SO Sofitel St Petersburg

This swanky hotel – which replaced the W in 2018 – has quickly become St Petersburg’s premier hedonistic hideaway. It offers design-savvy rooms and public spaces suffused with a hip fashion aesthetic, and a rooftop restaurant that doubles as a nightspot on weekends.

on expert

Location

10 / 10

The hotel is across the street from St. Isaac’s Church and is well located for most of the city’s main sights. It’s just a few minutes’ walk from the famous Bronze Horseman statue of Peter the Great, the city’s founding father. The shops, restaurants and cultural treats along Nevsky Prospect are a 10-minute stroll, and the Hermitage is also just 15 minutes on foot.

Style and Character

9 / 10

Italian architect and designer Antonio Citterio is responsible for the establishment’s chic aesthetic, from the dapper wraparound lobby to the stylish restaurant. The half-egg-shaped Terzani lamps, a reference to Fabergé, are by Russian fashion designer Alena Akhmadullina, who has also weaved Russian folklore elements into the hotel’s logo and cushion designs.

An acrylic fish installation by Italian designer Jacopo Foggini commands attention. Fashion and art prints bring more eye candy to the lobby, in addition to stylish furnishings by B&B Italia. The area also doubles as a café and hang-out area, with a library of special edition books and a small but well-appointed bar, subtly embossed with the Fabergé pattern.

Service and Facilities

8 / 10

The reception is staffed by a young, multilingual team that promotes the coolness of the hotel while being generally helpful and efficient.

Laundry, dry cleaning and 24-hour room service are available. Facilities include an Urban Wellness Zone spa with a small but well-equipped fitness area (with free weights and machines), sauna, plunge pool with loungers, hammam, and various massages and treatments available. There are also four conference rooms, one of which, So Lounge, has great views over St. Isaac’s Cathedral and the Admiralty.

Parking

Restaurant

Bar

Laundry

Room service

Pool

Sauna

Steam room/hammam

Wi-Fi

Fitness centre

Beach

Rooms

8 / 10

There are 137 rooms and suites, divided into five types of Standard and Superior rooms and four categories of Suites. Rooms are set along slick corridors, heralded by funky door frames. The aesthetic is minimal and all-white – including the Samsung televisions and Böse music systems – accented by gold headboards, silver-mirrored surfaces and purple armchairs and throws.

Bathrooms are equally slick and pristine with white sinks embedded into grey units. Suites have double sinks and tubs. All rooms have safes, Nespresso, tea-making facilities, as well as robes and slippers. Suites get more space, a selection of free drinks from the minibar, and, in some cases, the best views over St Isaac’s Cathedral.

Food and Drink

8 / 10

Cococo, the chic ground-floor restaurant, serves a mix of Asian and Russian cuisine including a great Kasha Iz Topora, a green buckwheat porridge with porcini mushrooms and stewed beef cheeks. It’s also where breakfast is served: a decent buffet of local dairy products, cold cuts, warm dishes such as sausages and eggs, sparkling wine and more.

The MIXO bar in the lobby offers beers, wines and especially good cocktails, but the roof terrace is where the hotel really comes into its own, thanks to marvellous city views and a hip vibe (there are international house DJs on weekends) and a casual but refined menu of Russian, Asian and European dishes with a twist (a Caesar salad with Kamchatka crab, for example).