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A Sneak Peek at the New InterContinental Moscow Hotel

Where: Tverskaya Ulitsa 22, Moscow, Russian Federation, 125009

It's almost like Christmas came very early for us at HotelChatter because a very generous tipster sent us these sneak peeks of the InterContinental Moscow which will officially open on December 5, although it has been accepting guests for the past month.

Our tipster did let us know he was "invited" to spend some nights in the hotel but we think his "review" is still pretty objective. He writes:

Hotel has very central location (main shopping street, 10 min from Red Square). Design is very modern with classic Russian elements. Standard rooms are not very spacious but comfortable with fantastic bed and mirror TV in bathroom. Restaurant food are quality prepared but not outstanding (may be they will improve it later). From my point a view (I live in Moscow) Intercontinental is the best place to stay in Russian capital now...maybe situation will change after Hyatt renovation completion in summer 2012.

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Fairmont Hotels / Moscow Hotels / Hotel News / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags

Fairmont to Take Over the Pekin Hotel in Moscow...Sometime in 2017

Another day, another glamorous new hotel to fantasize about visiting. This time it's in Moscow where the city's iconic Pekin Hotel will be rebranded as the Fairmont Pekin Moscow after an extensive multi-year renovation.

The hotel was initially built in 1955 by Dimity Chechulin, one of the Soviet Union's most famous architects and it sits at the junction of the Garden Ring and Triumfalnaya Square.

Chechulin also designed the Moscow's White House, one of the Seven Sisters buildings and four Metro Stations. Therefore, the hotel's historic façade and internal spaces will be restored and repeated in other parts of the building. Also, the Chinese motifs found in the hotel will be highlighted to "to emphasize the period design of the property" but also perhaps to please the growing Chinese hotel guest population?

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Moscow Hotels / Hotel Openings / Russian Hotels / Best Western Hotels / Hotel Names / → All Tags

For The Biggest Best Western, Head East

Where: 71, Bldg. 3V Izmailovskoe Avenue, Moscow, Russian Federation, 105613

The "world's biggest hotel family" just got a little bigger. The Phoenix, Arizona-based mega franchise recently opened Best Western Vega Hotel & Convention Centre in Russia—the largest Best Western so far, out of 4,000 hotels worldwide in 95 countries.

Comprised of 970 rooms, the hotel was actually built for the 1980 summer olympics, but got remodeled in 2007. Certainly this will provide a welcome low-budget alternative to the extravagances of certain other Moscow hotels. But if we remember correctly, Holiday Inn was also planning to open their largest hotel in Moscow too. Oh, the indecision.

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Fashion Hotels / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Moscow Hotels / Karl Lagerfeld / → All Tags

Trust Karl Lagerfeld to Toast Nude Models at the Ritz-Carlton Moscow

Where: Tverskaya Street 3, Moscow, Russian Federation, 125009

Moscow in December wouldn't exactly be our first choice for a giant fashion party celebrating photographs of nude models, but then we aren't Karl Lagerfeld. The stiff-collared fashion designer held court at the Ritz-Carlton Moscow earlier this week while promoting one of his other talents: photography. Lagerfeld again shot the Pirelli Calendar, his 2011 edition of which features more nudes than ever, including actress Julianne Moore.

So why Moscow? Pirelli is an Italian tire company, the calendar's theme is Greek Mythology, and the stars of the photographs are of an international assortment. Hmm...perhaps it was all just a great excuse to wear the giant Yeti-like fur coats that Lagerfeld designed for Chanel's Fall/Winter 2010 collection? The temperature outside did hover slightly above 0 degrees Fahrenheit, after all.

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Celebrity Scoop / Angelina Jolie / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Moscow Hotels / → All Tags

Angelina Jolie Brings Her Sexy Spy Gear to the Ritz-Carlton Moscow

Where: Tverskaya Street 3, Moscow, Russian Federation, 1250009

It was a "salty" sort of day yesterday at the Ritz-Carlton Moscow when super world traveler Angelina Jolie swooped into promote her new spy movie, "Salt."

After posing for some media photo opps on the rooftop of the luxury hotel--which is actually where the hotel's sushi restaurant and spa are located--Jolie headed to Moscow's Oktyabr cinema for the official movie premiere. (BTW, have you seen the (appropriately) red Versace dress she wore? Stunning.)

Now we're not 100 percent certain, but we think Jolie spent the night at the Ritz as well. And if she did, then we're certain they put her up in the Ritz-Carlton Suite

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Shangri-La Hotels / Moscow Hotels / Hotel Openings / → All Tags

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]

Budget Hotels / Holiday Inns / 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.

Moscow Hotels / Hilton Hotels / NYT Reviews / → All Tags

Hilton Moscow Can't Do Omelets But Price Is Right

Where: 21/40 Kalanchevskaya, Moscow, Russian Federation, 107078

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]

Russia Hotels / Moscow Hotels / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags

Not-So-Shocking News :: The Ritz-Carlton Moscow Has an Expensive Wine List

Where: Tverskaya Street 3-5, Moscow, Russian Federation, 125009

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]

Mandarin Oriental Hotels / Hotel Hype / Moscow Hotels / → All Tags

Mandarin Oriental's Moscow Location Will Open in 2011

Where: Tverskaya Street, Moscow, Russian Federation

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.

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]

Hotel Openings / Hilton Hotels / Moscow Hotels / → All Tags

Swim in a Bomb Shelter at the Moscow Hilton

Where: Kalanchevskaya Street 21/40, Moscow, Russian Federation, 107245

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!

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