Check In

As a platinum guest the paperwork had all been prepared. I only had to have my passport and visa scanned, credit card swiped and to select my platinum amenity. For those who struggle with Russian, the two ladies at check in spoke flawless English. After having had the facilities explained to me, I was then walked to the room. A gentleman asked if I wanted assistance with my suitcase. Since it was a carry-on size, I declined.

Room

The rooms are all brand new, since the hotel is only a few months old. I was updgraded from a standard room to a hospitality suite. The room is very spacious with a separate bedroom. The lounge, dining, wet bar area has plenty of seating options. The wet bar has a large minibar into which you could also store most private food items, if you decided to do so. There is no microwave or other rudimentary cooking option. A Lavazza coffee maker is available along with capsules and complimentary bottled water.

Generally there are plenty of outlets located throughout the room, including at the bed. There is also an HDMI connection to the two tvs in case you want to hook your laptop up. The wifi speed was perfectly fine, including for video streaming.

The bed is the standard Marriott bed. I have this bed at home, so I always feel like I am in my own bed when I stay at a Marriott.

The room has a large balcony with small table and chair. It overlooks the Svislotch river and a not-quite-finished event building. At least, that is what I think it is. I imagine when it is summer, it would be nice to sit out on the balcony. However, at -4 C, I am less inclined to sit out there. Perhaps smokers would enjoy this option.

The bathroom has a step-less walk-in rain shower with plenty of water pressure.

The bathroom and overall the entire room is very clean.

The furnishing is modern.

Location

I would describe the location as being close to the center. A taxi to central areas is about ten minutes. In the same complex as the hotel is a VIP movie theater that is already open. Soon some boutique shops and a large fitness center will be opening in the complex.

Executive Lounge

The executive lounge is located on the ground floor. It is open every day from 6:30-23:00. Breakfast is offered there from 6:30-11:00. During the day snacks, coffee, tea and soft drinks are offered. In the evening they offer alcoholic beverage, hors d'oeuvres and evening desserts from 17:00-19:00.

Access is allowed for two persons. Additional persons attract a charge of USD 25.

Dining

So far I have only tried the breakfast which is available from 6:30-11:00. The selection was very good. An omelette station is also available. My rate included breakfast, so I am not sure what the charge would be. Sundays they have a jazz brunch. Will try that out tomorrow.

Fridays are listed as Ladies nights for the bar. Saturdays are Don Juan nights - not exactly sure what that means.

The main lobby bar is a bit sterile for my tastes. There is also a separate bar in which smoking is allowed, which seems to be a bit cozier. However, it looked quite smoky.

Gym

Recent Update

Recently I went by the hotel and noticed that the building in front of the hotel with the commercial space and the movie theater finally seemed to be filling up with shops, etc. Hopefully this trend continues. The hotel lobby area still looks new.

The movie theater continues to offer a good experience.