“excellent Hotel”
Hotel is small but very nice. Lobby area and breakfast area extremely charming with a Classy old European home atmosphere.
Staff is extra friendly and helpful. They answered all my questions and helped to guide me on an out of town trip i was interested in.
Breakfast (included in my room rate) was excellent and instead of picking up your Hot dish from a "ready Made" selection you actually picked it up from a menu and it was prepared for you on the spot.
Breakfast area also had a charming garden if you so desired.
Room was very adequate and very clean. no problems.
Hotel is within a couple minutes walking from the heart of old Town attractions. excellent location.
Area recommendations
Walk around every Corner of the old town.
Visit Vilnius University.
Visit the Small but powerful Holocaust memorial Museum.
When to go
Summer only if you have the Option. July, August.
Getting around
No Car needed for the old City Center. all can be done by foot
What to pack
In Vilnius like in the rest of Europe in the Summer although it can be Hot and Sticky it can change quickly as well. A small Umbrella is a must and always pack a sweater with you in your back pack especially in the evenings.
Must see
if you have the time take a Trip to TRAKAI. I did it with a Local bus from the central bus station which is within 10 minutes or so walking distance from the Hotel. It was only a few Zloty each way as oppose to probably 70-80 Euros for a guided tour per person.
TRAKAI is a restored Castle on an island about 30 Minutes drive from Vilnius. There is an impressive collection of arts/antiques inside the Castle and worth the day trip . Very unusual and fascinating place.
Dining
The Old town if full with anything you can imagine on the culinary map and for every budget.
don't hesitate to try any local foods. They are all incredibly good and the best thing is that many restaurants have an outdoors area.
Other
Money,, always an issue,,, well,, the only "dark spot" on Vilnius especially for Americans (and those with other then Euro Currency) is the fact that Lithuania is very very expensive. The Lita (The local currency) used to be pegged to the U.S Dollar. Unfortunately that has changed. Since Lithuania became part of the EU the Lita is pegged to the Euro.
The exchange rate in Summer 2011 was about 2.4 Lita for the Dollar but that is very misleading since there is very little if anything you can buy with a few Litas..
if you are on a budget then any serious Shopping is almost cost prohibitive.
restaurants are o.k but look carefully on the Menu prices before sitting down. I did find many very reasonable places to eat even in the most central locations so it is not a major problem and did so with the help of the booklet i received in The Hotel that had listing for all restaurants and also places to visit etc. That booklet was very helpful in locating the type of food and cost involved since all the info was there.
If your hotel was a good deal and prepaid in U.S Dollars, including Breakfast then the rest should be fine. Just be aware that Vilnius in General is not a cheap place.
