This hotel may not be for everyone, but it does have some definite advantages if you are visiting St. Petersburg. It is centrally located, but is rather basic. I almost feels more like a simple bed and breakfast than a hotel.

First of all it has a great location. The address is Kazanskaya, 5, which is a block and a half off the central street of Nevsky Prospekt. The dramatic Kazan cathedral is a block away; and it's a 10 to 15 minute walk to the Winter Palace/Hermitage, as well as, in another direction, to the Church of the Spilled Blood. There are numerous restaurants within a block or two radius.

The rate includes a breakfast buffet, which is a nice presentation of the usual Russian breakfast of smoked ham, sliced cheeses, hard boiled eggs, pastry, cereal and granola, yogurt, juice and coffee/tea. The breakfast room was cheery with small tables and tall windows that opened to a small balcony.

The desk staff speak pretty good English, and do their best to be helpful.

Now for the downside. This place has absolutely no curb appeal! Ouside of a small sign, you would think you were trying to enter an industrial building. You press a button on a large black door to be admitted, then must climb 3 (count 'em THREE) sets of cement stairs to the actual hotel on the third floor. There is no elevator, but the staff will try to help you with your luggage, if needed. Once you check in in the very small lobby, you may have to then descend one more set of internal stairs to your room. There are also rooms on the lobby level.

The rooms are clean, but very basic with bare wooden floors and minimal furniture. All my room had was the bed, nightstands, a small straight back chair, and a wardrobe for clothing. Some of the other rooms I saw did have either a desk or occasional table. The bathrooms are small, and the corner showers are tiny. Towels felt like they had been washed in harsh detergent and line dryed. They were thin and rough. And there was no hand or body soup, or shampoo or hairdryers.

Some of the rooms had air conditioners. If you anticipate being in St. Petersburg during warm weather I would highly recommend that you request one of those rooms, even if you're not a "fan" of air conditioning. The windows do not have screens, so if you leave them open in the evening, you will play host to mosquitos. I'd also suggest that you request a room that does not open on to the street as those few rooms can be quite noisy due to sounds bouncing off the multi-story buildings.

All this being said, I would stay here if I should find myself in St. Petersburg again. I found it charming in its simple way, and the location was superb.

Although we were put off at first by the four crummy (although shallow) flights of stairs we climbed to reach this hotel, it proved to be a wonderful pad for our week in St. Patersburg. Our double room was not huge but certainly ample, the bathroom was spotless, modern and well-designed, and the housekeeping services were fine. The manager, Boris, is a former guide who speaks near-perfect English and is highly knowledgable. Other English-speaking staff were excellent and eager to please. Breakfast is included and is generous and good quality, served in a quite charming room furnished with antiques. The hotel also offers free use of a lap-top (although the connection tends to be slow). FInally, the location is fabulous -- easy walking distance to the Hermitage, Russian mueum, opera and more.