by a traveler from Travelocity.com on February 3, 2011
This was my first visit to Siberia. I went to visit a friend who is a lawyer in Novosibirsk. When she arrived to meet me in the lobby, the hotel security guard barred her from getting on the elevator to come up and check out my room. They inisted that she would have to register with the front desk before they would let her past the lobby. There are two restaurants at the hotel, a breakfast restaurant downstairs and a lunch/dinner restaurant directly above it. When I missed breakfast and breakfast service was closed, the staff made no effort to inform me that the lunch/dinner restaurant was open, which seemed very odd. There is an array of lights behind the front desk that seem to indicate when the rooms are occupied or unoccupied; it felt like my comings and goings were being monitored for some unexplained reason. The furniture in the room was somewhat dated, but the room was warm (it was -35F outside) and clean. The bathroom was very modern and very nice, and there was a separate foyer to hang the requisite overcoat + scarf + hat and take off your boots before entering the sitting and sleeping areas. Cable TV included CNN and BBC, which was helpful. The staff was pleasant, but not friendly, and this seemed consistent with the reserved nature of just about everybody in this city. There was a money-changing machine on-site, which was very convenient. I would recommend it and I would stay there again; it was a trouble-free visit despite the provincial attitudes.
http://www.igougo.com/tvly-review-r100502765-Safe_but_like_a_caged_bird_is_safe.html
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