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St. Petersburg Hotels (accomodations in Saint Petersburg; registering passport/ visa)
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Posted by: nana

Greetings. I would appreciate any comments about hotels in St. Petersburg. Four of us will be staying in the city for about 10 days during August of 2004. None of us has been to that city before, and we know nothing about any of the hotels. We are not looking for hotels with a lot of amenities, but we do want to be in the heart of the city. Does anyone have any comments about any specific hotel? Feel free to leave a message here, or to contact me at whitsta@aol.com

Thank you! nana

Posted by: sierratango

Hi nana,
this here will not REALLY answer your question but maybe show you a new approach. I am also planning a trip to St.Petersburg (in March though) and thus have done some research on the topic of accommodation. Considering the fact that you are talking about 4 people this might even get more interesting for your guys. Well.. after all my research I have decided that I will not go to a hotel but instead go and rent an appartment. We are not talking like one would go and rent a place in the US.. nope. There are a lot of places out there where you would be able to rent them just like you would go and book a hotel. Most places also offer an airport pickup service for a charge. So far my impression is that those prices all are OK (there are MANY webpages, after all) and within the same range.
Language problems in mind ? Quite often there is no need to worry (well.. I can only speak from my internet research, not a real trip yet). I have seen MANY webpages where the landlord is actually a westerner who ´ended up´ there.
There is one thing however that you should not forget. If you chose the hotel, they will almost always take take of the registration of your visa. If you decide on an apartment, you have to look into that matter. The agency where you will get this visa from might offer registration services. I guess I have also heard about some landlords being able to do this (but please do not treat this as a fact..OK ? At best as a question worth asking the landlord or for checking out on the webpage)
Personally I have decided to go ahead and head for the registration office myself. I have heard folks say that they had no problems at all leaving the country even if they did NOT register. But in case you have some problems there or simply will be stopped by police ....well.. let´s just say I DEFINITELY will go and have it registered (and it´s not like there is only ONE such place in St.Petersburg and you have to travel all over town. Checking the net I found a list with 12 such places in the St.Petersburg area and once I know where exactly I will be staying I will simply confirm with the landlord that the closest address this list shows is up-to-date. ). I must say at first I was a bit nervous about this whole do-it-yourself registration idea. You know, dealing with an authority in a land whose language I do not really speak (aside from a handful of expressions and words that I have learned so far). But remember : it´s a) St.Petersburg -- this would be ´Russia for beginners´.. we are not talking about some place in remote Siberia... and b) they deal with foreigners EVERY DAY..LOL.. it´s THEIR JOB :-) So why worry, I thought. And even if it will involve some time (maybe wait in a line for a bit) it sure could also be an interesting experience to add to my list.
So.. just do a websearch with any of those search engines and maybe enter Apartment and St.Petersburg, then scroll past all those that show up being in FLORIDA :-).. and voila.. take your pick. Bet you will find nice places for all of you four for basically the same price you might end up paying at a hotel in the city.
Well.. if you need room service, a spa, cleaning services and all those things. If not.. it sure should be something worth looking into.

Posted by: Khashyar

Thanks for the posts regarding hotels in Saint Petersburg....

Does anyone know of any specific hotels that they have stayed in or would recommend?? This might be helpful for others....

Khashyar

Posted by: neil277

Hello panel

My advice is book a hotel via www.intourist.co.uk they are well known around the world and deal with just Russia.

My advice if its your first time to Russia allways book hotel and once you and your lady have met and decide to meet again then you can stay at your ladies appt.

Their is a lady who offers a very good invitation service in S.P.B the company is called Uncle nicks tours and this service is very good and Marina is a trusted friend, i wil publish the address when i find paper work.

Regards

Neil

Posted by: Jerico

Last year around April I stayed in Saint Petersburg for 9 days.
I stayed in the hotel SOVETSKAYA HOTEL.
Since it was Summer it was kinda pricey (110 dollars a day) but it was not to far from the main streets and i basically walked to everything from here ( Hermitage ,church of the blood,St Issaacs,etc.)
The hotel was OK , had no AC and the rooms are very small but this is Russia

You could probably get a room here for about 70 dollars a night in August from the internet.
I advise looking at a few websites that specailize in hotels in Russia because they can very in price quite a bit.
http://www.destinationrussia.com
http://www.travel2russia.com
I do not advise renting an apartment .
The hotel will register you and you will be OK.
If a police guy stops and asked you for your passport he will look for registration marks. If you dont have them it could be a problem. Of course they always say carry 20 dollar bills and the problem dissappears

I am told it is not so easy to just register your passport at the local police station,they only register at certain times of the week and day which you will not know since you dont probably speak Russian.
Some other advise - If you go to visit the Hermitage , go EARLY as the line can take hours just to get inside and then to walk the whole place it took us 5 hours

with no water or food.
Something you might try if there is a long line- My girl talked to a police guy outside the back of the line at the Hermitage, it would of taking us hours to get inside. All of a sudden she said (Jerry , lets go) and the police guy took us straight to the front of the line and inside the Hermitage without paying. Then around a corner inside I paid him 350 rubbles. A bribe to get in and the kicker was if I waited in line I would of paid more to get inside the place.

Jerry

Posted by: cowboy63

Hello everyone!

Just to say I'm actually in St Petersburg at the moment and staying at the Pribaltiskaya Hotel. It's really nice because it's by the sea and close to some good shops. I've stayed in the center of town as well on previous visits but there there's a lot of pollution. Plus the traffic can be noisy and disturbing at night.
Hope this helps.

Posted by: deccie

Do any of the major hotels in St Petersburgh offer a translator/pickup service
from the airport?
Anything I can arrange and prepay in advance of my trip will be a good thing.
Andrew

Posted by: Leprechaun

I have stayed in about 8 different hotels in SPb, PM me if you want some info.

I know a few tranlsaters/guides & companies here, they are good but at the end of the day they just want your money.....

however i do know a cheap, safe pick up drop off from and to LED airport in St Petersburg.

Pribaltiskaya Hotel its one of Irina & my favourites, its just a pity that its so far out of the centre, the metro is a brisk 20 min walk thats safe for guys, they do offer a bus service but not frequent. cheap to stay in such a pleasent hotel.

Posted by: Farrel

Hi guys,

Maybe i'm too spoilt with russian way of life but i prefer renting an apartment. It's much cheaper and right in the centre as well. I rent at Pushkinskaya street, that's quite central and quiet at the same time.

Posted by: Leprechaun

hehehe, yeah but the buffet breakfast is better at Pribaltiskaya =o)

Posted by: IgorZ

Ya

Posted by: Leprechaun

Hi Igor, welcome to the Forum, good luck in your search.

This thread is about hotels in SPB not for finding lost contacts, it would be better in the General section

http://www.russianmeetingplace.com/...splay.php?f=164

Lep