Hotels in popular Russian cities and resorts

Expert Reviews on Russia Hotels - $

Editors of Subtleties

The hotel business in Russia has gone a long and hard way from providing services on a "socialist" type to the current variety of hotels for every taste and purse, albeit less impressive than in the European market. Arriving in our vast, foreign guest is almost guaranteed to be able to find a suitable option for living - in some regions it will be quite simple, in others - you will have to make an effort, but without a room for a night at a suitable price, the foreign visitor will not remain exactly.

The biggest drawback of the Russian hotel market (especially for hotels in the two capitals) is the unjustified high cost of living, sometimes at odds with the level of services provided - $ .Recall: Moscow occupies an honorable fourth place in the 2012 ranking of the most expensive cities in the world, overtaking such urban "monsters" as Geneva, Zurich, Hong Kong and Nagoya .For more than a standard room in the former Soviet "betonke" asking for an amount commensurate with the cost of accommodation in a quality hotel in Paris, Rome or Madrid..Accordingly, a budget traveler from Europe can claim in most cases only for living in a Moscow or St. Petersburg hostel .In the regions, things are simpler, thanks to a large number of mini and family hotels, guesthouses and guest houses, whose owners adequately assess the comfort of their establishments and the thickness of tourist wallets .

As for the quality of service, here is the following picture: on popular tourist routes, the service almost reaches European standards (of course, the hotel category also plays a role) - in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi hotels travelers are greeted with a smile and welcome cocktail .And here, where the foot of a civilized tourist rarely steps, at times there is still open disregard for the rules of hospitality and constant "I do not know" and "I can not" from the service staff .However, to the credit of small private hotels, one can not but say that the tourist is welcomed here as an expensive guest, trying to provide all conceivable comfort .

Speaking about the hotels in Russia in general, we can note several characteristic features .First: the lack of quality options for budget accommodation is .The second: the overestimated cost of placing .Third: a growing number of private hotels, whether mini-hotels, apartments or guest houses .Fourth: "nominal" starryness, in a half of cases not reflecting the true state of affairs .Fifth: lack of acceptable accommodation options in non-tourist areas of the country .These are general trends - now we will consider in more detail the hotels of the most visited regions of Russia .

Moscow

The capital of our homeland can offer the traveler almost four hundred hotels, from budget hostels with accommodation for 16 people in a room to luxury "fusions" of world chains - The Ritz-Carlton, Savoy, Mariott, Sheraton, Radisson and t .n .At the same time, proximity to the prestigious center does not mean at all that accommodation will be expensive: it is easy to find a hostel 10 minutes walk from Red Square at a price of about 600 rubles per night, although it will be necessary to tolerate the neighborhood of 5-7 other guests, floor ».True, while the overall level of comfort and services will still be higher than the "Soviet" option: for the state of furniture, bedding and textile supplies, as well as public places, the administration in most cases is carefully monitoring .Among other things, free Wi-Fi and wired Internet access became standard service .

If the tourist wants to stay in a separate room with a private bathroom and at the same time avoid the "Moscow extra charge" as much as possible, it is worthwhile to rely on hotels at "distant" metro stations converted from multi-apartment buildings .Most have a category of 2-3 stars, some can not boast of "starry" .The prices for accommodation here start from 2500-3000 RUR for a double room .Minus - distance from the center, which, with a large area of ​​Moscow pours out in a 40-50-minute subway ride to the main attractions .Another important detail - the possible insecurity of residence, especially in well-known immigrant areas .

As for more central and prestigious hotels, the range of prices here ranges from 10-15 thousand rubles per room in a well located 4-5-star hotel (usually reconstructed Soviet, such as the "Golden Ring", or modern hotel complexes - Renaissance Moscow, Swissotel Krasnye Holmy, etc.) to 30-40 thousand rubles for placement in prestigious historical Metropole, National, Savoy and others.

The Golden Ring

The hotel base of the Golden Ring has undoubtedly expanded and blossomed with the development of mass and individual foreign tourism to the ancient cities of the Russian land .The existing Soviet hotels, which were compulsorily populated by foreign tourists during the USSR (there were simply no other options), are now converted into modern quality hotels offering a very good level of service .Most of them have a category of "4 stars" .Also, a large number of mini-hotels and private boarding houses appeared on the route, often with the help of foreign capital, where they provide European-quality services, primarily aimed at stormy expanses of the Golden Ring of demanding foreign tourists..

Thanks to the beautiful nature that has an outdoor pastime, in the cities of the Golden Ring and especially in their suburbs there is a large number of tourist complexes that offer guests ample opportunities for active recreation. This includes campsites, arbours with barbecues, individual green areas, and sports grounds. At your service - organized leisure: boating, horseback riding, fishing, hiking, etc.

St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg - a real record for the number of hotels: they are more than five hundred, which is not surprising, given that this city-tourist attraction is visited by about 4 million people every year - $ .Hotels here are available for every taste and budget (most, however, are "treshki" and establishments without a category), but pricing is much more pleasant .The prices for a place in a common room in the hostel start from 300 RUR; in a quality hotel without any frills, but with everything you need you can accommodate for 2000-3000 RUR, the top bar of numbers in the "five" keeps at a level no higher than 7000-9000 RUR, which is almost three times lower than the price of similar establishments in the capital .

An additional plus of Peter's hotels is the possibility of accommodation in the picturesque suburbs: Peterhof, Pavlovsk, Gatchina, Pushkin, etc. This is mainly represented by charm and mini-hotels, "country houses", manors and cottages, often furnished in an "imperial" spirit .

North of Russia

The northern part of our vast does not belong to the category of popular tourist destinations, but its category of tourists has .Fans of the harsh northern nature, businessmen, romantics and all those who want to relax from the whirlwind of modern life on the expanses of the mighty land near the coasts of cold seas, go to Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, Vologda, Petrozavodsk and the Republic of Karelia and, of course, to the Kaliningrad region .The last two directions keep a steady influx of travelers throughout the year - thanks to the wonderful nature and rich opportunities for outdoor activities - $ .

In the north of Russia, there are not too many hotels - around 80 in Kaliningrad and the region, no more than 20 - in Petrozavodsk and its environs, a dozen in Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. The accommodation options are standard urban (formerly Soviet) hotels, sanatoriums and rest houses (mostly on the Baltic seashore, but there are also on the north coast), forest cottages, private boarding houses and family mini-hotels in the suburbs and in the picturesque outback. Also, some world chains were noted here: for example, Radisson Blu in Kaliningrad or Park Inn in Murmansk.

The average cost of a standard double room in this region varies between 2000-3500 RUR. At the same time, Kaliningrad hotels are traditionally cheaper than similar options in Murmansk or Arkhangelsk - oversaturation of the market, especially in the off-season, with a rather low demand.

Siberia

Immense Siberia-direction is not the most popular .Foreign tourists mostly plow the expanses of Siberian rivers within cruise programs (and, therefore, spend the night on a ship), and among domestic travelers a small part hastens to admire the beauties of the Trans-Urals .The local hotel base is mainly represented by accommodation options for businessmen (with a price tag unpleasant for the purse), relatively few country hotels and a number of hostels, mostly oriented towards students and enthusiastic researchers of Siberia, not looking for special comfort .

The spread of prices is quite large: for example, in Novosibirsk you can settle in a "treshka" for 6500 RUR per day, and you can choose accommodation in a magnificent boutique "five" for 4000 RUR. This is partly due to the heterogeneous audience: the hoteliers, they say, do not know for themselves what kind of client they are working for.

Krasnodar Territory

The upcoming Olympics had the best effect on the level of hotel service in the Krasnodar Territory: the staff sat down for the textbook Bonk and urgently learns the standard "ken ah help yu? ».Local hotels offer a huge number of accommodation options: from the almost Mediterranean resort complexes of the Black Sea coast to the alpine skiing hotels of Krasnaya Polyana, which are alpine chalets .The location in the resort area affects the applied concept of food: Sochi, Gelendzhik, Tuapse hotels are increasingly working on the "buffet" and "full board" systems, taking the experience of the Mediterranean colleagues .The spread of prices is quite large - from 2500 to 7000 RUR for a standard room .

Also to the services of tourists are a large number of boarding houses and sanatoriums that provide rich opportunities for treatment. It should be borne in mind that the level of comfort in such places is quite average - as staying implies, first of all, recovery, and not "spoilage" of the organism with different entertainments.

Caucasus

The native Caucasus is primarily water: Pyatigorsk, Essentuki, Kislovodsk and Zheleznovodsk. The main variant of accommodation in the Caucasian mineral waters, of course, is the sanatorium, and often with a "makeweight" - a hydropathic. Most of them, although they existed from the dense Soviet times, successfully passed a significant renovation and now pretend to a more or less European level of service.

Even in Kavminvody you can stay in spa hotels, budget hotels and guest houses, both inexpensive and luxury. Pensions will cost 1500-1800 RUR for a double room, high-quality four-star hotels will cost 3000-4000 RUR, and the most ambitious hoteliers estimate their service at 7000-10000 RUR, however, they can be counted on their fingers.