The Hotel came across as a straightforward business serving Russian and international guests with a friendly and helpful approach. At the time of booking, staff had been absolutely brilliant getting the documentation for the visas. Rooms were small and basic but clean and very well presented with a fully tiled en suite half bath/shower and toilet. Hair drier, electric point (220v) and underfloor heating for the ceramic floor tiles. Quite a typical 2* hotel. Breakfast was served from a smart domestic kitchen with a small adjacent room containing 4 tables. All well kept. Typical Russian breakfast - meat, cheese, eggs, toast, coffee from a machine.

The outside I found unattractive. The location is on the prestigious Nevsky Prospect, but it is on the far side of Vosstania Square, which I thought was a bit plain and functional. There is no entrance at all from Nevsky - the entrance you see on the internet is an unassociated shop. Entrance is via a solid steel door in a courtyard accesssed from Goncharskaya Street. The photos of these will show you how to get there and what to expect.

We saw people scavenging in the bins and small groups of people assembled in the courtyard for no reason I could discern. However, we walked past in daylight without being bothered by anyone during our three days.

The hotel itself fulfilled is function quite adequately. All the areas of the two floors devoted to the hotel had been maintained to a high standrd. The common areas in the block were, however, of a lower standard

The rest of Nevsky Prospect was in easy waliking distance, even though the Hermitage end was probably 2-3 kilometers away. Buses abound at 15RUB a trip.

For anyone unwilling to pay the prices of hotels like the Nevsky Corinth Palace, only a couple of hundred yards away, this provides a budget alternative.

Next time, I might choose to spend just a little more in the hopes of improving the surroundings but would not have a problem using the hotel again.