I stayed there 3 nights in march of 2008. I am a professional business traveler and stay at least 60 nights per year in 5 star hotels around the world ! This is one dishonest chain ! Starting from lower level management up to the President ! During the last night here I had items stolen from my room while I was out on business, when I made a report the manager on duty he assured me that they will handle it and I have nothing to worry about ! They also had the chief of hotel’s security asking me questions and saying that it was their jurisdiction and they will do everything necessary. The same manager told me that they did have a case under his management when a maid removed some items and assured me that I would be compensated. In the morning when I was leaving they did everything to rush me out the door, saying that there is no results yet but “Don’t Worry” ! I didn’t want to miss my flight so I left. Needless to say I felt pretty bad as I guess you do when someone goes through your belongings and steals from you. No one called or emailed for days. After I contacted the hotel later, it took a while to hear back from them and the response was: “Well you should have reported this to the police” and pretty much a brushing me off. I wasn’t offered to call the authorities and I was not even suggested that when I was in shock. Then I was “blackmailed” about some “guests” that I had in my room in very delicate way, suggesting that maybe your guests might have stolen your stuff. I put my trust in hotels to take care of security and this is not about the things that were stolen, I spend 5 times more at the hotel between room, food, transportation, etc ( the value was about $ 1000 and the bill was about $ 5500 ) .. This is about the denial of the fact that this hotel has a problem with theft and the management in not doing anything about. The General Manager was very frustrated with my email and never offered any compensation and finally ignored me, so did the President of the company. They just want you to go away and unwilling to do anything about your concerns. How can a hotel with this great name and history mishandle an issues like this ? It is beyond my understanding! They made me feel that its all my fault and that we take your money and we don’t care! Stay away or carry everything on you while there! The room was a large suite with great view. However the beds are old and need to be changed . They also move away from the wall, so if you move when you sleep you may find your head somewhere between the bed and the wall. The carpets are old and filthy but probably very much antique. The bathroom is not what you would expect for a 5 star hotel . It needs to be renovated immediately. The food is C- . The location is perfect! The service is not great (before the incident). The flower and bakery shops are very nice! P.S. Its a horribly feeling to have your belongings stolen and a stranger going through your personal stuff. This Hotel - DOES NOT CARE ! I give them plenty opportunities and time - Its been 4 months....

stayed her from march 25-march30, 2008 . room 201, the whole floor is non-smoking our rooms were beautiful with nice views of the cathedral of the spilled blood and the russian museum. Buffet breakfast was good. room service was good. The restaurants at the hotel were dead (we were off season....) so we preferred to eat in our room twice. the gym was ok. be warned the jacuzzi looking spa on their web site is the pool, not jacuzzi! The concierge was just ok. We were given a bad guide to catherines palace who took us on the way back to a bunch of tourist traps and then charged us for going overtime! Also they sent us to a restaurant where there was just one other couple.. They are currently doing construction on there inner courtyard. While this did not affect us directly since it was too cold to sit out there, that is where the hotel shops are so they had only a few lobby shops open. They plan on finishing up by may. we had nice tea at the astoria hotel one day which looked nice too. We ordered mariinsky ballet tickets online. Right across the street in the department store is where you go to exchange your receipt for tickets. it was very easy. Unfortunately the ballet is a hike from the hotel! we also ordered hermitage tickets online. you just have to be pushy and cut in front of people since you have already paid. if you have kids, have them bring a school id. the hermitage is free for them and alot of the other places are discounted as well but they wanted an id!!

We stayed at the Grand Hotel Europe for 3 nights at the end of January. Our reaction as we walked through the doors was 'WOW' and that was the case throughout our stay. From the moment we arrived to the minute we left everything was perfect. The trip was for my husbands birthday and upon arrival virtually every member of staff we came across wished him 'happy birthday' He also received complementary fruit, champagne and a birthday card in the room - a real nice touch. As others have said the hotel is not cheap but you get what you pay for and this hotel is pure luxury - the best. We have stayed in many 5* hotels and didn't expect this to be great as it was in Russia but we were proved wrong. The location is second to none, the rooms and service fantastic. Breakfast was lovely with a brilliant selection and the bars (although expensive) were classy and a great place to relax after a busy day in the city. A fabulous hotel in a fabulous city. Would definately go again and recommend it.

I really don't know what hotel the other reviewers stayed at, but it couldn't possibly have been the Grand Hotel Europe. The self-proclaimed opulence of the hotel simply isn't translated into reality. The building is shabby and cheaply renovated though grand - feeling very communist in its atmosphere. The staff too, feel vaguely Soviet - their training promoting a vague smile over true efficiency. Our "Historic" room, though large, felt spartan and shabby, its windows opening onto the noise and dirt of Nevsky Prospekt. Even at half the price, the stay would have been woefully overpriced. The food, though, was even worse. The seafood in the Italian restaurant tried to kill us (we sent the black shrimp back untouched), and the food at the huge breakfast buffet was congealed, and "second-grade fresh". The beluga and vodka at the hotel's [----]-infested bar was a wonderfully decadent splurge though. One last matter to note: the hotel makes great noise about its location on Nevsky Prospekt - St. Petersburg's famous street. Let me just say: this is not a good thing! It is the equivalent of staying on London's Oxford St. - cheap shops, pickpockets, dirt and grime. We loved St. Petersburg, and will definitely be back. We will not, however, be returning to the Grand Hotel Europe.

i have been in St. Petersburg a number of times for business. It is a great city with a paucity of great hotels. The Grand Europa is great though a bit snooty. It is well situated in the city and an easy walk to the Hermitage, Church of the Spilled Blood, the canals and the good restaurants along the main boulevards. The rooms in general are small. The internet situation as of 9/07 was not great. You could get wireless but the pricing structure was more expensive than any other hotel i have stayed in. The staff is friendly and the ambiance is rich and luxurious and the room amenties are comfortable and wonderful. There are only two really good hotels to stay in St. Petersburg and the Grand Europa is one of them.