Petro Palace Hotel, Saint Petersburg

The Petro Palace is a new 4* hotel in St Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 2005, the hotel occupies a renovated historic Staal's building located in the centre of the city. It has a total of 193 rooms, a combination of single, double and twins rooms and suites.

We discovered the Petro Palace on recommendation from our travel agent and stayed for 4 nights mid May 06.

Location

The Petro Palace hotel is located ...
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Location wise, the Petro Palace earns itself 5 stars (shiny ones too!). Every important sight is within easy walking distance, for example the Hermitage is a 5 minute walk and the Church of the Spilled Blood around 10 minutes. Nevsky Prospect, the central thoroughfare is only a second away, providing shopping, restaurants and excellent cafes.

The hotel is only 3km from Moskovsky Railway Station with buses running all the way ... more

The Petro Palace is a new 4* hotel in St Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 2005, the hotel occupies a renovated historic Staal's building located in the centre of the city. It has a total of 193 rooms, a combination of single, double and twins rooms and suites.

We discovered the Petro Palace on recommendation from our travel agent and stayed for 4 nights mid May 06.

Location

The Petro Palace hotel is located halfway along Malaya Morskaya Ulitsa which runs off the main thoroughfare Nevsky Prospect. An excellent local landmark is the beautiful Admiralty building which is just over the road and the hotel is also a stone's throw from St Isaac's Cathedral and the Astoria Hotel. The nearest metro station is Nevsky Prospect, although this is a good 20 minute walk away, but buses run right past the hotel.

Location wise, the Petro Palace earns itself 5 stars (shiny ones too!). Every important sight is within easy walking distance, for example the Hermitage is a 5 minute walk and the Church of the Spilled Blood around 10 minutes. Nevsky Prospect, the central thoroughfare is only a second away, providing shopping, restaurants and excellent cafes.

The hotel is only 3km from Moskovsky Railway Station with buses running all the way along Nevsky Prospect and 15km from Pulkovo International Airport accessible by regular bus, mini-bus or taxi services taking between 30 minutes and 1 hour depending on traffic which can be very heavy.

Facilities

Restaurant - The hotel has it's own restaurant, The Baron, serving Russian and European cuisine and which also plays host to a gypsy show if you are in the mood for traditional entertainment. I realise that in the spirit of investigation we should have sampled a meal at the Baron, but we weren't after such a formal dining experience and preferred to eat at the cozy local restaurants as recommended in our guidebook.

Bars - There are a total of four bars at the Petro Palace. We enjoyed a drink at two of these bars, the first is adjacent to the lobby and also serves tea, coffee and bar snacks, while the second is a little more special. On the 7th floor is the Sky Bar, a sleek sophisticated environ that offers a fantastic view over the city's skyline, and, most spectacularly the great gold dome of St Isaac's Cathedral.

Prices at the hotel bars are, as you would expect, on the pricey side. A spirit and mixer cost around 250 roubles (£5) and a cup of tea 120 roubles (£2.40).

Fitness Centre & Swimming Pool - One of the nicest aspects of the Petro Palace, as advertised in the hotel's promotional literature, is the fitness centre. This very modern and attractive facility located in the basement includes a small gymnasium, a good sized swimming pool, a jacuzzi and sauna. Massages and solarium's are also available at an additional cost.

We were, however, disappointed to discover that the fitness facilities are only complimentary to hotel guests between 7 - 11 every morning. At other times guests have to pay a surcharge of 300 roubles (£6) to use the centre. We felt this was a bit much, especially as these facilities are advertised as at the guest's disposal.

Having said this I visited the swimming pool, jacuzzi and sauna most mornings and each and every time I was the only person making use of the centre so it was very luxurious!

Other Facilities - The hotel also offers a laundry service and has pay to use internet access at about £3.50 an hour.

Our Room

Our room was on the third floor, accessed by elevators. The hotel is arranged around a central courtyard, our room faced out onto this courtyard - not a good view but it did mean the room was quiet and undisturbed by any street / traffic noise.

The room itself was a very good size for two people and felt particularly spacious thanks to the high ceilings. As you enter the door via key card, the bathroom is to the left and the room opens out to the front with a wardrobe and suitcase cabinet to the right. A large double bed flanked with two bedside tables dominates the main body of the room and other furniture includes a table and two chairs and a large desk holding a colour TV, literature about the hotel and mini bar snacks.

Various snacks are provided, for example pringles, chocolate and nuts. There is also a mini fridge filled with small bottles of spirits, wine and soft drinks. Like everything else purchased at the hotel, the mini bar operates in a unit system, with one unit being 35 roubles (70p). A full list of unit prices is available, but as an indication the snacks are priced between 3 and 6 units or 105 - 210 roubles (£2 - £4).

Each room has an electronic safe, air conditioning, hairdryer and satellite TV.

The furnishings are, as you would expect from a new hotel, crisp, clean and fresh. There are duvets on the beds and spare blankets because, even during the summer months, the weather can fluctuate substantially.

The bathroom was very luxurious with a brand new suite featuring a lovely power shower (but no bath) and complimentary toiletries. Fresh white towels were delivered daily and the bathroom was kept scrupulously clean throughout our stay. Best of all, the bathroom had under floor heating so it was always lovely and warm and it was very nice for the feet!

The Breakfasts

Breakfast was included in the overnight price. The breakfast is served in two rather uninspiring and slightly chilly rooms on the basement floor until 10.30am. Having being spoilt at our hotel in Moscow with a magnificent spread for breakfast, we were rather under whelmed by what was on offer at the Petro Palace.

The breakfast buffet choices were as follows: croissants, pastries and a selection of cakes; scrambled or boiled eggs; cereals, muesli, or porridge; sausages and tomatoes; toast; meats and cheeses and a small selection of fruits. This fare was washed down with mineral water, fruit juices and over-brewed tea!

A reasonable selection of food and, to be fair, I was always full until lunchtime! My only complaints would be that the hot food was often sitting around for quite a long time and that there were a lot of odd foods - cakes, meat and cheese for breakfast? Not for me! I would have preferred a larger selection of fruit and more cereals and pastries.

The Staff

All the staff we came in contact with were polite and helpful. Whether it's at the reception desk or in the breakfast room there were always plenty of staff providing an excellent standard of service. The chambermaids, while not speaking any English, are exceptionally friendly and upbeat and most importantly put a chocolate on your pillow daily!

Concierge Service

The Petro Palace hotel offers a concierge service everyday manned by different members of staff. We used this service frequently, with varying degrees of success. It is excellent for booking sight-seeing tours, theatre or museum tickets and taxis. In fact, the hotel has it's own taxi drivers so you pay a fixed fee for the particular destination in advance and the driver waits for you at the concierge desk or outside the venue at the agreed time. We used this service to take us to and from the Kirov Ballet and again to drop us off at the airport and were very satisfied with it.

Unfortunately the service was rather let down by the seeming lack of knowledge about the city of St Petersburg exhibited by the staff manning the desk. Although the staff always tried to help, they often failed to advance basic tourist information. For example, when we asked how to get to Peterhof Palace we were told to walk or get the metro to Baltiyskiy station and then take an hour long train journey to the palace. As it turned out, however, you could also take a special boat trip which was a far more convenient, quicker and nicer option which we luckily found out for ourselves. Similarly we were often misinformed about prices and were never offered any schedules e.g. for the train or boat.

I conclude from this disparity in the level of service that the concierge desk is better set up to make all inclusive arrangements for wealthy tourists, rather than to help those who take a more DIY approach to travel!

Prices

A standard double room (all rooms have en-suite) at the Petro Palace costs £127 a night (187 Euros, 6,446 roubles).

In recent years there has been a lack of hotel beds in St Petersburg to accommodate the flood of tourists resulting in comparatively expensive prices. Since the city's 300th anniversary in 2003 new hotels like the Petro Palace have been springing up across the city offering a greater choice from the old hugely expensive 5* or drab Soviet style dump.

I wish I could say I've stayed at loads of 4* hotels on my travels so I could make an effective comparison but I haven't! Of the nice hotels I have stayed at this would rank highly because it had every facility we required and that touch of luxury that makes your holiday even more special. The very central location was also a huge positive as we never even had to use public transport to see any of the sights.

Conclusion

I would highly recommend the Petro Palace hotel for any length of stay in St Petersburg. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and would have no hesitation in booking the hotel again if we are ever lucky enough to pay a return visit.
 

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