I really enjoyed the Northern Lights Hotel. By hotel standards it's a very small hotel with maybe 5-6 rooms, but that helped it feel more personal. The rooms are large and clean, the staff are helpful and friendly, and you must try the restaurant across the road, Teplo (currently #1 on Tripadvisor for SP restaurants). If you turn left when you exit the hotel and cross the road you'll also find ATMs inside some buildings, look for the Visa/MC signs.

On the down side, the bed in my room was hard, the stairs lifted my fitness level, and unless you know what you're looking for, there's not much to go by that you're at the right hotel. All of that aside, I'd stay there again. The price is right, the location is great (quiet area), some great nearby restaurants, and the sights of SP not far away (it was lovely walking past St Isaac's all the time!)

The bad part first: it's on the third floor of an elderly building, and there is no elevator. The stairwell (which the hotel does not own nor control) is unappealing and apparently in a continual state of being repaired. If you have mobility problems (hips, knees, etc.) you will not want to stay here.
Now the good part: this tiny gem of a hotel, all five rooms of it, tucked into one of the loveliest and most accessible parts of St. Petersburg, is staffed by some of the most helpful, competent, and just plain lovely people we have ever had the pleasure of staying with. The rooms are not luxurious but are spacious and bright, very comfortable, absolutely spotless, and brand spanking new. They look out into a courtyard, not a street, so they're blissfully quiet. The breakfast is not outstanding but it's decent and filling.
Security is excellent -- the entrance door to the building, down on the street, serves several businesses and is sometimes left open during business hours, but the door to the hotel itself, on the third floor, is secure, and nobody gets in without being buzzed in. There is someone manning the lobby desk 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and that someone invariably speaks perfect English.
I have few needs from a hotel: reliable Internet access, decent breakfast, high standards of cleanliness and maintenance, helpful and competent staff, reliable hot water, on-site laundry service, etc. I have stayed in luxury hotels and am fully aware of how the other half lives, and the fussy luxuries the $600 a night hotels have to offer are nice to have, but really they don't interest me very much. This superb little hotel does everything right at a highly attractive price, and I recommend it without hesitation.

We stayed six nights at Northern Lights Hotel and had two rooms: the Deluxe Suite w/Jacuzzi and a Economy Twin (with shared bathroom). We were impressed with the quality of the rooms. We were also greatly impressed by the the friendly, knowledgable, and helpful staff (excellent English). Thanks for your help and service. The hotel is situated excellent for both Mariinsky goers and for visitors to the great musea. Furthermore, excellent restaurants are in the vicinity. The price for the rooms is very reasonable considering the service, location and standards of the rooms. We will return to Northern Lights Hotel and we advise our friends to stay in this small but great hotel.

The title says it all. Big clean rooms, really helpful staff and located within a stones throw of St Isaac's. I do emphasise hidden though - there is no big sign out the front so dont expect it to jump out at you or the taxi driver. Look carefully for the plaque on the wall at the address - then go up the stairs and you still wont know its there until you walk inside basically. The staff will tell you, but the restaurant almost directly across the road called 'Teplo' was the best we went to in Russia!

Lucas