Saint Petersburg International Hostel   J   The city's nicest hostel.  http://www.ryh.ru  
Phone: 7 (812) 329-8018

Peak Season Rates: Dormitory accommodation $19; double room $24. Breakfast and sheets included.

Location Rating: Very good. Near the city's core.

Proximity To Metro: About 10 minutes to Ploshchad Vosstaniya Metro Station.

Lobby Appearance: It's fine. You cannot enter the stairwell once inside. You must walk to the reception area. A travel agency is located there as well as the hostel's front desk. While chatting with the front desk person, you will see the facility has numerous surveillance cameras.

Room Appearance: Sort of cozy. I like these rooms better than the Hostel Holiday.

Useful Nearby Businesses: There is a cafe down the street and several "productie" stores. And plenty of shops are within easy walking distance.

Hotel Restaurants: We saw a small kitchen area where you can prepare your own food. (The door closed behind us and it seemed like we were locked inside of this kitchen. The electronic button to open it didn't immediately work. But I got it open on the third or fourth try.) The breakfast room was closed during our visit.

Other Amenities: Internet access for 1 ruble for minute (reasonable) on one computer. Nightly movies in English. Satellite phone for international calls. Laundry facilities. Long-term luggage storage. Free safe deposit for valuables.

Would I Stay Here? Communal living with strangers is not for me, but among the hostels here, this one is the nicest.

Staff Speaks English? Yes. The front desk person we dealt with spoke English quite well.

Comments: Shower areas for women are private. Shower areas for men are not private. There are electronic keypad locks on everything here. You get a set of codes to open various doors. I was surprised with the extent of it. First you have a keypad lock at the bottom of the stairwell. Then you must open a lock to get on your floor. The individual rooms have normal locks, but the kitchen, luggage storage areas, and communal lounge room have electronic keypad locks. The facility is clean and seems safe. "Partying" after 11 o'clock in the evening is not allowed.

They have a sister facility on Nekrasova ulistaéK in the same building as the Puppet Theater Hotel, which is about a 20 minute walk away. This other building is not as nice and not as secure. Tanya said it reminded her of a Russian hospital. But the neighborhood is very interesting. Both locations are in an old section of the city and old, interesting buildings are everywhere. (The sister facility has a very old elevator. We tried it out, and it worked very smoothly.)

Saint Petersburg State Electro Technical University Hotel   K  The power was out during our visit. Conditions are basic. Phone: 7 (812) 234-1387

Rates: Single $15; double $25; suite $30

Location Rating: Fair.

Proximity To Metro: Pick up the tram for 5 rubles. In a few minutes you'll arrive at Chernaya Rechka Metro Station.

Lobby Appearance: The entrance is awful. You go upstairs and the hotel is located behind a residential style set of doors. Inside it is old. Old halls. Old rooms. Old bathrooms. There is no elevator.

Room Appearance: Dated. Old. Clean, yet a bit depressing.

Useful Nearby Businesses: There are nearby kiosk businesses where you can get all kinds of products.

Hotel Restaurants: There are two kitchens where you can prepare your own food.

Other Amenities: None.

Would I Stay Here? No.

Staff Speaks English? No.

Comments: The electricity was out while we were visiting. The rooms looked okay for the lower end accommodations that they are. But this does not mean nice. It is basic.

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