Where to stay when you leave.
Russian Hotels for Ballers: The Grand Hotel Europe
4/15/2008 at 3:42 PM
Tags: Russia Hotel Guide, St. Petersburg Hotels, Orient-Express Hotels, Super Secret Hotel Mavens, Russian Hotels for Ballers
Our Super Secret Hotel Maven network extends far and wide and thanks to another SSHM, we have a mini-guide to Russia's luxe hotels--perfect for ballers, high-rollers and Russian mobsters. It's a mini-guide because it's really only a few hotels in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Up next: The Grand Hotel Europe. Enjoy.
Now on to my favorite hotel in St. Petersburg, Grand Hotel Europe. I actually didn't want to like this place, because well, it's an Orient Express property. And frankly, when I think of Orient Express, I think of Ben-Gay stank old ladies. The hotel is thankfully in a bustling part of St. Petersburg.
Before I made my way over to this area, known as Nevsky Prospekt, I thought that all of St. Petersburg was sitting at home, scared to come out... but no! People shop here! They go on walks! They go out to eat! Before I even saw the building itself, just seeing the neighborhood of this hotel had me at hello, but those hellos just kept coming.
I walked up to the building and my breath was taken away. Though the lady on the phone had apologized that they were under construction (to which I laughed and said, "who isn't?!"), the construction was invisible from the street.
The building was beautiful. Seriously. Beautiful. Maybe Eliseev used to be a palace, but Grand Hotel Europe looks more palacey to my serfly eyes.
Upon entering, an entrance made easy by not one, but two doormen with white gloves, my coat was immediately checked for me. My contact at the hotel guided me on a tour of the rooms first.
Our first stop was at the hotel's classic standard room. So... okay, barf. I don't care if they were recently renovated, there's just something I don't like about ornate pink and purple carpet in my bedroom. Barf! Barf! Barf! Even the antique furniture couldn't save it... Even the faux antique furniture like the piece at the foot of the bed that raises the tv up electronically couldn't save it! (And although that piece was sort of cool, it's also sort of TRASHY, no?).
I decided I couldn't bear any more carpet, so I demanded we skip anything else with carpet. Unfortunately, that left us with just one more room to see. We entered the hotel's Classic Suite, which was classic indeed.
A true one bedroom suite, with that famed Russian parquet flooring, it was really quite stunning. The walls are a lovely blue color. Original artwork (which is actually quite good and--old) adorns the walls. Beautiful antique furniture is throughout the room. It's seriously stunning. And for our favorite couples, there's that nice pair in the toilet too!
The lobby of GHE features not just a piano player, but also a harpist. The main dining room may not know what coke with ice is, but they do have opera singers, violinists, and I'm not kidding, an interpretive dancer performing sometimes. It's very intimate, private, and expensive. But worth it unlike the $70 tea at Asstoria.
Leaving my tour of GHE, I found myself wishing I could change residence for my last night in St. Petersburg, but I decided to just wait it out. After all, the next day, we would be leaving for Moscow....
Stay tuned for more Russian Hotels for Ballers this week!
[Photo: Marie-II]
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Russian Hotels for Ballers: St. Petersburg Continued
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