Originally Posted by
EuropeanPete
I'd have been rather surprised at this from a high end 5* hotel like a St Regis (obviously Russia has its own rules). It doesn't seem unreasonable to me to expect that a concierge can help navigate whatever simple local issues which might make it difficult for you to enjoy a city's cultural scene.
Agreed - I'm also quite surprised by this. I've had concierges assist me with event ticket purchases before and never had a markup applied. I wouldn't expect this from a hotel positioning itself as luxury.