Hotel Review For The Hotel Universitetskaya

We have a television show here in the U.S. called "Fear Factor." Contestants often have to do disgusting things to make it to the next round, like eat raw pig intestines or something gross like that. Well I have an idea for the show: send the contestants to this hotel and have them last as long as they can without throwing up while they are inside this men's room. Be sure to have oxygen and an ambulance standing by.

There were a lot of problems here. First, the attitude of the administrator was terrible. After giving our spiel and asking to see the rooms, she said (in Russian): "What for? Why? Why? Why should I show you the rooms?" When we explained in further detail, she said we had arrived at a busy time. My assistant told her I had no time to come back. The administrator said that was my problem. My assistant then asked if this hotel served tourists. The administrator said yes. And my assistant angrily said,

Oh, we got results. Somebody was assigned the task of showing us the rooms. Our hotel guide introduced us to a room saying that this was one of their best:

Then we saw a "superior standard" room with hardwood floors. The carpet next to the bed had not been vacuumed in a long time. Yuck.

Previously this hotel belonged to a university. Then it belonged to the mafia. And then it was bought by the Orthodox church. However, the mafia still owns the casino which is connected to the hotel (worker told us all of this).

On the bottom floor, you can tell easily that this is an old hotel. I checked the men's room in the lobby area. That is the worst bathroom I have ever smelled in Russia. It was awful to take a whiff of that. I almost died in there!

Room rates are currently 650 to 2500 rubles (as of 3/31/2004). The hotel has about 400 rooms. Their brochure makes the place look great. Reality is much different. Their photographer is a master at deception. Heed my advice: Stay away.

Hi,
I stayed a month in this hotel. I was booked to this hotel through an on line agent. When I got there I was not impressed at all. But I assumed un-friendly hotel staff and low quality rooms are just the way things are in Russia. I checked other hotels and I was shocked how expensive they were ($100- $800 per night.) I was planning to spend a month in Moscow so the cost was real important to me and 900 rubles per night was unbeatable.

PROS:

Well priced. The room I got was a renovated room. My room had large windows with a nice open view and tasteful beige hardwood floor. No smell. Also, I had nice new wooden wardrobe, small TV, telephone, free local calls, private bathroom/shower (small and basic but very practical. I always had hot water) and refrigerator. This hotel has 24 hours security and nice large lifts.

CONS:

Everything was very small (room, bathroom, bed…etc). Staffs are not helpful or friendly at all. No bathroom supply (toilet paper, soap …etc.). There is no daily, weekly or even monthly room cleaning, changing sheets or towels (but I found tipping the floor lady will get solve room service problem). The bed was small and very uncomfortable. The pillow was useless (I made my own using my clothing.) The refrigerator never worked and asking for repair did not fix it either. There is no A/C (I was there in winter time, so I didn’t need it. No heat control (I controlled the heat by cracking the window and letting some cold air to get in, but closing the window again was a challenge. Hallways were smelly and dungy looking. No English. Metro station is not in a waking distance (I was taking a bus to go to Metro Universitet - a lot of nice shops and a large grocery store close to this station). I am not sure about the area, the whole Moscow looked rough to me,(once I got mugged in Arabat about 11:00 p.m., but I managed to run away; Since that night I always made sure to be back in my room by 10:00 p.m.) So, as far as neighborhood I felt as safe as (or unsafe as) most palces in Moscow.

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