PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

Hidden behind a 19th-century facade on Nevsky, this hotel has a glass-enclosed lobby and atrium lush with greenery that feels more like Sydney or Los Angeles than subarctic St. Petersburg. The five-star Nevsky Palace opened in 1993 in two renovated neoclassical mansions, and completed another upgrade in 2005. Geared more toward executives than tourists, the hotel offers a range of suites and thoroughly modern (if somewhat colorless) rooms. Even the smallest room has a bidet along with the top-quality bathroom facilities. Staff is businesslike but not particularly effusive, though every imaginable service is available if you're bold enough to ask. In a nod to the building's history, the hotel houses a small theater museum, in honor of the Samoilov family of actors who lived on the property in the 1800s. Its prime location almost justifies its high prices. Though street-facing windows are well-fortified, Nevsky's constant buzz makes a courtyard-facing room more appealing. Even if you don't stay here, their Sunday brunch, a smorgasbord of international cuisines, is worth a splurge. On-site are child-friendly entertainment, a playroom, and a babysitter. Facilities:4 restaurants; bar; cafe; health club; spa; Jacuzzi; sauna; concierge; tour desk; car-rental desk; limo; business center; Wi-Fi; shopping arcade; salon; room service; massage; babysitting; laundry service; same-day dry cleaning; nonsmoking rooms; executive rooms.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Moscow & St. Petersburg, 2nd Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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