Dynasty

“Highly recommended”

I was on a 72-hour visa-free trip and this hotel was recommended by Scandi Classics tour company. I really enjoyed my stay here, a lovely small, clean, comfortable unpretentious hotel. I was a bit worried about having to use public transport (I speak no Russian), but the Ulitsa Rubinsteina leads ri… more

I was on a 72-hour visa-free trip and this hotel was recommended by Scandi Classics tour company. I really enjoyed my stay here, a lovely small, clean, comfortable unpretentious hotel. I was a bit worried about having to use public transport (I speak no Russian), but the Ulitsa Rubinsteina leads right onto Nevsky Prospekt and you can easily walk all the way to the Hermitage if you want. The street itself is full of cool and trendy pubs and restaurants. The breakfasts served every morning were excellent. The small hotel restaurant also does evening meals, which were good but the portions were rather small. The young reception staff speak English, some better than others!, and went out of their way to be helpful.

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“Fine Boutique Hotel ”

Hotel is situated at the end of the street so sometimes nice walk and sometimes tiring, lots of restaurants on the street but I didn’t find anything special out of them, restaurants on Nevsky Street I found much better. Hotel is good but if you got a room in backyard then you need to walk long with… more

Hotel is situated at the end of the street so sometimes nice walk and sometimes tiring, lots of restaurants on the street but I didn’t find anything special out of them, restaurants on Nevsky Street I found much better. Hotel is good but if you got a room in backyard then you need to walk long with upstairs & downstairs every time. Breakfast repeated with same things all 4 days. Still not a bad choice and room bed comfortable and give a good sleep.

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“Good location”

Close to Nevsky avenue so a good spot to stay. The staff are very helpful and friendly. They also all speak good English. The rooms are comfortable and spacious. There is a Fridge but not drinks, although not a problem as there is a general store across the road. The only criticism is it would have… more

Close to Nevsky avenue so a good spot to stay. The staff are very helpful and friendly. They also all speak good English. The rooms are comfortable and spacious. There is a Fridge but not drinks, although not a problem as there is a general store across the road. The only criticism is it would have been nice to have some of the English TV channels, but then again it is not in England...

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“good hotel in great location (but no lift)”

Location is super: in a street full of upmarket but reasonably priced bars & restaurants (& a convenience store or two) - which is nevertheless not noisy in the evening, and beautifully clean - just off St Petersburg's equivalent to Oxford Street, Nevsky Prospect, and round the corner from a metro … more

Location is super: in a street full of upmarket but reasonably priced bars & restaurants (& a convenience store or two) - which is nevertheless not noisy in the evening, and beautifully clean - just off St Petersburg's equivalent to Oxford Street, Nevsky Prospect, and round the corner from a metro station (Dostoyevskaya / Vladimirskaya). The Hermitage & many other places worth visiting are walkable - but these central areas are often really busy with groups of tourists, as well as Russians, who don't have the Brits' idea of personal space (I was surprised to be walked into quite so often). The traffic is noisy and can be pretty wild, too, with less than scrupulous regard to speed limits or even red lights. All this makes the walking more tiring than you may imagine; but taxis are relatively cheap & the metro do-able. The hotel is over several floors of three interconnecting buildings. If you have any quantity of luggage, the lack of lift & the extra little steps connecting the various corridors are quite a pain, though the excellent & very friendly desk staff would no doubt help if you were stuck. Everywhere is very clean and well-maintained. Drinking water coolers on each floor were a nice surprise, as was the little fridge in our 'standard' (?) room - ideal for chilling the cheap but excellent champagne that you could buy everywhere. The room & bathroom were small but provided all we needed: excellent shower, small basic toiletries, and even bathrobes - though I'd happily have forgone those for a hook on the back of the bathroom door & a little more space to put things in the bathroom. We didn't find any non-Russian channels on the little TV but weren't there to watch TV anyway. The mattress was superb & that and the quietness of the room, which overlooked a small courtyard and the back of the kitchen, enabled a really good night's sleep. The air conditioning was useful & the double glazed window was openable, too. Breakfast was included. Juice was OK, coffee, bread (toaster provided), cheese & cold meats were all good, porridge and pancakes ('blinis') were very good, the latter probably buckwheat. Other items were variable, some verging on the weird: the only fruit was tinned pineapple chunks; the white stuff in small glasses was probably cottage cheese, texture unusual. The 'omlet' was like no other omelette I've ever seen in any country (cut into rectangles, strange texture) & the dumplings were not great (unidentifiable meat inside). There were various bowls of whiteish & and also pinkish stuff, some of which was no doubt sour cream. Jam appeared occasionally & was very sweet. The same small area acted as a cafe all day long & we ate there a few times. Prices were very good (though we never really worked out what the 'business lunch' was, & what the specials, if any, were). The food was, again, sometimes not quite what we expected: 'salmon in cream sauce' was simply salmon + white sauce, neither with much seasoning or particular flavour. My companions enjoyed the meat dishes they ordered; the best things I had were red caviar, mushroom soup, Greek salad & the cheese platter. Beer and wines were good. Service was fine but, in contrast to the desk staff, the serving staff were not at all friendly - & did not even reply when greeted in Russian. If you ordered something that wasn't on the menu, they'd simply say 'niet' - the brusqueness takes a bit of getting used to. All in all, we really enjoyed our stay & were delighted with this choice of hotel, which offers pretty much all one might need for a visit to St P, and at very good prices.

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