Staraya Melnitza   J&P A very excellent, brand new suburban resort.  
Phone: 7 (812) 437-1648         http://www.oldmill.spb.ru/ 

Rates: I almost can't believe the prices... this place is super and this is all they want for their rooms?  $14 to $58 for most rooms; cottages to $148.

Location Rating: Isolated. Forty kilometers north of the city. In the forest.

Proximity To Metro: They plan to offer a shuttle service to the center of the city.

Lobby Appearance: The facility is brand new and will have it's grand opening on March 15, 2002. It has been designed to resemble 17th century living, yet has all the modern conveniences of the 21rst century. An English speaking front desk person will greet you.

Room Appearance: Beautiful. Wait until you see the custom made room keys! They have a very old look. Besides hotel rooms, they have separate cottages. The cottage we saw was just fantastic with a kitchen, living room, fireplace, comfortable bedroom and powder room on the first floor. Upstairs was another nice bedroom, balcony, and spacious bathroom.

Useful Nearby Businesses: None! Just forest here.

Hotel Restaurants: There are several eating places here, all with a 17th century theme. The millhouse restaurant was the most interesting. There is a separate beer shop and another restaurant in the main building.

Other Amenities: Wow... there are a lot of extras here. This place has a Disney World quality about it. They used the best of everything to put it together, and the general director - (who gave us the tour) - has very high standards. There is a children's room with video games. There are several different styles of saunas: Russian, Finnish, Turkish, and maybe some others. They have special cooling pools that are kept at 5 degrees Celsius as a part of the banya enjoyment process. There are numerous relaxation rooms. Numerous rooms with a pool table or Russian billiard table. These are very high quality tables with marble slate under the felt. They have a beautiful, cozy, private, indoor swimming pool room. You can get a massage. They have a solarium. And there is probably much more.

Would I Stay Here? Absolutely!

Staff Speaks English? Yes. And some of the staff wear 17th century style uniforms.

Comments: What a fascinating place... security here is excellent. They have their own power source and don't rely on any utility. The Gulf Of Finland is a 2 minute walk away. I am very impressed with what I found here. The standards here are very, very high. Your stay here would be both interesting, and very comfortable. This facility is unique to the Saint Petersburg region. The room rates are an incredible bargain right now but they will be rising for the peak season. It is such a nice place. 

Svetlana Hotel   x Foreigners not accepted.

Swiss Center Apartment Hotel   J&  http://www.swisscenter.ru   Phone: 7 (812) 325-0979
e-mail: info@helvetia-suites.ru

Rates: Dependent upon the number of guests per suite: one or two = $125, three or four = $160, five or six = $180.

Location Rating: Excellent. Nevsky Prospekt is right down the block as well as a metro station. The hotel is in the same building as the Swiss Consulate.

Proximity To Metro: Excellent. Mayakovskaya Metro Station is just a two or three minute walk away.

Lobby Appearance: Go into the courtyard and press the intercom button near the door with the sign that says "Schweizer Zentrum." They will release the lock. Go upstairs to the door with the same sign and enter. An office is located there. That is the reception area. It is a modern and clean area.

Room Appearance: The apartments are fantastic. Big with 70 to 100 square meters. Everything looks new. Beautiful well equipped kitchen with dishwasher and all kinds of other extras; the apartment we saw had two really nice modern bathrooms with heated floors, and two really nice bedrooms. They have 3 apartments now. By the end of May 2002 they will add 15 more.

Useful Nearby Businesses: Since the hotel is located in the heart of the city, you can get whatever you want within walking distance. A Pizza Hut and KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) are right down the block.

Hotel Restaurants: No restaurant, but room service is provided.

Other Amenities: Laundry service, fax/internet access, guarded parking, satellite TV, mini-bar, dishwasher, tea/coffee machine, toaster.

Would I Stay Here? Absolutely!

Staff Speaks English? Yes.

Comments: This is a great place to stay and for the money it is an excellent value. The apartments are brand new and are loaded full of extras. They're big and comfortable. And the location is superb. The price is almost unbelievable for all that you get. I'd love to stay here.

Swiss Center Apartment Hotel Update: January 7, 2004. Things changed quite a lot here. They went from having just 3 really nice apartments to having a true luxury facility of 40 apartments/rooms. Wow! And they really jacked the prices up. The peak season rack rates are now $250 to $500. The facility is elegant and very secure. The new apartments have ample amenities. I loved the evening lighting in their courtyard. This place is classy. But no air conditioning! The new facility (same location) is a quiet oasis in this very busy part of the city. The older apartments will be noisy in summer. I know because I stayed in one during the summer of 2002. With no AC I had to keep the windows open. Street noise was a problem. On my last night, the mosquitoes drained half the blood out of me. I was miserable. (I believe their new rooms will be much quieter from the apartment I stayed in.) I also felt conned when they charged me an extra 5% for using my visa card (without telling me). After I got home I saw I had been screwed. And all I could get was a promised discount in the future, despite me sending them numerous good customers. I'm still pissed off. The hotel now prefers to be called "Helvetia Suites." 

Hotel Tavricheskaya   Phone: 7 (812) 326-6851

This hotel "does not serve ordinary tourists." And they don't speak English. Nor do they do any visible hotel marketing. They would not permit us to do a room inspection.

Hotel Tsarkoye Selo Company   x Foreigners not accepted.
http://tzar.ru   Phone: 7 (812) 470-5675

The location of this hotel is excellent - within the park and right next to the Palace in Pushkin (southern suburbs). Unfortunately the quality of the facility is very basic and not nice at all, and they do not take individual foreigners. It was mentioned however that a group reservation of foreigners might be a possibility.

Tourist Hotel   x Foreigners not accepted.

Universiterskaya Hotel   ...this hotel is under construction (as of March 2002) 
Phone: 7 (812) 428-4603

Hotel Veronika   x Foreigners not accepted.   Phone: 7 (812) 393-6708

This hotel is not permitted to cater to foreigners. It's no great loss. The neighborhood is awful. And when you see this hotel from the outside for the first time, your expectations are almost certain to be drastically lowered.

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