The hotel was only a few minutes walk from the metro, and in -25 temperatures, it had a great warm feel on arrival. Staff were working hard to keep the entrance areas snow and ice free. The lobby was nice and airy, with a large lobby bar on the left, and reception on the right. I felt safe in the hotel with security on the outside, the inside, and down by the spa. The hotel was only 6 weeks opened, and looked the part.

On entry, the bell staff were quick to offer assistance. At reception, I was greeted by a very friendly and smiling Anna. All of the reception staff spoke great English, which put me at ease, as my Russian was poor. I was checked in, recognised as a long-term loyalty member, and Anna offered to show me round the club lounge. The lounge look great, and I chose to use it during my stay. I was then taken personally to the room, Anna explained the features and my bags were delivered by the bell boy. There was no awkward pauses waiting for tips, and the staff left the room with no indication they were tip-expectant - which I liked.

The club lounge was very nice - smaller than some I know, but quiet and sophisticated. Free alcohol for 2 hours in the evening, hot/cold snacks, soft drinks and hot drinks throughout the day. Royal Ambassadors receive a small discount on the lounge supplement if not already in the room rate - I'd say it's well worth it.

The bedroom was a good size, well decorated, big bathroom with Elemis toiletries, and the mandatory laptop safe. I was only on the 5th floor - views were OK, and I can only imagine the views from higher floors. The windows kept the ridiculously low temperatures outside, and I was very warm inside. The bed was comfortable, and I did oversleep on the second morning. The minibar was stocked with complimentary soft drinks and beers, with spirits and champagne on request. The spirit prices were fairly steep, so I steered clear. An iPod dock was next to the bed.

There was free wifi in the hotel, although this is only 128kbps. Paid for access is 4Mbps, and is recommended.

I didn't use the bar or restaurant during my stay as I was out and about, although I did have a look round - good menus, touch on the expensive side. If you have lounge access, it makes no sense to use them.

I used the gym and sauna during my stay. The gym had 12 items of cardio and 6 weight machines, along side free weights. Free water and towels were supplied, and the changing rooms had water and toiletries available (deodorant, hair mousse/spray, body lotion). The running machines had the in-build iPod and MP4 connections, and the nice thing was that the gym was for guests only and wasn't sold to members of the public.

My only negative comment would be the sauna. The spa area was well decked out. Twice the sauna was superb, twice it was cold, and twice it was closed. The steam room was always very steam, but after a few hours in -20+ temperatures a sauna was the preference.

A special thanks to Ekaterina and Nahezeshka (apologies for the spelling) in the club lounge, and Anna on reception for making my stay superb.

I will most definitely return if in Moscow. Small tip - when you exit Tverskaya metro, look for the Nokia, Pepsi, and BEKO rooftop signs. Walk towards the BEKO sign (keeping on the opposite side of the road), and it's a few minutes walk.

I’m a business traveler, so I spend a lot of time in Moscow. I tastes a lot of hotels, but this one is perfect!!! Smiling and helpful stuff, great rooms, everything new and comfortable. I will recommend this place to everyone I know!!! You are the best!!!
Thanks a lot!!!

I stayed in this Hotel 2 weeks after opening and I must admit that I had one of the best hotel stays in my life. I travel a lot and I’ve stayed at many InterContinentals and easily this hotel is one of the best InterContinentals I’ve ever seen. The Facility itself is not huge..they do have around 210 rooms if my guessing is correct but it’s a very cozy hotel and you feel the warmth once you come through the door.
Not to forget that this hotel’s location is truly amazing, it’s located in “The street” of Moscow which is Tversakaya street 15 mins walking to red square and famous attractions.
The hotel is not yet officially open and there are some construction works being done at the -1 level where the gym & Spa are located but my room was on the 9th floor and I couldn’t hear anything. As a platinum Ambassador I was given a superior room, fruits, water etc but also free minibar and lounge access which is more than great. The interior design of the room was more than amazing and the bath was certainly the highlight of room (Amazing Bathroom).
The Staff of the hotel certainly are one of the highlights of this property and they give you the impression that they know the answer to your next question before you even ask it. Either in the lounge, on the front desk, in the restaurant, the housekeeping or anywhere in the hotel you will definitely feel more than comfortable. I was amazed by the food in the lounge especially the desserts and I asked if the chef can show me how to this type of dish and surprisingly the hotel calls me next morning while I was at work and inform me that they have already arranged a special cooking class for me with executive chef of the hotel – Where do you get such amazing service?
The food is more than great in this hotel I have tried the breakfast, the lounge and the dinner at night in the main restaurant. All was more than perfect however there is only one restaurant in the hotel so if somebody doesn’t like the menu he won’t have much choices to choose from.
Overall this is a more than great property and I hope they would keep this amazing service but knowing the intercontinental brand, I’m sure they will. My only concern for the hotel is the slow internet. Although they give you an option between fast paid and extremely slow free internet, the free version is so slow that its sometimes more than useless. I have already mentioned this to front desk and I’m sure they will fix it in the near term

Warning: hotel is officially opened, however it's not fully functional and some construction is still going on. SPA is not opened yet, and (as I understand) wine bar is still being prepared. For me the biggest problems was not the lack of functionality, but the ongoing construction work, which I was able to hear even on the seventh floor.

Nevertheless, this is still one of the most exciting new hotels in Moscow. It has one of the best locations in downtown Moscow, which at the same time provides great comfort and good service. All wrapped in a very tasteful and delightful design. It's really a property I've been very much looking forward to. I've lived in Moscow for more than ten years, and now I'm visiting it both privately and for business regularly; and for me there is absolutely no better location that this. It's in the middle of the main Moscow street, within the walking distance to major attractions, museums, theaters, shops and restaurants; and ideally located just next to three metro stations, which makes it perfect for exploring the city. There are some other hotels nearby, but for my taste, most of them need a major face lift.

I was staying in a junior suite, which was quite spacious, and well equipped (very much liked a TV above the bath tub, and iPod docking station). The suite is also perfectly designed, with a real home feeling. I found bathroom to be really one of the highlights of the the room.

Staff was very pleasant (which is very rare in Moscow), though still a bit insecure, this will certainly improve over time.

What I found a bit problematic, was that the free wifi in the rooms, was extremely slow, and for many purposes almost useless. It turned out that there is a faster paid option, though somehow no one managed to mention it to me until the check out.

Also worth mentioning, is that the hotel has basically only one restaurant. there is also a bar in the lobby, and I was told that a wine bar should be opening soon. The restaurant itself is also strangely designed by occupying the whole first floor and not being separated from the staircase. It looks a bit awkward. For me this is not an issue at all, as I rarely eat in a hotel restaurant, and there are more than plenty really great ones, basically just next to the hotel, but I had to mention this, as I find it unusual for a hotel of this category.

Due to mentioned issues, with the ongoing construction work, unopened facilities and not fully trained staff I'm not able to give the "excellent" rating to this property. I do however believe that it has amazing potential, and I'm certain it will improve over time. It has anyway, already become my favorite hotel in Moscow, and I hope that one my next visit I will be able to give a 5 star rating to this hotel