I stayed at the Victoria Palace hotel in Astrakhan in early October 2006 whilst on business in Astrakhan. I was told that this is the only 4 star hotel in town and it wasn't too bad.

It was my first trip to Russia and Astrakhan is a provincial town in the middle of nowhere so I was expecting the worst. The room I was in only had a single bed and was a bit small but it was clean and comfortable. The bathroom was well apppointed but small; especially the shower. The shower also had a funny shower curtain arrangement that meant it was impossible to not spill water all over the floor.

The room had air-conditioning but it also had an intermittent whining sound that appeared to be coming from downstairs. It wasn't really loud enough to keep me awake but was a bit annoying.

Breakfast at the hotel was a buffet and they would cook eggs and omelets for you but that was the only hot food available for breakfast apart from toast.

The location of the hotel was ok - not too far from the kremlin and about a 5-10 minute walk from a good restaurant called 'Cafe Cream'. Taxis (and most other things) are cheap there anyway.

The staff at the hotel were polite.

I think my company was paying about US$195 per night for this place which is inordinately high, but there aren't too many other hotels in town that will deal with non-Russians.

Some of my colleagues, who work in Astrakhan, told me that they have been asked to leave, despite having a booking, if the hotel has any more important guests who need their room. I was only there for 3 nights so it wasn't an issue for me.

This is the best hotel in Astrakhan. The problem is the owner does not give a damn about the staff or the guests.
If you ask for something you get a sigh as if you are an inconvenience...I called for room service at 2am. The booklet states 24 hour room service please feel free to call and we will be glad to help. So i called , no answer, I then rang reception,opps ! I woke them up!
There is no room service after 11pm. They agreed it says 24hours but no,I asked what to do now? the answer was"'nothing goodbye'".
I then rang the bar as I had walked past them about 15 minutes earllier. I asked for a bottle of champagne. NO! was the answer. What ? Are you telling me that you don't have one or you will not get one for me? NO! I had already seen the bottles behind the bar. So I made this point and still got ... NO!. So i went down to the bar and got the bottle!!!.
Ah! breakfast
No bacon,no cornflakes no cereals,I spoke with some expats who have been staying here for 4 to 5 years and they have observed anything they like, is taken off the menu.
These expats are all OIl company engineers on a large contract and the hotel is making a huge profit.
The Gym
Ther is no GYM!! only some broken bikes around the pool.
If the staff were treated well and the food was improved and a Gym was made it would be a very nice place to stay,