Hilton HHonors - Which Scandic in Tallinn?

I'll be in Estonia this September--pleasure, not business--and want to do an award stay there. I see two Scandics in Tallinn: The Palace & the St Barbara. From the website, the Palace looks closer to old town and seems to have a bit more facility-wise. Anyone stayed at either one?

JP

Anyone stayed at either one?

JP

I've stayed at both Scandics in Tallinn. Probably would go for Palace - it is bigger and has more facilities (as you pointed out). In terms of location there is no big difference, because both hotels are about 3 minutes apart.

I stayed at the St Barbara two years ago. Its a bit of an odd one - very unlike a chain hotel, more like a 'mon and pop' operation because of the way it has been converted from the old building, the way the TV was sat on top of a chest of drawers etc. My Gold card got me an upgrade to a good sized room. The best thing about it is the bar and restaurant in the basement, which used to be a cellar and is very atmospheric. The rest of the place was more 'worn' than 'atmospheric' - put it this way, I would not go back there on a romantic weekend with my girlfriend. (Isn't The Three Sisters (or whatever its called) THE celebrity hang-out place to stay in Tallinn now?) Tallinn, by the way, is fantastic - what Prague used to be 10 years ago. Betters bars and clubs than London, honestly.

Agree with RJB. Stayed there last summer. Had two rooms, both were small and "strange" (I am a Diamond). Also they were a bit on the dark side with poor ventilation.

Ditto on the basement restaurant. Good, reasonably priced German food.

I have upcoming stays at the Palace and the St. Barbara properties this May. I'll post a review of each here after my trip.

I used to travel to Estonia monthly. I stayed at both hotels and while they're in the Hilton program, I actually preferred staying at the Radisson SAS. I know that may be a bit of anathema on this board, but after spending two weeks out in the country, the last thing I wanted was another twin bed.

Well, I don't have any Radisson points--I could use some for Riga (working on a free Best Western stay there :rolleyes: ).

Thanks for the information. In the meantime, I got a quick e-mail back from a friend who lives in Tallin, who suggests the St Barbara would be the quieter location of the two--something that would be pretty important for my time-zone shocked body (see RTW info, below). Any thoughts on street noise in the hotel? I'll be there in September, and assume I'll have the windows closed that time of year in northeastern Europe.

JP

I seem to remember it was on a relatively side road off the main square - certainly a lot quieter than the Radisson, which is on the square. My St Barbara room looked out of the back into their little garden, as I remember, so no noise at all.

RJB... you must be thinking of the Palace which is on the square... St. Barbara's on a nice quiet side street... Radisson SAS is over next to the Stockmann grocery store. If you get a room in the rear, which overlooks the hotel parking lot, there shouldn't be much noise.

Well, the decision as made for me, by availability. I'll be at the St. Barbara. Tallinn looks like a wonderful place to explore, and I'll have the advantage of some natives to show me around. If you're interested, watch my website listed below in September for some on-the-road reporting during my trip. Thanks for all the advice!

JP

j379pa, Tallinn is a great place. I spent over 100 days in Estonia in 2002 as my former employer owns a plant in the eastern part of Estonia (Kohtla-Jarve). It might be worth the bus ride to head out and "see" Russia (crossing into Russia is a planned trip, not a spontaneous one). I loved the main square with all the restaurants and outdoor eateries during the summer. The Estonians are quiet friendly and you'd be amazed in the change in their attitudes between winter and summer.