St Petersburg, Russia: Apartment or Hotel?
Why would you stay in an apartment in St Petersburg, Russia? To save money and for quality sleep.
The first time I visited St Petersburg I stayed at a huge Soviet era hotel. The hotel room itself was nice and felt safe. The problem was that I had to make my way past a gauntlet of working ladies to make it to my room at night. Every time I left my room in the evening, they were waiting for me to offer their ‘services’ (they are pretty upfront about it: “maybe sex?”). Occasionally, they would even call me on the phone to ask if I needed company. How do you they get away with it? Why doesn’t the hotel run them off? Because they work for the hotel! (No wonder some hotels enforce laws about only married couples being able to share a room in a hotel.)
I then moved to a five star hotel where the ladies were not so in-your-face but they were there. The problem was that I was now spending a huge amount of money for the nice hotel. Don’t get me wrong – the hotel was great and provided incredible service and security. But, with frequent trips to St Petersburg for business, these expensive hotels were eating into my profits.
Staying at private apartments allowed me to meet some very interesting individuals that I am still in contact with. I was also able to find apartments with incredible views, great locations and architecture. Not only did I save a great deal of money, I was able to find spacious apartments where I could relax, work and entertain.
