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.  Here is a former guest's opinion of this hotel.

Proton Business Hotel     J   +7 (095) 797-3300          www.proton.ru

Street Address: 22, Novozavodskaya - Moscow, Russia

Location: It's great if you do business with their Khrunichev State Resaearch And Production Space Center. If you want to go to Red Square, then it is a bit isolated and outside of the core central area.

Nearest Metro: Filevsky Park

Staff Speaks English? Yes.

Would I Stay Here? Yes.

High Quality. A Comfortable Retreat
From The Big City.

The Proton Business Hotel very much impressed me. It is owned by a large company that is involved in spacecraft production, and fairly large models of the the Proton M rocket and the International Space Station are in the lobby.

The front desk staff are professionally dressed. Everything about the interior of the building looks new. The corridors are very nice. The guest rooms are quite nice. It is a very comfortable hotel to relax in after a long day of sightseeing or work. I especially liked all of their restaurants. Whoever designed these spaces did a top notch job.

The hotel is in an out-of-the-way location. It is down a quiet road. Buses are nearby, but it's quite difficult for foreigners to understand which bus to take. It might take 40 minutes to walk to the metro station and the nearest stores for basic items probably takes about 30 minutes walking time.

The hotel does operate a free shuttle to the metro. While we were there somebody was complaining that the shuttle did not run often enough. In the near future they will offer a free shuttle to the center of the city.

The hotel has a small fitness center, a dentist, a billiard room. Room prices range from $120 to $490.

This is absolutely a very nice hotel.

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