What's to do in Moscow in August? Are all the citizen on holiday?

I'd rather do St. Pete, but the Sheraton is booked and I'd prefer to use points. However I would be interested if anyone knows of a nice hotel for less than $200 per night.

stimpy -- Many people are vacationing in August, but definitely not all. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

Also, do go to St. Petersburg, you won't regret it. One option (money-saving at it as well) is not to book a hotel there. You can take an overnight train from Moscow to St. Pete (try for Red Arrow, departs Moscow at 11:55 pm and gets into St. Pete early in the morning), spend a day in St. Pete, then take the same overnight train back. Make sure you book a first-class compartment (called "SV"), it's very comfortable and should cost around $50 OW (unless prices changed lately). Even better, keep looking for weekend specials at Europe hotel in St. Pete (IMHO, the best property there in unbeatable location) and spend a night in St. Pete. Since you'll save two nights hotel expenses (while you're on the train), you'll still come out ahead.

Thanks Eugene. Does Europe hotel = Grand Hotel Europe at MIKHAILOVSKAYA ULITSA?

The thing I worry about is the visa. Supposedly I need to book the hotel way in advance to take care of the visa. If anyone knows a workaround that doesn't cost a fortune, please let me know.

Yes, that's the one. See their web site for more information: http://www.grand-hotel-europe.com/

To get your visa you need a hotel reservation (unless you go through one of those private visa services, but of course they will charge you extra). But you can make a reservation at any hotel, get your visa, then change your hotel reservation.

I called the Grand and they said their best weekend rate was $315. I called Amex since it is a Fine Hotel and they got me in for $285. It's more than I wanted to spend, but what the heck.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by stimpy:
I called the Grand and they said their best weekend rate was $315. I called Amex since it is a Fine Hotel and they got me in for $285. It's more than I wanted to spend, but what the heck.</font>

You can do much better than that. Check http://www.kempinski.com (this hotel is a part of Kempinsky chain), and look for the package called "WINTER INTERLUDES/SUMMER INTERLUDES", it's $210 a night (right now available on every weekend in August), or weekend rate, it's $204 (available on most weekends in August).

Stimpy,

Get a Russian friend to book it for you. You'll get an amazing deal since in Russia just like in Thailand for instance there are different deals for locals than there are for foreigners. It might be an idea to search hotel/accommodation websites ending with "RU" and then clicking on the english version.

Thanks, but I ended up getting Starwood to find a free room for me at the Sheraton. Now my problem is that I waited too long and have to pay full Y to fly to LED from London. I'm guessing LED is a very popular destination in the summer, especially on weekends.

Stimpy,

I don't know how much you're paying for the Y fare to LED but let me give you a few tips just in case.

Get a discount flight from LON to HEL or TLL and take a train or bus from there.

Bus which meets all international standards from TLL takes just 6 hours.

Check under Finnair forum on this board to see what airlines to take to get the best deals. In any case you'll be saving a small fortune in comparison to full Y fare. Or you could always use European airpass coupons for your flight to LED.

Thanks for the info, but with the narrow travel window I have I don't think I have the time to do that. I need a non-stop flight.
The only non-stop flight I can see is via BA and the Y fare is $1611, however I have a friends fly free coupon so the two of us are flying effectively at $800 each. I'm guessing it's Y since I was told we have the last two seats on the plane.

Stimpy,

I don't know how long you're going for but travelocity is offering BA non-stop flights for $410 leaving LGW at 10.05 am arriving LED at 4.25pm. The return flight would be leaving LED at 5.25pm arriving at LGW at 6pm. I hope this helps.