“Great location and good value”

My wife and I stayed at the hotel for 4 nights with our three (grown-up) children In September 2011. We were interested in location because we expected to be out and about visiting the city rather than spending time in. We were not disappointed. We were able to walk everywhere from the hotel - near to the Hermitage, indeed to all of the key sites. The staff were helpful from beginning to end, helping us with visa support and unfailingly friendly and welcoming. We were not expecting luxury, and indeed this was not a luxury hotel, but the rooms were clean and comfortable, the breakfast was ample and we had no complaints. We have already recommended this hotel to friends.

“Very impressed.”

Friendly & very helpful staff with good english spoken. Clean & good sized rooms, perfectly located, really near Hermitage & St Isaacs & excellent restaurants nearby. I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone, it went beyond my expectations & I would certainly go back. Thank you Herzen.

“Good value and location.”

10 minutes walk to Hermitage. Good restaurants close by. Convenient ATM in foyer. Helpful staff but some inaccuracies. Make sure you ask clear and simple questions in English. Nice ideas like Samovar tea with cakes on Wed afternoon. 2 key safe at reception an excellent security. Leave passport there and take photocopy with you.

“Excellent hotel”

An excellent hotel in the very center of St. Petersburg.

“excellent position”

Great place to stay, central to walk to a lot of the main city sights and along the river in the evening. Hotel was clean and comfortable, staff were wonderful and helpful, breakfast included was satisfying and there was enough variety for most tastes. The coffee and tea and cookies available all day was a bonus in the dining area when you get back exhausted from tripping around. The subway was nearby on Nevsky Prospect but we didn't use as our time was three days there before a river cruise and we walked everywhere and only got a cab to the theatre one night and then walked back as the cab did not return to the right place for the booked return from the theatre to the hotel. We arrived in St Petersburg near midnight and airport shops and facilities closed, no public transport. The cab fare we were charged to the hotel from the airport was 700 roubles so have local currency on you when arriving. My only complaint would be, the room I booked said Kingsize bed but it was not, it was more like a small double bed, a bit cramped when sharing and the top doona/duvet was inadequate to cover two people, it kept slipping of one person all night for the other person to be covered. The shower tray was slow to drain also but eventually did, maybe old russian drains in that part of the old city. Overall a pleasant experience and nice enough place to rest after busy days of sightseeing.

“good location, great service”

The hotel is located about a 10 min walk from the metro but there is a bus very close, which is handy if you have bags. Very good location for the main tourist sites such as the Hermitage. The staff all speak good English and are very helpful with directions and maps as well as orderinng taxis and booking tables at restaurants, overall very good service. Breakfast is fine, and the tea party on wednesdays is a nice touch. The only problem was that the curtains in the room were not very thick and during white nights it might be a bit too light to sleep, although thin curtains seem to be normal everywhere in Russia. Room was quiet and bed was comfortable and big, bathroom was fine with plenty of hot water. Overall I would stay again and highly recommend this hotel.

“Great value, great location.”

Staff really helpful, nice. they speak English. Great value and really well located.

“Good plain, very comfortable, central and easy place to be where everything works.”

We had this hotel recommended by a friend and it was a s she had told us. Central, comfortable, facilitating. Any request we made was easily and unassumingly satisfied. Breakfast was very plain and not so exciting or enticing. Staff spoke a good deal of English which was so nice as we spoke almost no Russian and felt so embarrassed that we could not. They were so gracious about our lack of Russian. Rooms were spacious, clean and comfortable. Noise from the street was a little noticeable but with white nights we got used to it. The location is great if you are interested in the old city and its museums. Two blocks from the Nevsky Prospekt was enough to dull the din. High speed wireless internet access worked well and was included in the tariff. No fuss connections. We would go back there anytime.

“Don't be put off by appearances.”

The hotel is in a rather anonymous building and sits on the top floor above another small hotel. It does not look much on the outside and for security reasons it is necessary to buzz for access to the building. The rooms are small but adequate with a good supply of hot water and towels, foreign language TV channels and free WiFi. The breakfast is a buffet which offers a limited choice of food. On arrival there was a bottle of sparkling wine and two glasses in my room.What makes the hotel worth staying in is its location, a few minutes walk from the Hermitage, and the friendliness of the staff who could not do enough to help. This went from supplying the usual maps and directions, to stamps and ordering taxes and agreeing a price in advance. The latter is important as there are no taxi meters.