right in the heart of minsk, this hotel overlooks the river and is in close proximity to most restaurants and bars. there is a lot to do around this hotel in the evening after a hard day at work! hotel has a casino and also good restaurant. language is a barrier here because not many people in belarus speak english and that includes the hotel staff. so the only ones that can probably help you out with an answer to your question is the reception staff.

I booked this Hotel before reading some of the reviews. After reading them I was a little worried about my stay. Suprisingly it wasn't that bad. The staff were OK, The gentlemen serving in the bars were extremely friendly. Wether this was because we were 2 young girls i'm unsure. First impression walking into the reception it seemt nice. We stayed right on the top floor had no air-con it was horrific for the heat (there was a heat wave whislt we were there) but if your staying in summer you MUST purchase a room with aircon. The rooms were so basic and old, so was the bathroom with an unpleasent smell coming from the drains from time to time. It wasn't worth the money we paid but then it was still the cheapest accomodation in Minsk. Lots of different internations staying, mainly for business.
Theres some kind of strip bar in the hotel? The girls are wandering in the hotel reception at night wearing cowboy hats. This was never a problem for us. Its normal there. Breakfast was good, plenty to choose from.
All in all I was suprised about Minsk, The people were friendly, helpful, some fantastic places to eat at reasonable prices. If you can handle the lowest form of basic then this hotel is OK.

My first visit to Belarus. My general impression was it is a fabulous place full of genuine, hospitable people - apart from this hotel that is. To sum up the hotel, it is a rat hole full of unhelpful, obstructive, ignorant, aggressive (yes aggressive !!) people. I only met one member of staff that deserved any recognition - the rest, without exclusion, have each one of these "qualities".

The one particular experience that sums up what this hotel is all about is an argument I had with the bar keeper. I was threatened by this "person" - yes, he threatened to hit me if I did not clear a $20 bill immediately. I wasn't particularly phased, seeing as I am a 1.88 metre, 17 stone ex-rugby player but do you expect this to happen in a hotel ?

How about the nightly phone call to my and indeed my colleagues room - a lady on the other end of the phone with a simple question : "Sex, massage ?". How about the flea bites I have all over me which I can only assume I got from the bed. How about the receptionist whose favourite word is "NO". How about the shower which when I occupied the room, had in it hairs probably from multiple previous occupants and a hairy bar of soap ?

I can go on.

A big piece of advice to anybody that has to travel to Minsk - remember this hotel name. DO NOT GO THERE. In scoring this hotel, there is not a category low enough so to quantify my assessment :

- Hotel Yubileiny advertised star rating : 3 Star
- My awarded star rating : Minus 7 Stars

And it wasn't cheap.

Not an experience I want to repeat. There is a Crowne Plaza in downtown Minsk. If anybody reads this, don't look any further - go there.

Hotel Yubileny has a good location close to the city centre. Rooms are clean nice. Nice staff. The restaurant used 80 minutes to prepare our diner. The food was ok.