Moscow: Hotel National (September 2010)

We stayed at the Hotel National off Red Square for four evenings in early September 2010. This hotel is a Starwood property, and was once a Le Meridien, but now is just considered to be part of their Luxury Collection. It is also part of the Leading Hotels of the World chain. We were under the impression that this was a 5-star hotel, but in reality, it was more of a 4-star hotel. We think that it may have been a more premier hotel before the Ritz-Carlton opened just around the corner. (To us, the location of a Ritz or Four Seasons property, and our hotel’s proximity to it, is a good indicator that our less-expensive hotel is in just the right location.) The service from the doormen and front desk staff was friendly, but the lobby and public spaces were not as opulent or luxurious or busy or interesting as the hotel we had just stayed at in St. Petersburg; there was only one bar and one restaurant and no shops.

There is a 24-hour currency exchange (although they were quite rude to us when we called on the telephone to ask a question, yelling into the phone that they didn’t speak English and hanging up on us!), and a concierge desk where they can arrange tours, entertainment, and airport transfers (we did not use the concierge). It seems that at one time, there was a newspaper stand/souvenir shop at the hotel, but the only reminder of it is on the engraving next to the button on the hotel elevators. The elevators were small, European-style; not more than 3 or 4 people could fit at a time, but there were two of them. Oddly, or maybe not, pushing the button for one of the elevators did not also activate the call button for the other (they were located on opposite sides of the lobby/hallway, which may account for the lack of communication between the two call buttons). They were not the smallest hotel elevators that we’ve ever seen, but they were by far from the largest.

We were upgraded (I think, based on the desk clerk telling us that he was “looking for a nice room”) to a studio, so we had a room with a sitting area and desk and TV, attached to another room with the bedroom, another TV, and large bathroom. The shower doors were glass, and it featured a full-size shower; however because of its design, it could not be used to actually take a bath. There was no door between the two rooms, but there was a velvet curtain that you could pull for privacy, and each room had its own TV. The room also had a luggage room. The floors in the hotel are numbered oddly, and even though we were on the sixth floor, our room was numbered in the 400s. From the hallway, it appeared that there were two doors into our room: 402 and 404, but 402 was a false door and didn’t really lead anywhere. I think that the rooms may have been much smaller before their last refurbishment, with the luggage room having been another bathroom in its past life. When I looked at the emergency exit map in our room, it indicated that our room was one of the smaller ones, but I felt that the two-room setup was quite spacious. Our room faced the interior (exposed) courtyard rather than having views of Red Square (those rooms seemed a lot larger according to the exit map). Supposedly, our room had air-conditioning, but we were never able to get it below 78 degrees. Had we been able to open the windows, it would have cooled down immediately, but the windows cannot be opened. Or rather, it looks like they can be opened, but only with a special key that isn’t provided in the room. I’m sure it’s a security feature. There is twice daily maid service, including an evening turndown, but only one measly square of pre-packaged chocolate is provided for a total of two guests. Internet access was included with our room rate (service was fast), but breakfast was not.

We didn’t see the swimming pool or fitness center, but the lobby bar was spacious, with both smoking and non-smoking areas, as well as an outdoor seating area. My spouse had read in some hotel review that the Alexandrovsky Bar was frequented by “working girls”, and we were curious to see them in action, but there was never any evidence of them (must have been an old review, or they’ve moved to the Ritz). Although we did not eat in it, the Moskovsky Restaurant had great views over Red Square. In looking at some of the menu selections online, I thought that the prices were outrageous; it was easy and less expensive to eat outside of the hotel.

Just around the corner from the hotel on Tverskaya is a Mexican restaurant called La Cantina, with both indoor and outdoor seating. It was pouring down rain on the night that we were there, but we were still able to eat outside under their canopy, and smoking was allowed. We spend about $50 on dinner for two, including entrees and some drinks. On another evening, we ate dinner at Gusto, an Italian restaurant on a pedestrian-only street called Kuznetskiy Most that is not far from the Hotel National. Their website is www dot gusto dash moscow dot ru; however, it is only in Russian. We were able to use a credit card there, and the prices were reasonable and the portions large (about $50 total for two bowls of pasta and some drinks). Gusto has both indoor seating and two areas for outdoor seating: one inside a tent with sides and one underneath umbrellas but otherwise exposed to the elements. The tented area has heaters, and there are also plaid wool blankets available to keep you warm. We also ate dinner at the Posh Cafe, which was located on the pedestrian-only street Kuznetskiy Most near Gusto, where we dined the evening before. We had a selection of Japanese food, including sushi and some hot entrees like dumplings, tempura, and noodles. Our total bill was approximately $50, and we were able to pay with a credit card. Posh has both indoor seating and outdoor seated in a tented area with sides. There are blankets available to keep you warm, but I don’t recall seeing heaters; however, the weather was lovely and we didn’t really need them. We stopped for a late lunch at Doolin House (the website is www dot doolin-house dot ru, but it is only in Russian).

There is a grocery store on Tverskaya Street, on the opposite side of the street from the Hotel National and the Ritz. It is a small store, with long lines, narrow aisles, and crowds, but we were able to buy drinks for our room, which was all we wanted. They accepted credit cards at that store, but we chose to use cash. It is necessary to use the underground passageways to cross Tverskaya. There is one at the corner, directly in front of the corner of the hotel. Later on in the week, we discovered a much larger and more well-outfitted grocery store by turning right outside the front of the hotel and then using the underground walkway to cross Mokhovaya Street towards the Armory/Kremlin. The grocery is in the underground walkway. Again, we used cash in that store, so I’m not sure whether they accepted credit cards.

We might stay at the Hotel National again for the right price, but we would also check out the competition. When you are booking, be sure to check out the prepaid rates (non-cancellable). For us, booking such a rate saved me about $600 total (so the room rate dropped from about $400 per night to $250 per night). We basically gave up the breakfast that was included with the regular rate in order to get the discount. The location of the National really can’t be beat, and as long as you’re expecting a 4-star hotel and not a 5-star, you won’t be disappointed.