Novotel Moscow Sheremetyevo is the best choice at the SVO airport. But, that’s not saying much. By world standards it is an over-priced dump with some of the most unfriendly staff you’ll come across.

Location & Transport. Around 5 minutes drive from SVO-2 (international) and 15 minutes from SVO-1 (domestic). The shuttle bus to SVO-2 runs every 15 minutes but the bus is far too small to accommodate the crowds. People jump all over each other to try and get a seat on the bus – with no consideration for who arrived first. If you have bags you will have a major problem because by the time you put your bag in the back there will be no seats left. The shuttle bus to SVO-1 runs every hour (on the hour) but by request only. If you arrive SVO, you need to find the desk opposite the main entrance which has a tiny little Novotel sign on it. There you need to ask the lovely lady (sarcasm on) who speaks no English to order the bus for you. Going back to the airport, ask at reception.

Staff. Like most Russian hotels the staff are grim and surly with no sense of customer service. It was only when the check-in staff found out I was from Australia she lightened up a bit talking about kangaroos.

Rooms. Small and quite uncomfortable in a nutshell. Refer the attached photos. TV choice is non-existent. Bathroom is small, ugly – but functional. Views across to the airport, but no plane noise.

Food. Terrible! I am perplexed by the comments below praising the buffet breakfast. When we arrived at 8am it was a sorry state of affairs with nothing at all palatable. Dinner at the Tex-Mex restaurant was a disaster – neither me or my traveling companion touched the food, and cheap it was not.

Prison Reviews. There are a number of reviews below from people saying they were marched into the hotel, put on a guarded floor, and not allowed to leave their rooms. These people either have a really bad travel agent or have simply not done their homework on a Moscow transit. If you are transiting Russia and need to stay over night (either planned or if you miss your flight) – then you must have a valid Russian visa. If you do NOT have a visa you can still stay the night, but you are not allowed to leave your room. So, if you have a valid Russian visa – you can safely ignore these reviews of people being held prisoner in their hotel.

Lobby. Large lobby with a few shops and seating areas. Very Soviet design. Filled with Aeroflot airline crew who even have their own permanent section of the lobby restaurant.

Conclusion. If you must stay at Sheremetyevo Airport then the Novotel is the way to go. We checked out the other airport hotel (Hotel Comples Sheremetyevo 2) and it was a thousand times worse than the Novotel.

The horror stories in some of the reviews of this hotel which refer to the "third floor" are surely referring to the entirely separate Sheremetevo transit hotel which is listed on Trip Advisor as Hotel Complex "Sheremetyevo-2". The disappointed travellers were both in transit, meaning they did not have a visa to enter Russia, and were thus "imprisoned" as they describe in the transit hotel, which is inside the airport perimeter. The Novotel is outside the perimeter, reasonably close (and within walking distance if you have wheeled bags), and by Moscow standards clean, well appointed and good value. It is some years since I stayed, but when I had to make a short-notice quick visit to Moscow it was perfect - especially if the shuttle bus to downtown is running.

I've read some of the reviews online for this hotel, and I can't understand some of them, so I'll add my opinion.

I stayed at this hotel because two of us were traveling together to Moscow Domodedovo one afternoon and leaving at two different times from Sheremetyevo the next morning. Logistically we thought it would work out best this way, and that was probably true.

The front desk staff was courteous and efficient - no complaints there.

Room was fine, but cost was expensive. Decor is very European - not my personal taste, but it worked. The TV was a flat panel LCD, and a little on the small side, and with limited channels in English. There was a full size couch, and a swing out desk on wheels.

The bathroom was poorly laid out, though, with the toilet at one end without enough room for even an average sized person. I fit, but barely. Men will have difficulty standing at the toilet - there's not enough room, and you have to stand too close. I thought back on my previous life experiences, and the only other time I had a toilet without enough room was, coincidentally, a urinal in France, so maybe it's a French thing. Regardless, it's a very bad layout, and unusable for a large person.

Some people here have debated the airport noise. My room was on the 6th floor and faced the front of the terminal, and noise was not a problem. When I paid attention, I could hear planes, but the outer window is double paned, and there is an inner window as well, and the system did a good job of keeping the noise out.

For dinner we went to the Tex Mex restaurant downstairs. I know not to order Mexican food in Russia, but my colleague made the mistake of ordering fajitas and a margarita - 'nuff said. My mixed grill was good, though, but the food took a little too long to prepare.

Breakfast the next day was included in my room rate, and very substandard. Once again, I had read reviews online that raved about the breakfast, and I don't get it. This was mediocre at best, with limited cereal and fruit choices, and half of the items (at least that I tried) on the steam table were not warm.

The hotel has a shuttle to Sheremetyevo-2 every 15 minutes, but the van is too small for the crowd - I wasn't the only one with the wonderful idea to stay at the airport to save time in the morning! The van seated about 8 or 9 people, but there were easily 15-18 of us on this van - I had to squat in the back with the luggage. When you decide on a time to go to the airport to meet your flight, I suggest you leave 15 minutes earlier to avoid this mess.

If this had been a destination hotel, I would have had an entirely different attitude. When I decided that it was really just a transit hotel, though, my standards were lowered, and it wasn't too bad on that basis. As I am writing this review, the TripAdvisor popularity index for this property is #79 out of 108 - that's probably about right. The only reason you should consider this hotel is to avoid early morning rush hour to get to the airport. Otherwise, stay in town and get a nice room in a good hotel - either way it will cost too much money, though.

After reading some of the reviews of the Novotel, I was very apprehensive about staying in this hotel, but it was not as bad as the previous reviewer's review....

We stayed on the 8th floor where I suppose most of the superior rooms are.... Our room was very basic and sparsely furnished with a king size bed and a sofa bed that could accomodate one person. We were a family of four but there were only 2 towels in the bathroom and three uncomfortable pillows ... We called to ask for extra pillows and towels but after 45 minutes gave up as it was already 12:30AM by then and we wanted to go to sleep.

The service of the hotel is not the best as you could glean form our experience with the towels and pillow....and their shuttle drivers were the most unfriendly shuttle drivers we have ever encountered...they don't smile and they do not help you with your luggage. However the Check in service was okay.

Their main saving grace was the buffet breakfast which was included in our rate. It was a hot breakfast which included bacon, sausage, eggs made to order,scrambled eggs,croissants and many many more items....

If you had to stay in an airport hotel in Moscow...the Novotel is your best bet....but do not expect a lot or you will be disappointed...It is a basic hotel with basic amenities... It is probably closer to a Days Inn in the US but with a better lobby and better breakfast.