3 Best Hotels in Murmansk, Russia

This hotel scores points for design, but it may be more important to guests that its floors are heated, its bathrooms are modern, staff speaks English relatively well, and there's free vodka on occasion. The three stars it's achieved may not account enough for the bold effort in design—there's pop-art vividness in the thickly drawn lines of heavy toned reds, oranges, yellows, and blues that characterize the rooms and common areas, which stay bright with large windows. Not all the Ts have been crossed, but the efforts are appreciated. The lounge encourages fraternization with limitless coffee, tea, and snacks, but there's no restaurant.

Topping a hill east of the city, this fortress-like hotel offers Murmansk's best view, along with a welcome escape from the downtown congestion and easy access to outdoor activities. Boating, fishing, swimming, and hiking are close by, and you can even ski down the hotel's own slope. Design in the relatively spacious rooms, like the furnishings, is kept to a tidy minimum, with little beyond the basics. But it's in line with the hotel's ecouragement of socializing, which becomes easiest around the bar's pool table and shooting down the pool slides.

Among the global brands, this Radisson in the city center gets the most love from guests. Some of it has to do with the excellent location, but more likely it's a tribute to the wealth of facilities available, including a gym, indoor pool, a sauna, two bars, and a nightclub. The rooms and common areas display a playful attitude in candy-striped carpets, dog portraits, and bright colored furniture, but not to any artistic level. Some rooms have excellent views of Kola Bay, while others overlook the city center. The hotel restaurant, Poliarnie Zori serves good Russian and European fare.