Accommodation
►Practicalities ► Accommodation
The issue of where to stay during your trip to Russia is a very important one as Russia has its fair share of hotels where the price does not at all match the standard and this is true for both small provincial cities and for large cities such as Moscow and St Petersburg.
Practically all cities in Russia will have at least one hotel, but hotel standards vary from region to region. It is also true that a three-star hotel in a big city like St Petersburg is likely to be worse than a three-star hotel in a small provincial city such as Yelabuga. This situation arises as in Russia, there is no regulated system of awarding hotels with stars. Read more...
Along with hotels there are big range of other form of accommodation in Russia - hostels, guest houses, apartments, sanatorium and holiday houses. These accommodation is normally cheapper than hotels, and the level of comfort is usually lower, there are some exceptions though. A problem for foreigners can be a booking process as these form of accommodation are often don't have an on-line booking system and you should phone there to book a room. Read more...
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia inherited a terrible hotel infrastructure. During the crisis of the 1990s these hotels were used less and less and gradually deteriorated. The cleanliness level went down and cockroaches moved in, the furniture and bathroom equipment was in need of restoration and of course the quality of service did not progress to the level expected in the post-Soviet years. Read more...
►Practicalities ► Accommodation