St. Petersburg hotel
 

We will be in St. Petersburg for four days at the end of May. What hotel would you suggest? Thanks Jan

That depends on your budget.

We stayed at The Grand Hotel Europe, we were right in the thick of it and the service at the hotel was excellent.

The AStoria also gets good rating - althoughsome of the rooms can be a little eccentric - since its from the 1890 (has obviusly been renovate since then). It also has a casino frequented by the St Pete elite - and local crime bigwigs.

Not quite so centrally located on hte Nevsky Prospekt - but still near several tourist attractions and may be a little less expensive.

(St Pete is one of the few places I would not stay at one of the 5* hotels.)

Sorry - meant would stay only at one of the 5*.

Hi Jan,

We've stayed twice at a small hotel on Moika canal, the Pushka Inn. Very nice rooms, some are apartments with kitchen facilities, high speed internet, cute restaurant (breakfast was included). English spoken fluently. Less than two blocks from Palace Square, the Hermitage, Nevsky Prospect, three or four blocks from the beautiful cathedrals: Spilled Blood, Kazan, St. Issac's.

When we were there last May, we saw a new hotel just around the corner from where we stayed. It look lovely -Hotel Moika 22 - and internet prices for February 2006 are 135 euro/night. Can't beat the location for walking everywhere.

We have narrowed it down to the Astoria or the GRand--do you favor one over the other? Thanks

jlpx2, if it were up to me I'd choose the Grand Hotel Europe instead of the Astoria. The Grand's location, service and facilities are much better than the Astoria.

NYTraveler--

We are thinking of visiting here this summer in conjunction with our trip to the Baltics. Can you please explain your comment about only staying in 5*.

SusanEva--

Can you please tell me a little more about the hotel you stayed in and its price range? We are typicaly much more modest travellers than the 5* range, and that's why I wanted follow-up from NYTraveller.

Surely there must be some places for those of who who are usually contented with pensions, gasthauses, B & Bs, and 2*hotels.

SAS Radisson at Nevsky Prospekt is a good alternative. The Grand Europa is better located, though. Agree w/getting out of your budget for St. Pete; a bad hotel can very easily ruin your visit.

julies:

There are, indeed, more modest acceptable lodgings in St. Petersburg, although they may cost a bit more than their western counterparts. There have been a rash of mini-hotels opening around the city in the past few years. For reviews of a lot of them, see www.inyourpocket.com and www.russianguidenetwork.com, or the latest Rough Guide to St. Petersburg.

I stayed in one, the Comfort Hotel (granted, it sounds dicey, but it's not), which I think is slightly cheaper than the Pushka Inn. No 5-star amenities: no concierge, no restaurant, no fancy pillows, not much hand-holding, and not everyone spoke fluent English. What I got: perfectly clean, comfortable, modern room with bathroom (including a decent shower, people at the front desk with adequate English, visa voucher and registration, less than 5-minute walk to the Hermitage. I don't recall the exact price, but I think it was about $100 US for a single last June.

Disclaimer: I don't demand or expect as much from my accomodations as many people here (I never stay in 4-stars, much less 5-stars; I'm used to 2-stars and the like), and I'm a pretty independent traveller (e.g., I'm willing to deal with getting around, eating, etc., despite the language barrier).

KT--

It was refreshing to hear from you as you travel exactly the same way we do. I was pretty disheartened to think there was nothing else at all acceptable.

Hi Julies,

We were at the Pushka Inn during White Nights, which is the highest price season and paid about $250 for a double. During low season, about $150, high season about $200/night. I definately would recommend it. (I just couldn't pay the asking price for the 5* hotels - I'm not that into fancy places :-))

It is very clean, quiet at night, good beds, linens and bathrooms. The room price included breakfast in their restaurant.

It is very convenient for walking to all the central sites. We were there for some business and used their in room high speed internet service for $5/day.

Their web site is:

http://www.pushkainn.ru/

The room prices, in Russian roubles, can be converted on www.oanda.com

We enjoyed their restaurant, ate there frequently - good, home style cooking at reasonable prices. Pretty much at least one waiter and one hotel clerk spoke English the whole time we were there.

Hope you have a great trip!

For some ideas for hotels have a look at: http://www.russianguidenetwork.com/new_page_33.htm

We have found that some of the mini- hotels are very comfortable.

We stayed at the Astoria and couldn't fault it. It had an air of elegance that a hotel of it's history should.

It's location was great. Near enough to Nevsky Prospekt yet far enough away from its hub bub.

I kept a journal of our stay in St.Petersburg. Please feel free to read it, and browse the photographs.
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http://www.colin-julie.com/trilindex.htm

I've stayed in the Angleterre section of the Astoria and loved it. The location was perfect for me, right next to St. Isaac's, an easy walk to the Hermitage or Nevsky. The service was excellent.

We ate twice at the brasserie of the Hotel Angleterre and it was of a really good standard.

It's a sister hotel to the Astoria, which also meant we could charge the meals to our room.

Don't know how the Anglettere rooms compare to the Astoria but it's certainly another good option. Both are owned by the Rocco Forte chain.

If you stay here, do go inside St.Isaac's Cathedral. It's simply breathtaking!


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My Russia Travelogue
http://www.colin-julie.com/trilindex.htm

Thank you all so much--we have made reservations at the Astoria and are really looking forward to our trip. WE also requested tickets to the ballet--what could be better--thanks again Jan

jules,
I priced the Comfort for August--almost $200 for a double!! Guess they got popular since last year. :)

JaneB,
Out of curiosity, I checked the Comfort Hotel website (www.comfort-hotel.spb.ru), and it says that a standard double is 4100 rubles ($148) in high season (May-Sept) and 3300 rubles ($120) the rest of the year. "Deluxe" rooms are more--maybe that's what you were looking at. (Or maybe their website is wrong!) I got a small discount for staying a week, so if you're staying that long it's worth asking.

There are lots of other mini-hotels, and new ones cropping up all the time, so you may find something cheaper out there.

You are correct, KT. They quoted me a price for a DELUXE when I asked for Standard. It looks like a very nice hotel. I think many of the hotel rates ARE higher this year--maybe it's the dropping US dollar!! :(
We'll be in SP for 5 nights. It's our second trip--first time was with a tour
many years ago. I really enjoy making all the arrangements myself for our travels.