Street Address: 21/40, Kalanchevskaya Street - Moscow, Russia

Location: Very Good.

Nearest Metro:

Staff Speaks English? Some.

Would I Stay Here? Yes, on the upper floors - for the view.

* Unusual Soviet Hotel. Like A Museum *

Wow... here is an untainted Stalin style hotel which was opened in 1954. It's like a museum. They could charge admission. It is an old place, but they have maintained it pretty good. The Metropol Hotel is a mixture of old and new. The Leningradskaya is all old. It is fascinating. When this hotel first opened, it must have been very luxurious. The lobby is very interesting and looks unchanged from 50 years ago, but it looks good! A second much larger lobby is deeper into the hotel. It is such a cavernous area that it reminds me of 30th Street Station in Philadelphia.

The hotel is located at the intersection of 3 railroad stations. So this is a busy area. If you were coming from Saint Petersburg on the train, you could walk to the Leningradskaya Hotel if you had rooms reserved there.

I could not see the rooms on my March 23, 2004 visit but I did get a thorough facility tour. They have the longest chandeliers in the world - 6 floors! It's in the Guinness Book Of World Records (according to hotel staff). Wow, they've got some huge marble columns there. It really feels like a museum.

On the guest floors, the corridors have dark cherry wood walls. Lighting is dark. And even though old, everything is in good condition. A key lady is on each floor. Soon the hotel will be privately owned, so things here will probably change a lot.

I imagine the guest rooms are old and plain. Prices currently range from $82 to $236 plus a "booking tax" of 10%. ??? (I never heard of that before.)

Marco Polo Presnja Hotel    J    +7 (095) 244-3631           www.visit-m.ru 

Street Address: Spiridonjevskij, 9 - Moscow, Russia

Location: Very Good.

Nearest Metro: Tverskaya? Arbatskaya?

Staff Speaks English? Yes.

Would I Stay Here? Yes.

* Good Little Hotel *

The 64 room Marco Polo is 10 years old, but the rooms and tastefully decorated halls look brand new! Nice! The bathrooms are great. The rooms are air conditioned. A key card is necessary to use the elevator and to access most guest floor areas. If you wanted to splurge and get their best suite, you wouldn't be disappointed. But if you count on getting a good workout in their fitness center, well... they only have 3 pieces of workout equipment. And no free weights.

The lobby is a little bit dated. The hall leading to the restaurant and conference hall is overdue for a makeover. They have a brand new hot tub and sauna, plus a tanning bed and massage room. There is a nice little bar near the lobby. Art on the walls is for sale throughout the building. The hotel has no views of anything interesting, but the neighborhood is considered very good and you can walk to Moscow's famous Arbat Street. Here's a tip for you... as you exit the hotel, bear left. At the corner is the Cafe Donna Clara (phone: 290-6974). Find the stairs and go to the basement. Nobody seems to know about it and you will have a nice peaceful dining room all to yourself - and your guest. The food is fine.

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