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President Hotel L +7 (095) 239-3800 www.president-hotel.ru
Street Address: 24, B Yakimanka Street - Moscow, Russia
Location: Very Good.
Nearest Metro:
Staff Speaks English? No.
Would I Stay Here? No, I wouldn't.
* Twilight Zone Bizarre *
My experience at the President Hotel was strange. The building looked strange. I didn't know what to expect. Quickly I learned that they are security freaks! I'm surprised they didn't pat me down. You can't even step into the parking lot until you have undergone a thorough screening and presented your passport. The high security made me think that this hotel must be good.
So I walk in the front door... hmm, a vast lobby. Only by the grace of the manager were we allowed to enter and she hesitated quite a lot. We met up with our contact person on the third floor and before we could do anything else, we had to go all the way back to the front and give our coats to the coat clerk. Hmm... well that was unusual. Looking around I saw signs of oldness. And yes I was right... this is one hell of a stale hotel. I kind of felt like I was in the twilight zone or something.
Don't be fooled by any website photos at the online reservation services. You will not leave the President Hotel with memories to cherish - I guarantee it.
First, there is the Soviet mentality staff, from the old school. Then, you've got these clean but so stale guest rooms. The hotel is like a 1970's time capsule! And then there are the bathrooms - oh geez! Old, but clean bathrooms, yet completely, entirely, depressing. One look at one of these bathrooms and your whole vacation is ruined - unless you're the type that can have a good laugh about getting stuck with such an ugly bathroom.
They say they are a congress hotel, and that they have 18 conference rooms. Boy oh boy... I certainly wouldn't want to be the one blamed for holding a conference in such an ugly conference room. They are all ugly. Some rooms have fantastic wooden floors. But that isn't enough to make these rooms pretty.
The President Hotel was built in 1983. It is way overdue for an overhaul. The only good thing about the hotel is the view that can be had with river-facing rooms from high up. I can't believe they guard this piece of junk like its Fort Knox. It's so weird. This is the strangest, most oddball hotel in Moscow. And they promote this as a 5 star hotel? No way!
The location is very good. You can easily walk to Gorky Park and both State Tretyakov Galleries. You can even walk to the Kremlin in 30 minutes or so. But you must understand that this is strange hotel with some of the ugliest hotel bathrooms I have ever seen. And the hospitality is soviet-style. I think it's an awful hotel. It is clean, but old and weird.
Have you stayed at this hotel? What is your assessment? Send it in. We'll
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Comment #1 from a former guest at the President Hotel:
We stayed at the President Hotel. We felt like we
WERE in the Twilight Zone -- stuck in the middle of a Bewitched rerun. If you
need video -- we found the whole experience SO BIZARRE that we took a little
video of our room -- complete with jeg-lagged commentary. It was a very unusual
experience. And we stayed there at the suggestion of our adoption agency (on
trip 1) -- we stayed elsewhere on trip 2.
Comment #2 from same person:
Submitted by a former guest of the President Hotel on March 18, 2005:
My wife and I just stayed in the President Hotel. We were there for two nights, and like a previous poster we were on our first trip to adopt a child.
Our adoption agency places their clients at the President for one reason and one reason only-the security. Americans on adoption trips have been known to be robbed while staying in Moscow hotels, because an American in Moscow can be spotted a mile away, and because Americans on adoption trips have to carry a lot of cash. And yes, the security was tight. So, I guess we were there for the right reason.
That being said, I didn't find the hotel as creepy as some of the others. It did feel stuffy, and it seemed to be designed and furnished by a team of civil servants in cheap grey suits who were trying to show that they have good taste when in reality they didn't. The room bathroom was kind of retro-funky, but everything worked. And the room itself was OK. Not great, just OK. It was spacious, with a nice view of the river and the monstrous Peter the Great statue. The furniture and the bed was OK, in a 1970's kind of way. And the location was good if you want to see the sights, but that isn't all that important in the dead of winter when it's too cold to walk very far. The breakfast buffet was OK if you like muselix, runny eggs and 18 different kinds of cheese. Denny's is better.
Would I stay here again? For security, yes. Otherwise, for over $200 bucks a night I think we can do better. But it wasn't BAD, just OK
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