi/port/english/matku...lit/index.html

for terminal locations in the port of Helsinki.

I also suggest you use

http://www.inyourpocket.com

as your bible to the region. When I used to live in Latvia, I relied heavily on their regularly updated guides and never regretted it. I would urge you to obtain a print version of their current issue upon your arrival in Tallinn. They are available at hotels and kiosks and cost only a fraction of the value they offer. I have no affiliation with them whatsoever.

Enjoy your trip!
hsv

hsv -

You and elina have been a bounty of information. I'm looking at the Nordic Jet hotel package deal. Will look to see if any of these are included and will perhaps choose to just take the boat and do the hotel on our own. Thanks so much. mpd

Hello,

If anybody is intersting in renting an appartment in the hart of vilnius, i have 2 very cozy and quite big flats in oldtown to offer. Prices per one day are about 50euro, the price depends on how long will You stay and how many people will be. If You are interested please contact me by email [email protected]