TEAM ADVISER COLUMN

Hello. I am Ann, head of the St. Petersburg Traveller booking department, and I am here to help you make planning your trip to St Petersburg as easy and enjoyable as possible.  

There is such a vast choice of great accommodation for you to choose from in St Petersburg, whether you wish the experience of a luxury five-star hotel in the heart of the city, or prefer more modest accommodation at a very comfortable mini-hotel or hostel, or a self-catering private apartment. If your requirements are already defined and you know how much you wish to spend on accommodation, it will be easy to find the perfect place for you to stay in our beautiful city, using the accommodation list we have prepared for your convenience. 

Let’s start planning your exciting visit to St Petersburg by looking through our recommended accommodation below.  Find the place perfect for you and then click  here to make your booking.  If you need any extra information, email me at mail@hotellink.ru and I will be delighted to help you arrange the perfect trip.

Nowadays there is a vast choice of great accommodation for those visiting the beautiful city of St Peterburg.  Guests coming to the city can choose from luxury five-star hotels in the heart of St. Petersburg, very comfortable mini-hotels and bed and breakfasts, to private apartments as well as some very cheap youth hostels. It all depends on your requirements and how much you want to spend.

The St. Petersburg hotel business is developing extremely quickly, as every year the city receives more and more visitors. The city's tourism and service infrastructure is also developing to keep up with the increasing demand. Not long ago there were only a few hotels in the city – all in the Soviet style and also with old, Soviet style conditions, with rules such as ‘no guests after 10 pm’! Foreigners were watched all the time and there was not any chance to just relax and enjoy the trip. Now everything has changed; many of the old hotels have been newly renovated and now they are quite fancy and very comfortable (but, of course, with high prices).

A large number of bed and breakfasts (called mini-hotels in Russia) and quite a few cheap hostels have appeared in St. Petersburg over the past two years. In the past, there were many communal apartments in the city centre. Communal apartments are large, pre Revolutionary apartments, where a few families were placed to live together after the Revolution - each family in 1 room with communal use of the bathroom and kitchen - not much privacy. The number of these communal flats is reducing each year. Since the economic conditions in Russia have changed (and are changing every month), wealthy people have quite quickly purchased lots of property in central St. Petersburg, completed renovation and either live in these apartments themselves or rent them out. Since apartments in many ways are more comfortable than hotels and less expensive, this has become a very popular way to stay for guests coming to the city for short or long trips.

There are quite a few agencies that rent apartments and also organize stays in mini hotels and bed and breakfasts in St. Petersburg.  The St Petersburg Traveller is an agency well placed to assist in finding the best accommodation for you. So, if you plan ahead, there is a lot of options. But don’t delay – accommodation fills up very quickly here!

Keep in mind that the high seasons in St. Petersburg are: summer – especially the White Nights season, which lasts throughout June and some of July also; Christmas and New Year's Time – from the 15th of December to 15th of January – are also very busy. Spring is also a pleasant time to come and you will have more luck with accommodation and better prices.

Luxury hotels of St. Petersburg have the same standards as any International five stars hotels. Therefore, the prices here are on the same level or even higher than in Paris or New York, because of the overall lack of accommodation. Usually staying at these hotels guarantees you the best accommodation and the best service in Russia. Staying in such hotels is a great pleasure; however, the prices can be intimidating.

Budget and mid priced hotels. Fortunately, there is a large, lower-priced and budget hotel market as well. There are a large number of such hotels in St. Petersburg. Be careful though; many of the hotels in this range claim to be four star hotels. This is a slight exaggeration as they are mostly three or three-plus star hotels. This is usually standard practice in Russia. A general rule is that the only "truly rated" hotels are the five star ones.

Budget hotels can be quite comfortable, although some of them are still done up to the Soviet standard; the hotel itself may not have Western- style renovation and the services and the hotel's general style may leave you disappointed, if you are used to travelling in other European countries – however, it is an experience!

In Soviet times there were many very strange rules in such hotels, which would have ruined your entire trip. As noted above, authorities watched foreigners at all times. This means that not only would they know when and where you were travelling, but also who you met and who visited you. You had to leave the keys, when you went for a walk or meeting, and ask for them when you came back. There was very little privacy during these times. There was usually a lady that sat on a chair in the hallway on every floor in the hotel, who kept track of all of the guests – even today some hotels retain this practice.

Bed and Breakfasts or Mini-Hotels are, as mentioned above, relative new-comers on the Russian accommodation scene, but they have already gained a good reputation for their quality, warm atmosphere, lower prices and personal service. All these hotels are owned by individuals and not by the State, which in previous times was completely impossible and against the law. Nowadays in Russia there is a lot of privately-owned real estate. These changes have allowed the opening of a large number of Mini Hotels.

Most of the Mini Hotels are very good and offer high quality services. Some of the Mini Hotels in St. Petersburg are Western owned and managed. They are located in old, but beautifully renovated buildings in the centre. Usually Mini Hotels have one or two floors, an entrance from the building's main stairwell and are very pleasant and comfortable. A good example of a comfortable Mini Hotel is the Silver Age Hotel on Vosstaniya Street.

Sometimes youth hostels are a good choice. There are still not many in Russia, but they are growing every year. So if you are a student or are really looking to save some money, you can book with one of those places.  The Apricot Hostel is one of the hostels run by The St Petersburg Traveller agency.

Apartment Rental has become a popular choice for those spending more than a few days in St Petersburg.  As well as being more economical, (especially if there are several of you), this is a good chance to live life more like the locals, rather than cloistered away in a hotel

Travellers to Russia, who want the privacy and security that come with an apartment, have the option of short-term rental of vacation apartments. These are often fully renovated to a western standard and are centrally located, allowing the visitor easy access to all of the major cultural attractions of the city. The St Petersburg Traveller agency has several centrally located, fully furnished, self catering apartments for visitors who prefer their independence. 
Now you see that the choice is not so easy, so don't hesitate to ask me!

Best regards,

Ann