Russian Vacation - Tour
 

Accommodations provided by travel agencies... Are they good?? Can you trust them??

Depends on the travel agency...

5-star hotels in Russia are among the best of the world (and the priciest).

4-star hotels in Russia are comparable to 3-star hotels in the western world.

3-star hotels in Russia are comparable to 1-star hotels in the western world.

Everything below 3 stars is a unique experience (I have survived it, but it surely is unusual).

Hello there,

Has any of you traveled to Russia through a travel agency? We are planning a vacation(with www.east-west-tours.com),in August, an 8 night private tour package that includes Moscow, Novgorod and St. Petersburg. I would appreciate any input. Thank you.

Boy! That was fast! Thank you. We are choosing 4 Star / deluxe hotels but we have trusted and been duped by some of these travel packages in the past ( mostly in the US) which makes me a little paranoid.

I do not know the your travel agency and you are right to be careful. If they say "4 star and deluxe", you might end up in in a few substandard places.

Hotwire says, 4 stars is like Hyatt, Intercontinental or Omni, and 3.5 stars is like Hilton.

In Russia, 4 stars would be more like Comfort Inn.

my g/f stayed at the dostoevsky in st petes
so i can vouch for that one

we stayed in apartments and they were nice
dodgy buildings but great inside

Why don't you ask for the names of the hotels? Then you can look them up in a guide book or on TripAdvisor. If they won't give you the names, find a new travel agent. Or make the hotel reservations yourself and just use the agency for train and/or plane tickets.

I also would suggest you visit Pskov. I personally found it more impressive than Novgorod, given its older history.

Grand Circle Tour/Travek has a river tour in Russia. My cousin went on this tour and was very happy. Might be something to consider.