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Break Out the Vodka: Shangri-La Expands Into Russia
Talk about mixing cultures. The Shangri-La Hotels group has just signed a deal to create its first-ever Russian property, a 400-room hotel in Moscow. And with the deal involving an agreement with the China Huaming International Investment Corporation, there's a real Chinese theme going on with it.
The hotel — whose official name seems to have not been released yet — will be on the top floors of the Park Huaming Business Centre in the north-east corner of Moscow, about six miles from central Red Square (shown). Many of the rooms will have views over the Chinese-landscaped gardens in the complex; and as for dining, guests will be able to choose between a Russian and a Chinese restaurant (We're thinking Chinese for the food and Russian for the drinks?)
Expected opening date is not until 2012 so we'll get some more details before then, but we imagine that even keeping it out of the super-expensive central area of Moscow won't make it any cheaper. Fancy hotels in Moscow are simply expensive, no matter what — and this one surely won't be any different. But at least it will have free WiFi.
[Photo of Red Square: gmetrail]
Tags: Budget Hotels / Holiday Inn Hotels / Moscow Hotels / InterContinental Hotels / Hotel Hype / → All Tags
What the World Needs Now is a Giant Budget Hotel
Hot on the heels of Hilton announcing the launch of its new luxury lifestyle brand — at a rather unfortunate time for luxury hotels, incidentally — Intercontinental Hotels Group has announced plans to build the world's largest Holiday Inn in Russia.
IHG inked a deal with Crocus Group to develop the massive Holiday Inn with 1K rooms in Moscow, which comes as welcome news at a time where many folks feel that what the world really needs now are budget hotels (sweet budget hotels) and not so many luxury properties.
According to the press release:
Under the historic 20 year management contract, construction is scheduled to start on the 1,000 bedroom hotel in 2011 with the hotel set to open in 2014. It will be located in Crocus City in the rapidly developing Krasnogorsk area of Moscow.
It's difficult to believe anyone has their sights set on opening up a hotel with such a staggering volume of rooms in this economic climate, but we're hoping things will be better by 2014 — and we're thinkin' budget hotels have a much better shot than luxury ones.
Tags: Moscow Hotels / Hilton Hotels / NYT Reviews / → All Tags
Hilton Moscow Can't Do Omelets But Price Is Right
Moscow is certainly not known as a good value town these days, so when the New York Times stayed at theHilton Moscow Leningradskaya in a queen room for $325 a night, we sat up and took notice.
Hilton's first Russian hotel opened in mid-2008 after they refurbished the Hotel Leningradskaya; more grandly, the PR describes the building as "one of the historic Seven Sisters skyscrapers." And it's true that the exterior of this place looks kind of palatial.
Inside, according to the NYT, it's not exactly fitted out for royalty but it's satisfyingly good with lots of "soothing wood" in the décor. The service was a bit varied and the reviewer was especially unhappy with the omelets he ordered for a room service breakfast, but we figure if an oddly-made omelet features as one of his biggest complaints, the whole experience can't have been too bad.
One of the reasons the Moscow Hilton isn't as exorbitantly priced as some of the city's other haunts is probably its distance from the city, so don't expect to be reaching the Kremlin on foot from here. Nearby: A "rough" crowd and three train stations. Negotiate these at your peril.
[Photo: NY Times]
Tags: Russia Hotels / Moscow Hotels / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
Not-So-Shocking News :: The Ritz-Carlton Moscow Has an Expensive Wine List
We've grown accustomed to the Ritz-Carlton Moscow having extraordinarily expensive rooms, food, drinks, and basically everything. But they seem to have a knack for finding even more pricey stuff to make us feel jealous of.
This time it's one of the most exclusive champagnes you'll ever find. Two hundred bottles of 1907 champagne was recovered from a 1916 shipwreck and these bottles are now on the wine list at Moscow's Ritz-Carlton.
Naturally the price reflects their rarity ... you'll find 700,000 rubles (just over US$27,000) added to your bill if you drink this stuff. We're wondering if it even tastes any good after being buried at sea for most of a century.
[Photo: Eole]
Tags: Mandarin Oriental Hotels / Hotel Hype / Moscow Hotels / → All Tags
Mandarin Oriental's Moscow Location Will Open in 2011
The luxe hotel scene of Moscow just got luxier. The Mandarin Oriental Hotels group have announced their Moscow property, set for Tverskaya Street which is close to the Red Square. From the official press release:
The hotel will be housed in the redevelopment of a historic building that was originally constructed in the early 19th Century as a private manor house.
Over the course of the century, the original building was extended to house additional apartments and galleries, and in 1911 it was converted to a luxury hotel.
During the intervening period, the premises has lost much of its decorative beauty and the restoration of the period architecture will be an integral part of the building's transformation into a hotel featuring Mandarin Oriental's "21st century luxury with oriental charm".
The hotel promises 237 guest rooms and 66 suites, which will be some of the largest hotel rooms in the city. A spa, indoor swimming pool, several restaurants and bars, along with two ballrooms will round out the hotel services.
And of course, you know how Russians love their luxury retail. The Mandarin Orienal Moscow will have 6,000-sq-ft of retail space inside as well. The opening is set for 2011. Hopefully, we'll have earned enough money by then to afford one night there.
Tags: Moscow Hotels / Raffles Hotels / → All Tags
There's Still Room For More Pricey Hotels in Moscow
Moscow is ever faster becoming home to a whole host of really expensive hotels. And apparently there's no limit to demand because there's going to be a Raffles Hotel Moscow opening up by about 2011.
Like all those other pricey, luxury hotels in Moscow, it's within spitting distance of Red Square and is going for the real high end of the market--room rates will go from $800 a night to, well, a heck of a lot. With just 130 rooms in a heritage building, it sounds like they're also trying to get mileage from the fact that there's a Russian Orthodox Church in the same complex which Napoleon Bonaparte used to stay in.
We're still a bit unsure about the whole luxury in Moscow thing--isn't it more interesting to hark back to the lining-up-for-bread days of the socialist era? Perhaps we're missing something.
[Photo: gmetrail]
Tags: Hotel Openings / Hilton Hotels / Moscow Hotels / → All Tags
Swim in a Bomb Shelter at the Moscow Hilton
The Moscow Times reports that the Hotel Leningradskaya, an architectural vestige from the Stalin era, complete with baroque pillars, a six-story chandelier, and a pair of German-made lions in the lobby, has just reopened as a Hilton hotel.
Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov missed the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the second time, but the hotel officially opened after several years of renovations, according to the paper.
The hotel's website, on the other hand, says the hotel will be "open for business soon - Reservations can be made for arrival as of 1st August." Inquiring minds want to know!
Tags: Cubicle Dreamin' / Moscow Hotels / Eurovision / → All Tags
Cubicle Dreamin': Getting Ready for Eurovision 2009 in Moscow
Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.
In this episode, Hotel Maven Amanda K gets ready for Eurovision 2009. Enjoy.
After learning this week that the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Moscow, thanks to Russian heartthrob Dima taking the 2008 title in Belgrade, I am dreaming of being there for the crazy acts and occasional talented singer. Dismissing the Ritz-Carlton Moscow as having rooms that are too expensive even for daydreaming, I'm keen to try the National Hotel from the Le Royal Meridien group.
The National is in a really central spot, and is pretty historic, as it was built back in 1903. It's seen some interesting times: it was damaged by cannon fire during the revolution, used by Lenin and friends when they moved from St Petersburg to Moscow, and during the second World War even Winston Churchill stayed there once.
A studio room with a Kremlin view is fancy enough for me (they get a lot fancier, and more expensive), which costs 21,900 roubles (about US$920) a night. Buffet breakfast is included and if you get to the breakfast room at the right moment you can get a table at the window with a view towards Red Square. Since every other time I've stayed in Moscow, it's been in a run-down flat at least a few train stops from the city center, this would make a really good change.
[Photo: usflyer]
Tags: Russia Hotel Guide / Super Secret Hotel Mavens / Russian Hotels for Ballers / Moscow Hotels / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / → All Tags
Russian Hotels for Ballers: Spying on The Ritz-Carlton Moscow
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. Our last hotel in the series: Ritz-Carlton Moscow. Enjoy.
After a little sleepy time in Moscow, I woke up at the Ararat Park Hyatt and pulled the blinds open. Snow was falling on Red Square, and it looked pretty, and pretty cold as well.
Though I was fearful that my day which began quite pleasantly would be tarnished by the blistery cold weather, I decided to brave the streets. When else would I be in Moscow again after all?
Tags: Paris Hilton / Hotel Blacklists / Moscow Hotels / Hyatt Hotels / Celebrity Scoop / Hotel News / → All Tags
Paris Hilton Gets Blacklisted from Moscow's Park Hyatt Hotel
It seems automatically defacing the wallpaper in a luxury suite will get you put on a hotel's dreaded blacklist.
That's what happened to wonky-eyed socialite Paris Hilton when she stayed at the Ararat Park Hyatt in Moscow. The Telegraph UK reports:
A spokesman for the Moscow Hyatt Hotel confirmed the star had been blacklisted and fined £4,500 for allegedly defacing their £8,000-a-night presidential suite.
She posed next to the offending graffiti - which reads "Paris Moscow 2008" - for a photoshoot in which she dressed in a skimpy dress, black boots and leopard-print knickers.
The spokesperson also confirmed that tagging the hotel's suite walls automatically put Paris on their blacklist. Now, if only America as a whole could put Paris on their blacklist.
Wanna see what the Park Hyatt is like without Paris in it? Read our Russian Hotels for Ballers series.
Tags: Moscow Hotels / International WiFi / Russia Hotel Guide / Russian Hotels for Ballers / → All Tags
Russian Hotels for Ballers: Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow
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: Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow. Enjoy.
St. Petersburg is cute and all, but it's a bit of a sleepy town. I found myself feeling a bit lost and isolated after three days there. I was very much ready to move on to the next phase of my trip, the capital city of Moscow.
After the most institutional airport check-in of my entire life, I was whisked on the one hour flight to Moscow aboard Russia's national airline, Aeroflot. Note about Aeroflot: most comfortable coach seats I have yet to experience.
I arrived in Moscow, and rode the 2 hour ride in traffic to the center of the city, and was dropped off in front of my new home, the Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow.
Tags: Moscow Hotels / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
Ritzy Ritz-Carlton Moscow Occasionally Has Slighter Cheaper Rooms
The decadent Ritz-Carlton Moscow is one of those hotels we'd go to if we found out we only had 24 hours to live. Way too expensive for the normal reality of life--average room rates are well over $1,000 and look, they have musicians playing in the lobby--but an experience we'd love to have.
This week Intelligent Travel got in depth at the Ritz-Carlton Moscow through an interview with its general manager, Oliver Eller. Apart from mentioning the vodka sommelier and the 400 (yes, four hundred) varieties of vodka available at the hotel, we also learned that the Jeroboam restaurant scored top place in Time Out Moscow's ranking of restaurants for 2007.
And Eller also gave a tip on special periods when rates will be cheaper this year, and they include May 1-10 and August 1-20. By checking directly through the Ritz-Carlton website, we found some rooms for as "little" as US$770 during those periods. That's a bargain, really, especially if you get a few shots of the 400 vodka varieties thrown in.
[Photo: KiaOra1]
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