Expensive but great location

We arrived, tired and not looking our best, to be greeted by an open-arm "Welcome to the Baltschug Kempinski!" from the guy on reception. He dealt with us in a very friendly way, gave us a quick tour of the hotel and showed us up to our room, all the while chatting about the history of the hotel and the surrounding area.

The room itself was by far the largest hotel room I've stayed in (and I've stayed in a number of hotels in the same sort of price range) and the bathroom was similarly big and well equipped.

We had paid extra for a view of the Red Square and we were directly facing St Basil's Cathedral - amazing to wake up to! Between it and the hotel though were a couple of busy roads (and the hotel is next to a busy bridge) which meant it was too noisy to have the windows open for any length of time. It only took a couple of minutes to walk over the bridge and be right in the middle of the action and there were a few nice restaurants nearby too.

Although the room was great, the best thing about the hotel was the concierge service. They helped me with all my necessary visa documents (even though we weren't staying with them for our whole time in Russia) and booked onward train tickets for us at a low commission (which made it considerably cheaper than any other way we could have booked them from the UK).

The worst thing was that it was a bit too "business"y for a holiday hotel and the room service breakfast was seriously lacking for the price we paid for it - but the former point didn't really make a difference for us and we expected the latter, just grateful for the convenience.

$500 a night does not buy you politeness.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! The hotel is fine, but don't expect any politeness or warmth of any kind. The staff is just a margin above rude and quite frankly, the Kempinksi should be concerned as this reflects badly on their brand. I have never seen a concierge look so put out to help you with the simplest requests. As a business traveler, I am very self sufficient but I like some level of comfort when I travel, especially having a hotel staff that is willing to assist you. The staff here needs a serious lesson in hospitality management, perhaps they should go train at the Kempinski in Istanbul where I have never encountered any problems.

Nothing wrong, but....

Rather disappointing stay of 3 nights. Room, restaurant, service all just fractionally above the line of acceptance, to the point where a complaint is just avoided. May be OK in the average 3 star, but in what is touted as one of the best in Moscow, not good. In fairness, nothing totally wrong, just an average, uninspiring stay.

Enjoyed our stay

We stayed at the Kemppinski for 4 nights and really enjoyed our stay. We stayed in an two room suite which was good size and had a view of the Kremlin. Soon after we arrived, we were sent up a nice bottle of champagne and servuga caviar.

The staff were all friendly and helpful. We took advantage of the hotel car service to get around. It was reasonable considering the extra sence of sercurity it gave us.

Also, the hotel's Baltschug restaurant's dinner buffet was horrible. However, the breakfast buffet was wonderful. There are eggs made to order, fresh oj, french cheeses, excellent yogurt and good meat choices.

We even ventured into the hotel's casino which was dark and scary. We were made to go through metal detectors and we were searched. Once inside, there were a few tables with grim looking card dealers. We were almost afraid to win. The hotel is located just over the bridge from all the major attractions.

Good stay

Most things worked well here. Airport transfers arranged by hotel. Really friendly welcome including really helpful escort to room and questions answererd for my wife and myself any . Good security with keycard access to hotels and again in lifts. Paid $300 US. Nice room although bed was a bit saggy. Breakfast in hotel was fine, included in rate. People serving were good if a bit slow, dealt patiently with some rude guests. Room Service good.

Health club access included, sorry didnt use it!

Location was fine for me but I wasnt there to go shopping. Concierge helpful although one man sporting an English spoken badge didnt do so very well.

Felt safer out and about than I did 15 years ago, not knowingly followed this time!

Good but Expensive

This is an excellent hotel but expensive. We were not surprised to see the restaurent empty with the prices they charged when you can eat perfectly well in Moscow for half the price. We were also disappointed with the stocking up of our room and mini bar. It was a bit hit and miss. Sometimes they supplied bottled water sometimes they didn't. Our mini bar was never replenished why we were there. We had a delux Kremlin Veiw room which was spacious, clean and comfortable.

Not Bad but Overpriced

We stayed for 2 nights in a Deluxe Kremlin view room. The room was comfortable and large done in shades of purple, gold and white. The bathroom was nice but not extraordinary. The Kempinski's position on the Moskva River gives the best views of the Kremlin in Moscow.

The service and restaurants were of a high standard. We enjoyed meals in every restaurant, including fresh sushi and Russian dishes. The desserts of Cafe Kranzler were divine. Expect to pay dearly for the quality of service rendered. A piece of cake in $10USD and liter of water can cost $15. Prices were expressed in "units" that represented euros. Note the conversion from euro units to roubles utilized a conversion rate about 10% higher than the actual exchange rate.

We also stayed a the Park Hyatt which had better facilities but poor service. One thing to note is given its location across from the Kremlin a longer walk, about 20 minutes, is required to get from the Kempinski to the shopping areas on the other side of Red Square.

Fantastic hotel

We were in Russia in December and stayed at the Kempinski and had a fantastic stay. You cannot find a better location for touring the Kremlin and Red Square, as it is a short walk over to these sites. The security at the hotel is excellent and guests must use their room keys to activate the elevators. The room was huge and very comfortable. We had a very enjoyable dinner in the hotel at the Shogun restaurant and looked upon the Kremlin. I wouldn't recommend eating at the hotel all the time as it is quite expensive and there are many restaurants around the hotel. Having said that and having stayed at others hotels in Moscow, I would highly recommend this hotel.

Wonderful 25th wedding anniversary

For our 25th wedding anniversary we decided to go to Russia. We booked into the Kempinski for October 2004 and was worried about the weather and location. The weather was cool, but the location could not have been better. It is away from the very, very busy streets and just a bridge away from St. Basil's. We loved the room and the staff was always very attentive. Also, dining was always a grand affair when we chose the hotel's dining room. The breakfast buffet was also wonderful. After visiting Moscow and seeing where the other hotels were located I was very glad that we had chosen this one.

OK but far from a favorite

My wife and I stayed at the Baltschug Kempinski during a recent vacation to Moscow. The location is excellent, directly across the river from the Kremlin with a great view of St. Basils and the river.

The rooms were clean and the hotel - as stated in the various guides is well appointed and tastefully decorated.

However, I was dissapointed with our stay. I found the staff to be minimally helpful and not particularly anxious to do more than the absolute minimum. The only exception was the effort put into extracting as much as possible in tips and gratuities at every opportunity. This is a hotel that needs to address the attitude of its personnel. Perhaps I am being sensitive but I find it surprising that a hotel as expensive and well regarded as the Baltschug finds it necessary to dig into their client's pockets at every opportunity. The effort to extract more money was continual, from the attempt to upgrade us at check in to the exhorbinant cost for breakfast. They didn't even provide bottled water in the bathroom (normally standard in Russia).

The location of the Baltschug is great, almost as good as the National or the Metropol. But, don't expect service commensurate with the price.