Choosing a Hotel in Moscow or Other Russian Cities
If you are not familiar with Russian way of life, there may be several things that will surprise you if you have to stay in Russian hotels, particularly in Moscow, some day. So, a little advice will always do you good.
Finding a cheap hotel in Moscow
It is quite difficult to find a cheap hotel in Moscow. Moscow is an expensive city, even for well-to-do foreigners, and local prices can surprise anyone. However, Moscow receives poor job-seekers and tradespeople from all over the country, as well as very rich celebrities and stars. So Moscow hotel business should satisfy any taste and wallet. That is why if you take just one location, let's say near the Paveletskiy Train Station, you will find luxurious grand hotels with beautiful architecture and prices higher than you can imagine, or you can spend a night in the train station itself in the so-called “waiting rooms”, but be prepared to sharing your room and bathroom with other strangers.
Conditions
Some Russian hotels that were build during the Soviet period are organized differently from what you may think. If you choose a cheap hotel (mostly in cities other than Moscow), you should be prepared to this: in some Russian hotels there are no individual bathrooms in every room, but rather a couple of bathrooms on each floor which are shared by people who stay in the hotel. Of course, it is rather inconvenient and may be a good reason to look for another hotel.
Special Deals
Some hotels in Moscow have a special discount for weekends when the price drops by almost 50% from what you would pay on a working day. It happens because less businessmen come to Moscow on weekends, especially in winter, due to low business activity. This situation is very beneficial to tourists who usually do come for weekends.
In some hotels, which are close to an airport, you can pay by hour, rather than by day. If your flight is delayed you don't need to book and pay for a whole day: they can offer you a room only for a couple of hours. There are also special rooms for a group of tourists that prefer to stay together – you can have one room for up to 6 people.
Comments
2 comments postedI'm planning to stay in Izmailovo hotel in Moscow during my next visit. Do you know anything about it?
Izmailovo (Измайлово) is a nice and huge hotel. It consists of 4 buildings: Alfa, Beta, Vega, and Gamma-Delta, so there is always enough room for tourists. Each building is different and very modern. They have several internet centers, money exchangers, gift shops, an entertainment center with pool and bowling, beauty shop services, etc. What I like about Izmailovo is their relatively low rates by Moscow standards and that they can provide the kind of service for that price. The only drawback is probably its remoteness from Moscow downtown, though in Moscow it is not that far either (Izmailovsky Park Metro Station). One thing to worn you about is: when you arrive at the hotel's location and if you already have a room reserved at the hotel, do not talk to the sales representatives in the street – they will try to cancel your reservation and offer you a room for a higher price with better facilities. If you do want to learn more about other rooms, talk to receptionists IN the hotel, because with sales representatives it will always be more expensive since they have their own share.