Street Address: Across the street from the airport. Moscow region.

Location: Excellent if you want to be close to the airport, but poor for anything else. the city center is far, far away.

Nearest Metro: Rechnoy Vokzal ...bus 851 will take you there.

Staff Speaks English? Yes.

Would I Stay Here? Yes.

There are two hotels at this airport:

1. Sheremetyevo 2 Hotel Complex

2. Novotel

Novotel blows their competitor away. The difference is tremendous. Novotel is far superior in all aspects. The only advantage Sheremetyevo 2 Hotel Complex has is price... it's cheaper to stay there.

If for some reason you are stuck at Sheremetyevo 2 Airport, then Novotel is the place to hang-out. They operate a free shuttle service which makes the short trip between airport and hotel every 15 minutes. So catch the shuttle, step into the comfortable 7 storey atrium lobby at Novotel and go to the right. The hotel has 3 different cash machines. You can withdraw some rubles using your bankcard, then head to the first bar on the right. Walk to the back of the room, turn left and there you will be at a comfortable, out of the way lounge area to sit and relax and maybe have a drink or order some food or play a game of pool. There are several restaurants and many places to sit and relax at the Novotel. And you can pick-up a free copy of the Moscow Times while you are in the lobby. The lobby bathrooms are clean. It's air conditioned. The staff speaks English, and they have an excellent service attitude - as you would expect at a top quality hotel.

Across the street at their competitor's hotel, Sheremetyevo 2 Hotel Complex, I was highly unimpressed with the amenities, the quality of the facility, the attitude of the staff and their lack of initiative. It seems like Novotel has management from the Harvard Business School, or someplace like that, while Sheremetyevo 2 Hotel Complex seems to have management from the Communist Old School Of Hotel Management. The difference is so great and so easy to notice. Novotel has raised the bar high and Sheremetyevo 2 Hotel Complex isn't even trying - they are playing in two completely separate leagues.

The Novotel was built in 1992 and has undergone recent updates within the past 2 years. It is considered 4 star and has 400 rooms. Security is very good. You need a key card to use their glass elevators. Rooms are of very good quality, with air conditioning, nice big beds and mini-bars. I imagine the rooms with atrium views are probably the most interesting.

At the bottom of the atrium is a quiet fountain creating calm water sounds. There are many tables to sit and eat there. They also have a steakhouse restaurant with a Mexican theme. Prices for food and drink at the hotel are pricey. Exchange rates at the hotel are quite good. In comparison, the Sheremetyevo 2 Hotel Complex exchange rates are a rip-off (excessively bad).

Pricing as of April 3, 2004:

Single: 234 y.e.

Double: 264 y.e.

Junior Suite: 372 y.e.

Other rooms cost up to 550 y.e.

Octankino Hotel      L     +7 (095) 247-2217

Street Address: Botanicheskaya Ulitsa, 29 - Moscow, Russia

Location: Fair

Nearest Metro: Vladykino

Staff Speaks English? Probably not.

Would I Stay Here? No.

* One Of Moscow's Bad Hotels *

This complex has several buildings. Building number 3 appears to have a roof in very poor condition. I was concerned about walking beneath the overhang and the balconies because of the condition of the building. From there we were sent to building #2. The first entrance we tried there was not correct. All the directors (bosses) are there. We were told to keep walking. We walked about 5 minutes to the next entrance! As I walked in the doorway - oh my! There is a horrible odor. I was about to immediately abort. But after I got inside the lobby, it wasn't so bad. I saw slot machines, a poor lobby, and people from the lower rung of the economic ladder hanging around and doing nothing. I could tell this would not be a great place to stay. I had this same impression from the first building we walked into. The security guard there was like a 16 year old kid who was not at all professional. And there was no security guard in this building #2 entrance. We were sent to another building to get permission for the facility tour. We never found the right contact there. The place was so bad, I decided it wasn't even worth it for me to spend any more time here. It's a bad hotel. Rooms go for between 660 to 3200 rubles and it is next to the Botanical Gardens. I know for certain that there are better places to stay.

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