Golden Apple Boutique Hotel

Hotel is not quite a boutique hotel and quite a distance from the city center

1. Concierge (which is also the front desk) is not efficient in placing reservations. Multiple "alleged" reservations made for Cafe Pushkin only to find out later that there was none. I confirmed my reservation with the concierge in the morning that we arrived only to find out that no reservation was made by the hotel. The staff said that she would be placing the reservation that morning. In the afternoon, another staff had to place another reservation because there was no reservation placed. I was still in the States when I e-mailed them about the reservation and they e-mailed me back that they already placed the reservation. They were not even aware that the restaurant was divided into 3 sections. Only when I mentioned that I wanted to be in the "library" floor of the restaurant did they start inquiring about it in the restaurant. They intended to place my reservation for the first floor which was not my intention. Good thing I read about it before I left for the trip. 2. Concierge is not very knowledegeable -- most of them are very young and sometimes do not have a clue. 3. Hotel is quite a walk from the center. 4. Room is small - to think that we’ve been upgraded to the 6th floor (executive level) 5. Breakfast was good - much needed for the walking 6. Room was clean 7. Staff was courteous 8. Do not bring $100 bills if you plan to convert your dollars when you get there because machine converters do not accept them. Bring instead $50 and smaller bills.

Traveller's tip on dining

Go to TSUM Department Store (beside the Bolshoi Theater)... more impressive than GUM in terms of merchandise. Cafe Pushkin is a good dining experience. Try the "library" section. Eat pastries at Bosco Cafe at GUM Department store -- I prefer the less formal Bosco Cafe (orange table linens) because it has more pastry varieties. Do not miss the Armory and the Diamond Fund in the Armory. Tetrayakov Museum is a must-see -- though Russian Museum in St. Pete is a lot better.

overall satisfied

good value ( relatively) when compared to how exorbitant rates can be. half hour walk to Kremlin or metro ride a way. convenient enough. good beakfast included. free upgradde and early checkin. staff was pleasant.

A great hotel

This was a very nice medium sized hotel. The location was good, about a 20 minute walk to the Kremlin or a short metro ride. The breakfast was truly excellent. Above all, the staff were extremely helpful and spoke good English.