The State Hermitage Museum Official Hotel

The official hotel of the State Hermitage Museum more or less instantly became one of the St Petersburg most notable accommodation addresses when it opened a few years ago. From the cream and yellow atrium lobby through to its sumptuous rooms and high-end restaurant and spa, it’s a memorable place to stay.

Location

9 / 10

Located in the centre of St. Petersburg, about 15 minutes on foot from the lively Nevsky Prospect and a 30-minute stroll from major sights like St Isaac’s Cathedral, the Mariinsky Theatre, the Russian Museum, and the eponymous State Hermitage Museum. The Oceanarium, a family favourite, is a 10-minute walk away, as are three different metro stations. Good-quality shops and restaurants can be found easily nearby.

Style and Character

9 / 10

The hotel was built as a partner establishment to the Hermitage Museum, and has emulated the latter’s stately stylings, right down to the uniform of the doormen, which is based on the existing costumes of the servants of the Royal family in the Winter Palace. The hotel lobby is a naturally lit atrium peppered with regal furnishings and sculptures and artworks, and the ground-floor restaurant and elegant rooms blend 19th-century aesthetics with 21st-century amenities.

Service and Facilities

9 / 10

Door, reception and concierge staff are all immaculately attired and aptly professional. Specific services include laundry and dry cleaning, as well as business services such as printing, copying and faxing, the option of a limousine with personal chauffeur, a cashpoint in the hotel lobby, and 20 guarded parking spaces in the backyard (and eight at the entrance). Guests can also make use of a free shuttle bus to The State Hermitage Museum (queue-beating VIP tickets are available at the concierge desk). The hotel’s blue-and-white Mon Plaisir spa is small but elegant, offering a hot tub Finnish sauna and a hammam, as well as massages.

Parking
Restaurant
Bar
Laundry
Room service
Pool
Sauna
Spa
Wi-Fi
Fitness centre
Steam room/hammam

Rooms

9 / 10

Impeccably appointed with natural materials. Carpets are by Brintons, beds are specially developed (a choice of mattress softness and a pillow menu are available) and the furniture is handmade by Italian woodwork maestros. Bathrooms feature an assortment of Italian and Greek marble and come with magnifying mirrors, hairdryer, fluffy gowns and slippers, and mod cons include large LED TVs with international channels, complimentary bottled water each day, safe and minibar, and a working desk lit by flexo-led reading lamps.

Junior Suites emulate the designs of the halls of The State Hermitage Museum and also have a reception area and Hermès amenities in the bathrooms and extras like Nespresso coffee makers. The two-storey Hermitage Suites have extra-large windows and spacious living areas. The Imperial Suite is inspired by the Russian tsars; the Imperial Residence is a Baroque style two-bedroom apartment decorated in the style of the Winter Palace’s private quarters.

Food and Drink

9 / 10

The main restaurant is Catherine the Great, whose menu (Russian salad with chicken and crayfish; chicken kiev served with mashed potatoes with baked garlic and steamed vegetables) is inspired by the dishes served for the tsars and their cohorts at the Winter Palace. Even the crockery is manufactured by the Imperial Porcelain Factory who produced exclusively for the ruling Romanov family and the Russian Imperial Court.

The smaller Michelangelo Restaurant is a more intimate Italian spot that serves excellent dishes like grilled dorade, and beef fillet and warm prawn and scallop salad. The handsome Lobby Bar serves a range of snacks and appetisers as well as an afternoon Russian tea. The hotel breakfast is abundant and includes an à la carte menu with omelette and other egg dishes, plus pancakes.

Value for Money

9 / 10

Double rooms from 15000 Russian Rubles (£190) in low season; and from 27000 Russian Rubles (£340) in high. Breakfast 2000 Russian Rubles per person. Free Wi-Fi in all hotel areas and rooms.

Access for guests with disabilities?

All necessary facilities for guests with disabilities, including easy access to the hotel entrance and all key public areas. Specially fitted rooms come with handles, enlarged doorways, equipped bathroom and corridors.