Frommer's Review
One step inside and you understand why these are the cheapest accommodations in the heart of Moscow. The price and its central location (the hotel's name means "central" in English) are the only reasons to stay here. They just barely compensate for the dilapidated rooms, shady guests, and overtired staff. Only the two "deluxe" rooms have showers or bathtubs; the rest have hall facilities with irregular plumbing. The hotel does not arrange visas and is often full (or at least reception clerks claim it is). Securing a room takes persistence or a Russian-speaking mediator. That said, the high ceilings of the pre-revolutionary building suggest former grandeur. It once housed top foreign Communists, but its reputation soured when many Soviet nomenklatura staying here were arrested in nighttime raids during Stalin's purges of the 1930s. Today its guests are young travelers or businesspeople from ex-Soviet republics eager for a piece of Moscow's wealth. The hotel offers almost no services of its own, but exchange booths, taxis, restaurants, and bars abound just outside its doors. The VAT is included in the rates quoted here.
Facilities:
Concierge, sometimes English-speaking
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
