The only thing really important about this hotel is the location. It is within walking distance to main attractions of Vladivostok (embankment, Fokina arbat, Svetlanskaya Str.). The small supermarket across the street is handy, to the right of that is an ATM. Studio Cafe is also just down the street (indoor and outdoor cafe with an upstairs restaurant) and down the other way is the Fokina arbat area with shops and more cafe's.

The hotel restaurant has a very poor menu for dinner, and the cold buffet breakfast is extremely stark although nice to try at least once just to enjoy the decor (large chandeliers, very elegant old style). Room service is really laughable, even if you find something on the boring menu. No menu in the room or found on the internet of course, you have to order the menu first from the front desk. They won't cover your food on its way to your room so it will arrive cold (which might be the least of your worries actually). No rolling table either (not even a tray) so you get to eat everything on your dresser or bed on plates that are delivered - an individual delivery person will carry two plates. No room service past 10pm. No room service for breakfast, you have to go to the restaurant to eat. Breakfast buffet ends at 10 am.

This hotel suffers from poor management, or rather, it suffers from an antiquated concept of what hotel service should be. They charge high prices but their service and amentities are so far below comparable expectation that you will leave with a sense of having just been totally and utterly ripped off. The Deluxe suite is 10,000 rubles a night (about $400) and other than a flat screen TV the rooms are tired and worn out. The rooms could at least have new (or clean) carpet. The bed should be a proper bed, not a single mattress cot affair. Plastic curtains are a really bad choice, they have curled from age and don't cover the windows completely anymore. Our bedroom had a brightly lit sign right outside our window so our room was bathed in light all night long. Nice new "plastic" style windows though - you can't hear the traffic outside at all. They turn off the air conditioning in September which is strange since it can remain quite hot in Vladivostok through October. Plan to sweat it out during the day if you are here during a time like this.

The room and laundry maids are great - they are very accomodating and helpful. If it wasn't for their sense of service the place would be a dead loss. The management won't care about any of your needs to be sure.

The bathroom was pretty nice - new marble tile and modern fixtures and bidet. Shower is hot and strong. Plenty of towels. Hair drier is supplied. No ironing board will be provided, everything has to go through the hotel laundry. (Don't plug in your own - definitely risky wiring).

If you are staying with an infant the Deluxe suite is nice in that you can put the crib in the closet room so you can enjoy some privacy while the baby sleeps (the hotel supplies ithe crib at no charge, but it was manufactured in 1969 and part of it is held together with tape) . The maid will bring you a separate heater for the baby's room if you ask - again, the maids are great. Tip them well.

They require you to pay for your entire stay up front. So if you want to make other arrangments after discovering what a bad choice this was, you can't!

They have renovated the lobby recently and it does look nicer than it did when I was here a few years ago. But not much difference really. The lobby really is nice though, I loved it. Too bad the rooms just don't compare. The money exchange office that was here a few years ago is gone. You have to use the bank or ATM across the street. No porter for your luggage and the elevators are very small so that is a bit of a fiasco.

With proper managment and a little updating of the rooms this could be the best hotel in Vladivostok. Certainly more charm and style than Hyundai (except for their excellent Pacific Sky Bar) and superior location. But until they are ready to invest what is necessary to keep commanding the prices they charge, this place will only cater to people who stay here once because they did not check the reputation of the hotel before arrival. There couldn't have been more than five people staying here the week I was here in October.

I want this place to be the best, it really deserves to be. But it will likely get worse before it gets better.