Trezzini Palace
This 18th-century, five-star palace hotel offers a splash of Tsarist Russia. Decorated throughout in elegant baroque style, its 21 suites are spacious and sumptuous and the staff ensure all guests are treated like, well, royalty — to the point of serving free chocolates and champagne each day.
Location
8 / 10
Set on Vasilevsky Island, the closest sights are the Old Stock Exchange, the Kunstkamera Museum and Rostral Columns, which are all less than a mile away. Bigger attractions like the Hermitage Museum and St Isaac’s are around a 30-minute walk, but can also be easily reached by public transport thanks to the Vasilyeostrovskaya metro, which around half a mile away.
Style and Character
8 / 10
The building that houses the hotel was constructed in the early 18th century (1723) and designed by and for one of the city’s main architects of the time, Domenico Trezzini, who also designed the Peter & Paul Fortress amongst other notable local buildings.
Lavishly restored inside and out after decades of neglect, the hotel offers a slightly kitsch baroque aesthetic, from the uniformed doorman and red carpet that leads from the downstairs lobby to the first-floor reception, to the old world mix of ostentatious chandeliers, oil paintings and abundance of gold.
Service and Facilities
8 / 10
The elegant reception and concierge desks are manned around the clock – staff can arrange transfers in stretch-limos, city trips in an old Cadillac Fleetwood or helicopter; and a range of excursions with top professional guides. These include pick up from the hotel, fast entrance into museums, tickets for the theatre, opera, restaurant bookings can also be arranged; and reception offers treats like chocolate and champagne for free.
There is no in-house spa but the hotel has an affiliation with the Crystal Spa & Lounge, and provides transfers.
- Parking
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Laundry
- Spa
- Wi-Fi
Rooms
8 / 10
The 21 suites are sizeable and decorated in the same aristocratic style as the rest of the hotel, with a stately blend of antique furniture and wooden flooring, marble bathrooms and opulent chandeliers. These are matched to in-room amenities like minibars, flat-screen TVs and Nespresso coffee machines; and the bathrooms come with heated floors, plus L’Occitane and Chopard toiletries.
The comfortable beds are fitted with Mascioni textiles and free bottles of water are renewed daily. The four categories pertain mostly to views (courtyard and river) and size (Junior versus the larger Premier). There are three ‘royal’ suites: Palazzo Del Presidente, Palazzo Imperiale, Palazzo Reale; plus the Appartamento Presidente, where Trezzini lived, which consists of three combined Palazzos on the second floor. These are all exclusively designed with even grander interiors, and come with balconies.
The best views overall (balcony or not) are those that look over the river and St Isaac Cathedral.
Food and Drink
8 / 10
The Maria Carlotta restaurant, named after Trezzini’s wife, serves a mix of Russian and European cuisine (salmon steaks, chicken Kiev, ribeye steak) to its guests in a charming stone-walled cellar space with arched ceilings and old books and photos of St Petersburg mixed with modern blacks and reds.
The small bar area serves cocktails, wines, ports and other refined drinks; room service is available around the clock. The buffet breakfast is a very good array of warm dishes (including Russian pancakes and eggs made to order), as well as cold cuts, cheeses, local preserves and more.
Value for Money
8 / 10
Double rooms from 9000 RUB (£120) in low season; and from 18000 RUB (£240) in high. Buffet breakfast is included. Wi-Fi is free.
Access for guests with disabilities?
The hotel does not offer any rooms or facilities for guests with disabilities.
Family-Friendly?
Families are welcome at the hotel, and family-friendly facilities include baby cots, extra beds, a highchair in the restaurant and books for colouring.
University Embankment, 21, St Petersburg, Russia.
00 7 812 313 66 22trezzinipalace.com
