I think "boutique hotel" is a slight overstatement. Our two-room suite was a little dated in decor and frayed around the edges, although quite functional. We requested a baby crib, and had to support one of its broken legs with an ashtray. The A/C cooled down the sitting room, but not the bedroom - at night, we got some mosquito bites because there were no mosquito screens in the windows. Everything was clean, but I felt that the hotel had its prime time moment perhaps 5 years ago, and things had slipped a little since.

The breakfast (included in our room rate) was nice, if not very memorable. The hotel staff were extremely courteous, helpful and spoke English very well. They were very helpful in arranging taxis and always sensitive to our wishes. The hotel is situated near busy thoroughfares, but expect more than 1 km walk to city center (the route near the lake is definitely more pleasant than the westward route, completely clogged with cars).

I *could *stay there again, but would probably first try some other options - newer hotels are constantly being opened in Kaliningrad, and I'm sure some of them feel more "boutique" than this one.

The staff at the Dona were very helpful, particularly as we didn't speak Russian they were very patient with us and our neverending questions. The hotel is located 10/15 minute walk away from the main street (Leninsky (sp?)) and a further 15 minutes from the old cathedral; it's in a busy area but set back from the road so we didn't have any noise. It's a cheap taxi ride from the trainstation.

The decor of the hotel is a dated but well maintained. Our room was spaciousand included a sitting area, the bathroom had a shower only (no bath) but was spotless if a lated dated. Breakfast was had a good selection and eggs could be cooked to order. The star of the hotel is the Dolce Vita restaurant, it doesn't look much from the outside but the service and food were excellent.

I would recommend this hotel particularly because of the helpful staff.

I spent 4 nights here. This is a small, new hotel with friendly (by Russian standards) staff.

The halls and rooms have red carpets with Miro like designs. The beds are cozy doubles size with comfy matress. The rooms are quiet though the hotel is just around the corner from a busy square. The rooms are small, the bathroom average size with strong power shower. A blocked drain was quickly and efficiently fixed by staff. There's a minibar and the TV has CNN and a German channel--all the rest are Russian. Theoreticaly, there's Internet access. They give you a gadget that hooks up to a cable leading to your laptop and a few pages of instructions on re-setting your protocols. I couldn't get this to work though. Breakfast is good and included in the room price. The Dolce Vita restaurant attached to the hotel is excellent--very inventive Italian food.

The Amber Museum is across the road but the town center is about a 10 minute cab ride away. The airport is a 40 minute ride away (about 20 Euros) by taxi.

Don't leave Kaliningard without visiting the Curonian Spit and Svetlogorsk. I wasn't impressed by Baltiysk--you need a special permit to get in but can't visit the Russian fleet. I booked with Baltma Tours which were excellent.