SanDiego1K

I find four Radisson properties in Riga. Does anyone have an opinion as to which is best for tourism?

charder

I prefer the Elizabete as it is pretty new, good rooms and very well located.

Marek_Limanowa

For me also Elizabete was fine. I can recomend.

SanDiego1K

Thank you. It's nice when the hotel that is considered best is also the cheapest. It's just 15K points for redemption. The other hotels range from 28K to 42K points per night.

We will be there this spring. Do you have any restaurants you recommend within walking distance of the hotel, ideally with outside tables? I love the long nights of a European summer. And what do you recommend for sightseeing?

JamesBond_ppk

Elizabete hands down. Much better than the others.

darkhunter

I had a fantastic stay at the Elizabete as well.

The bus I came in on (from Tallinn) stopped at the other one (i forget the name)
that's just down the street, it looked like a nice hotel as well.
But the Elizabete was just a 5-10min walk down the street from that one.

If you will be doing all walking both are not real far from the main areas I did walking only and did great. The one down the street from the Eliz (again cant remember name, sorry) was probably closer to the old town and park and the Eliz is closer to the train station and the mall/movie theater there and the main bus station. But its not a huge difference I did not think.

The only disappointment I had was I personally did not think Riga was all that interesting, at least compared to Tallinn which I liked much better. But the Eliz was fantastic And the Lux express bus's in that region are fantastic as well.


** Radisson Blu Hotel Latvij is the name of the other one. Just found it. It did have a nice sky bar on like the 30th floor or something and theres a casino there. But if I were to go back I would stay at the Eliz and just visit the other one if I wanted a drink or hit the casino.

hbush

I have stayed at all 4 Radisson Blu hotels in Riga, several times each. I can only agree with previous posts that Radisson Blu Elizabete is the best of them, despite usually not being the most expensive one.

This is my letter to Club Carlson Customer Service after recent stay at Radisson Blu Elizabete (OK, certainly not always everything might be so nice...)

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To: [email protected]

Dear Customer Service,

I would like to thank Carlson system and Radisson Blu Elizabete Hotel in Riga, Latvia for very nice stay there 8 - 9 Feb. 2012.

I have stayed at this hotel several times (usually just overnight) and it always has been OK, therefore I continue to choose Radisson Blu Elizabete when need a hotel in Riga and when there are rooms available for normal price. This was the case also for Feb. 8 - 9, 2012. But this stay was so good that I feel I need to tell you too

At check-in I was clearly recognized as Carlson Gold member, overall attitude was excellent, I got very nice room upgrade. I received also two complimentary wine coupons which could be used in addition to meal in restaurant or with Room service. My room key cards etc. were prepared in advance so the check-in process was very fast. In few minutes I was already in my room, which certainly was very clean, everything was OK. This room had very nice view from the windows to nearby park, though it would be even nicer in the spring or summer - maybe I will come back to see it

Wi-Fi Internet connection worked very well. It was reliable and didn't drop as it sometimes happens in some hotels - not in this one. TV picture quality was excellent, there were lot's of channels available in several languages. TV could be easily seen both sitting at the workplace table and from the bed (in some hotels unfortunately TV is behind your back when sitting at the table, but in this hotel this was OK).

We (me and my wife) used also Room service. Food quality was excellent, and it was served quite fast. The tray itself was so nicely prepared that it looked almost like an artwork! Certainly our wine coupons were also in use and this contributed to overall good feeling. Espresso machine worked very well, we made very nice coffee according to our choices (there were enough capsules with different coffee to choose from).

There were enough amenities in the bathroom, the bath itself was large enough even for me (somehow overweight...). Separate shower cabin was also very convenient and worked OK. Radissons are well known for high quality beds, ours was just as we liked so we slept well. Breakfast was well organized - despite that there was huge tourist group also having breakfast, everyone could easily find free table. Food quality was very good, choice was wide enough, with some local accents as well (e.g. smoked Riga sprats).

What was planned as an ordinary one night stay, turned out very nice and memorable, happy event for me and my wife. Definitely worth to return again to this hotel or maybe some other Radisson.

When I now re-read this letter it seems like - OK, it's just what every good hotel has to deliver - but no, it's quite rare even in some luxury hotels when literally everything is above "just OK". Congratulations!

Best wishes,

Harijs Buss

SanDiego1K

That's a great letter, hbush, and reinforces my decision to stay here. Do you have any restaurants you'd recommend within walking distance and ideally with outside seating, for long spring and summer days?

dabee69

The most touristic part is Vecriga (Old Riga) which is close to the hotel. There are plenty of restaurants all within walking distance, less than a mile

http://www.bing.com/maps/default.asp...LTSN&encType=1

This is the most expensive part of the city. Lots of outdoor restaurants, pubs, cafes, etc.

Radisson Elizabete does not have pool. Only the most expensive suites has small private sauna.

Radisson Blu Latvia has a pool (chargable for standard room guests) and Radisson Bu Daugava has pool.

Daugava was the only Radisson SAS in Riga for quite a long time. Old city is across the bridge, 10 minutes walk. Taxis are very expensive from Daugava for the short drive over the bridge, ~10$.

I choose Daugava for price, parking, pool and always included breakfast. Upgrades for golds are not fabulous, basically just a nice view to the old city OR larger room, kinda deluxe room with sofa.

Do not book Economy rooms, they are terrible single occupancy only rooms from Soviet Union times.

kyushuman

In researching Riga hotels, I also notice that 3 of the 4 Radisson Blus in Riga are available on the Club Carlson (Gold Elite members only) 2-4-1 and 4-for-2 promos that are going now.
Making the Radisson Blu Latvija EUR49/night and the Elizabete EUR57/night, for August, for 4 nights. Really great prices.
Includes breakfast, wifi, and VAT. Nice!

hhow

As you may know there are 4 raddison in Riga.
Aviod daugaba! it will be pain to stay at Daugaba if you're tourist.
Except that all 3hotels are very close each other.
Latvija is largest so you can expect gym, restaurant, casino, etc but some times it is too crowded.
both of others are not huge but middle size so less crowded and expect more friendly & efficient service.

SanDiego1K

The Elizabete is a great value at just 15K points/night, the cheapest by far of the four Radissons in Riga. That will end on May 31 for future dates. The hotel moves to a level 4. It will then cost 28K points for a night.

SanDiego1K

Staff at the Elizabete very quickly answered my query about how to get to the hotel.

Hotel is aproximately 20 km from airport. There are three possibilities how to get from airport to hotel.

1) By taxi. If You send us Your flight details, we can book a taxi for You. The taxi driver will expect You in airport with poster where will be written Your name. We can put airport taxi on Your hotel bill and it will cost 8 LVL per taxi (~11.50 EUR). And when You are cheking out You can buy the same voucher at the hotel for the same 8 LVL. It will take around 20 min to get with the taxi from airport to hotel

2) By shuttle bus. Near the airport there is going Air Baltic shuttle bus. The price for that is 3 LVL (~4.50 EUR) per person. You can say the driver Your hotel name and he will let You out near the hotel. It will take around 40 min to get from airport to hotel.

3) By Public Transport. It will cost 0.70 LVL (~1 EUR). The bus stop where You get in is near the airport, but the stop where You get out is Stockmann. The bus is going around 30-40 min deppending from traffic. And then it will take around 15 min to walk to hotel.

I have been told that Vincents is the best restaurant in Riga. I'm happy to splurge one night, and had a very quick response to my email query for a booking.

chanp

Vincents is phenomenal. You won't be dissapointed.

SanDiego1K

We had a mostly good stay at the Radisson Blu Elizabete.

Good:

• Great communication from hotel prior to visit. Taxi driver was waiting just outside customs with our name on a sheet of paper. Taxi fee was added to our room bill. We did the same on our return to the airport.
• Staff was universally helpful and congenial. We stayed two nights, one booked for me and one for my husband. They agreeably worked out keeping us in the same room. We needed a half hour late check out to which there was immediate agreement.
• Public areas of hotel were inviting. I like a hotel that has public places to sit. There was a nice coffee bar near the lobby that was open all hours. It was really comfortable. Although we often ordered a beverage, we weren't made to feel that we must do so in order to sit there.
• Upgrade: I am gold, and was given a "business room" on the 6th floor (of 7) overlooking the park across the street. We had a pack of 4 delicious truffles. Two bottles of water were left each night.
• Breakfast was included in our room rate. We were never asked for our room number, so it is possible that everyone gets breakfast. Not sure.
• Internet is wireless and free throughout the hotel.

Neutral

• Room - small, but well laid out. I think it was about 20 sq m. All rooms on the floor map looked of comparable size. There was a king bed, a desk, and a chair. The bathroom was tiny with a shower inside the tub. The partial wall between the bedroom and sink area was cleverly designed, with a luggage rack as part of it. My husband enjoyed the Nespresso machine. There was also a large pot to heat water.

Negative

• Mattress quality - very poor - It was a 3" foam pad on top of a box springs.

As tourists, we kept ourselves busy for two days and really enjoyed the town. I recommend the Museum of the Occupation. It brought home the suffering of 51 years of occupation, first Russian, then German, and then Russian. Latvia regained its independence in 1991. An enterprising young man offered his services as a private guide on a tram tour that he developed. It was fascinating to go by many of the major sites, as well as seeing the art nouveau district, buildings built by Russians (no elevators or very poorly working ones in buildings as high as 9 stories).

I highly recommend the Lido restaurant a half block from the hotel. It is a self service buffet, where you are billed for each dish that you take. Prices were very affordable, food quality high, and a broad range of Latvian and other dishes were offered. We liked it so much we ate there twice.

We had a phenomenal meal at Vincents that compared favorably with the best Parisian or New York restaurant. We got to visit with the chef, who came around to each table with the amuse bouche. He had been in Chicago three weeks ago, doing some work at Alinea at the start of the NATO summit. One of his chefs stayed there for two additional weeks. We were fascinated by the ice cream lollypop that was made table side as a refresher between the starter and the main course.