A quick note about the title:
Imagine, for a moment, that you live in a developing country. In that case, you might have more important things to spend money on than, say, staying at a hotel that's comparable to a Marriott or a Hilton -- or even a Hampton Inn (there's another review that tries to compare the Intourist-Krasnodar with these hotel chains). After all, Marriotts and Hiltons are high-end -- usually around $100+/night for a single -- and are in cities with a large flow of business travelers on expense accounts. Even a Hampton Inn -- say, $60+/night for a single -- is either well outside of town, or is $100+ if it's in the center of town (within easy walking distance of all sorts of places).
Now say you had the opportunity to have a hotel, in a foreign country, where virtually no one really speaks your language (English, in my case), in a smaller town that's not really heavily frequented by out-of-towners, and this hotel happens to be really, really close to the center of town -- oh, and the room? Yeah, it's about $50/night. And it's a double -- not a single.
Tell me: will your expectations be the same? For that price, with that location, mine weren't -- and I was pleasantly surprised by the result. Then again, I like to camp, so I'm not exactly the "I need a super-premium Marriott/Hilton/whatnot" type of person. You get to decide what sort of traveler you are.
Now, with expectations managed ...
The Intourist-Krasnodar is, frankly, a very good deal for what you get. The front desk staff are Russian, and, as such, they're not used to smiling, or being very talkative. However, if you smile, and you say "Pahjaoulsta" and "Spasiboh" and "Zdrasvuitsie" and "Do svidanya," well ... personally, I then found them to react in kind. Now, I'm from the southern part of America, so I tend to do this stuff pretty much automatically; a compatriot from St. Louis wasn't quite so outgoing, or quite so optimistic and friendly, and didn't seem to have a great experience with the front desk staff. I think that's why they'd ask me for help in explaining things to my fellow Americans ...
If you're friendly, and open, the Intourist-Krasnodar folks respond accordingly, and can be very warm and inviting. People are kinda like that: treat them well, realize you're a guest in their country, don't judge, and you'll do great.
The rooms are small compared to what we're used to (did I mention it's $50/night for a city-center double?). The beds are *very* small compared to what we're used to -- and a "double" means "two single beds." The bathrooms are small, and **not at all** handicap friendly (remember: it's Soviet-era). The rooms are well-used, but perfectly functional.
The breakfast was ... ok. Personally, if you have any ability in Russian, I'd opt not to include breakfast and, instead, find someplace with good blini (the ones at Grand Pizza, down the street toward the parks and government buildings, seemed good). For RUR260, breakfast was a bit of a disappointment.
WiFi Internet is available in the lobby (no plugs, alas), and, according to the staff, also on the 2nd floor. Another reviewer said it was available on the 6th/7th floor, as well; I don't know. For Internet access, you have to purchase a card that provides you with a certain # of megabytes of upload/download. Not a bad price, but not free. I know there are a few other hotspots in town; I didn't try them, so I can't speak to them.
Try to find another place to exchange money; as you'd expect, you pay for the convenience of having an exchange booth in the hotel (there's a Sberbank directly across the street; use the north entrance, not the middle one). That said, it *is* convenient, especially if it's a late night. The Intourist exchange does *not* take traveler's checks (that's Sberbank again -- don't wait in line, show the guard the traveler's checks and go to one of the windows on the right inside the main area). They can also be finicky about US $50 bills, since the new ones came out. Make sure you have new ones.
Coffee at the lobby bar is perfectly decent (I usually had a cappucino). Coffee in the breakfast restaurant is atrocious (making love in a canoe). Get the tea instead (Russians are known for their tea).
The bathrooms are, frankly, something of a safety hazard (at least, mine was). The bath is significantly elevated above the floor, and "non-slip" anything is unheard-of. They may be able to accomodate the out-of-shape; I don't know. I'd ask before reserving.
Elsewhere on here, someone said that, to reserve a room, you have to fax a reservation or have someone make a deposit for you. Note that the fax simply has to say, "I'm coming from date to date" -- you don't need to provide a deposit. So, frankly, it's not that bad, or that hard.
In the back of the hotel, on the higher floors, you get a great view of the Caucasus mountains. Definitely worth the price of admission, just to see that in the mornings.
Laundry service is efficient and reasonably priced. So are the phones, though the sound quality is not that great.
Decent refrigerator. Be aware that there's only one outlet in the room, and so you can have any two items plugged in at once. With a refrigerator, TV, and lamp already in the room, there's already competition for the outlet. Plan accordingly.
Oh -- and US power strips are rated for 110v and will pop if used in a Russian outlet (which I discovered). So ... even if your laptop, etc. can take the 220v just fine, your strip may not.
Someone mentioned prostitutes. There are a few there, but they tend to stay at the 4th floor bar. You'll occasionally see these ladies going up and down the elevators, but it's not *that* common.
Overall, given what you get, and the location, and if you're not looking for the penultimate in luxury, it's well worth the price. I'd definitely go back.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
