Petro Palace Hotel

“A Few Tips About Petro Palace Hotel”

Communication with Petro Palace was no problem. We requested and was sent an invitation letter for our visas in a few days. We booked directly with the hotel for five nights and received “breakfast.” You definitely want to have breakfast here. Much of the planning was done with Petro Palace exce… more

Communication with Petro Palace was no problem. We requested and was sent an invitation letter for our visas in a few days. We booked directly with the hotel for five nights and received “breakfast.” You definitely want to have breakfast here. Much of the planning was done with Petro Palace excellent “concierge” system. We even booked a hotel taxi to and from the airport with them. There is no direct metro that connects to the city center. Alexander, our hotel driver, is excellent weaving in and out of traffic. You do not want to drive in St. Petersburg. He was waiting for us when we left the baggage area. The American travel author, Rick Steves, recommends this hotel. It is friendly and extremely convenient to many of St. Petersburg attractions. The main avenue, Nevsky Prospekt, is just a short walk away. St. Isaac’s Cathedral is right around the corner and the famous Hermitage museum is not far. A metro station, the Admiralty, is just down the street. The concierge will tell you how to use their transportation system. The entrance to Petro Palace Hotel is unpretentious. It just blends into all the other buildings. As a reference point, we used the “Craft Brew Café” sign of “Beer Burgers and Hotdogs” which is just across the street. For the general area, we used St. Isaac’s Cathedral which is just around the corner. The opposite corner down the street is the spire of the Admiralty Building. Usually there is a friendly doorman. You enter into a reasonably large foyer area and restaurant. The friendly reception area and concierge is straight ahead. Reception will take your passports when you check-in for a few hours which is normal in Russia. Our room, #801, was on the 8th floor, the top floor. The window and the wall are slanted. If you were on that side of the bed, you really have to watch out hitting your head. After a few bumps, it was no problem navigating the room. There was TV with CNN and BBC as main English channels. There is a mini-fridge. It was no problem getting softer pillows for my wife. Then, too, a fan was brought up to us as the temperature of the AC is regulated to 20 Celsius. We like it a bit cooler. The sun in the afternoon made the room a tad warmer. The bathroom area is excellent. Very large with plenty of space for all your toiletries. The shower/tub is fine also. Nice water pressure too. Two bottles of water are provided by Petro Palace Hotel daily. You really don't want to drink the tap waters as the pipes maybe old, and there is possible lead contamination. If any negative comments can be made is the “gloominess” of the hallways. There are over 180 rooms in Petro Palace and eight floors. The browns and tans make a stark contrast. There are sitting areas on each floor by the elevators. Sometimes you get quick service, and other times you have to wait. On the ground floor there are two elevators. Most new commers go to the first elevator they see. There is the second elevator around the corner which the bellhop goes to. The speed of the elevators is doable. Breakfast is a highlight. One of the few hotels on our six-week sojourn that actually had a dedicated chef to cook eggs to order. The young chefs makes excellent omelets. The entire breakfast staff does an excellent job. After you finish a plate a staff member quickly takes it away with a smile. There are many items to choose from. We always looked forwards to breakfast here. The large breakfast room is located on the second floor. Just follow the signs as you do walk a long distance through a maze to get to breakfast. There is good size indoor pool, hot tub and even a sauna. The only negative comment is the workout room. There is but one shinny barbell and an antiquated workout machine. The pool area is the highlight. We found the concierge service to be prompt and knowledgeable. It just took a while to get Alexandra to smile. Anastasia was helpful too. We went into the souvenir shop several times. Reading other reviews, it is a favorite for many with good prices. Our first full day we did use a personal guide, Dmitry, from a company called “Peters Walk” to show us the ropes. He met us in the lobby. Dmitry stated that many handicap people enjoy using the friendly services that Petro Palace Hotel provides. There are many restaurants and coffee shops in the area. We particularly became enamored with a restaurant “King Pong” that served superb Thai and Vietnamese food. Overall, even though Petro Palace has some quirks, it served our visit well experiencing the “Cultural Capital of Russia.” We highly recommend this hotel for a short or long stay. This hotel is extremely convenient, friendly and has indeed a superb breakfast. If you found this review “helpful” in any way, please press “LIKE” to let me know.

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“Magical”

This hotel was in a perfect location for a wonderful base to explore St Petersburg from. The hotel itself was very comfortable and the breakfast buffet was excellent - all the usual plus omelettes made to order. There is a little gift shop near reception, which proved to be quite reasonable in the … more

This hotel was in a perfect location for a wonderful base to explore St Petersburg from. The hotel itself was very comfortable and the breakfast buffet was excellent - all the usual plus omelettes made to order. There is a little gift shop near reception, which proved to be quite reasonable in the end. It is an easy walk to town and there are lots of attractions nearby. It is worth a walk to the Astoria Hotel as well for supper or a drink. The staff were very professional and helpful too and St Petersburg was simply magical in December!

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“Central location”

Ground floor/Entrance usually staff with a door man, small waiting lobby attached to a small bar/snack cafe. Reception desk, 2 lifts, small shop (well stocked) but with limited opening hours. Breakfast room on first floor (from reception). Didn't visit the gym/pool. Bedrooms clean and well stoc… more

Ground floor/Entrance usually staff with a door man, small waiting lobby attached to a small bar/snack cafe. Reception desk, 2 lifts, small shop (well stocked) but with limited opening hours. Breakfast room on first floor (from reception). Didn't visit the gym/pool. Bedrooms clean and well stocked with toiletries and drinks/minibar. Breakfast was extensive - hot and cold, cereals, fruit, omelette station, continuously re-stocked during service. Staff on duty at breakfast were welcoming and helpful. Recommended as a hotel and would happily visit again. The location is very good, minutes from the Winter Palace or St Issacs. Well placed for a variety of restaurants at good prices, also snack bars etc. When the cafe in the hotel is closed the ToNYC next door (connected to the hotel) serves American style food and has sports screens.

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