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I have stayed at the Park Inn by Radisson (Nevsky) on two separate occasions, and it is by far my favorite hotel in all of Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Park Inn by Radisson is centrally located in a great part of Saint Petersburg.  You are just steps away from the huge Galeria mall, with many levels of shopping, dining, and entertainment.  The hotel is also across the street from the entrance to the Metro, and just steps away from the famous Nevsky Prospekt, where you can find any store to satisfy your shopping desires, or any food to satisfy your hunger.

My most recent stay at the Park Inn by Radisson was in August of 2015.  I was flying from Kos, Greece to Saint Petersburg overnight, which had my flight arriving in Saint Petersburg at 3:30am.  Based on my past travels, that put me arriving in the hotel around 4:30am.  Since this was well before check-in time,  i had contacted the hotel to see if it was ok for me to check in VERY early, or if i needed to purchase another night to cover these few hours.  The girl at the hotel confirmed that there was no need to purchase another night, and she would notate my reservation to allow for check in at 4:00am.

I landed in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and breezed through customs/immigration.  Within 20 minutes of landing, I was outside the airport and in a cab on my way to the hotel.

When the cab pulled up to the hotel, my excitement began to build.  I had not slept in over two days, and was looking forward to the few hours of rest I would get before my fiancee met me at 9am.

I walked into the welcoming entry of the hotel, and was greeted by a young, but friendly front desk clerk.  I handed him my passport and reservation.  He seemed puzzled at my arrival, and began to enter my information.  After a few minutes, he handed my passport back, and explained that there were no rooms for me to check in to.  My heart immediately fell.  I was tired, had traveled for 2 and a half days straight, and just wanted to sleep!

The front desk worker saw the notation on my reservation that read “Guaranteed Early Check In At 4am per *the girls name*”.  He shook his head and told me that this girl who did this was new, and did not understand that Friday night (the night that was finishing) the hotel was at 100% occupancy.  The following night (day i was checking in) the hotel had only 80% occupancy, so there were many rooms to accommodate a very early check in time.

The young clerk could see that i was tired, and had traveled a long way.  He told me not to worry, and that he would find me an alternative solution.  After a few minutes, he presented me with three potential ideas.

1.) There was a hotel down the street that i could stay at.  The rate for the next 5 hours would be $275.00 USD.  I quickly turned down this offer.

2.) The second choice was to stay at their sister hotel for free (since it was their mistake).  The only problem with this option was that the hotel was on the other side of the river, and all of the drawbridges w
ere up.  The earliest I could get to the other hotel was 6am.  I turned down this option.

3.)  The third option, “is free”.  There was a couch in the corner of the lobby, he offered to w
atch my bag while i slept in the lobby.  I was so tired, that i didn’t care where i slept.  I figured it was free, and safe, as there was a security guard stationed just 5 minutes from the couch.

I went over to the couch, took out my blanket, put on my eye mask, hugged my leather bag with all my personal items, and fell asleep.

About an hour later, the front desk man came over and began to shake me.  “Mr. John.  There is a room available if you would like”.  I shot right up, grabbed the key from his hand, and ran up to my room.  The door was not even shut before my clothes were off, and i jumped into bed.  I set my alarm, and was off to sleep.

The next morning, we were presented with two coupons for free breakfast.  This was a nice touch.

I love the Park Inn by Radisson Hotel.  The staff has always been friendly, helpful, and try to do the best they can.  The location is great, and the price is awesome.  This is one of the best hotels for the money in Saint Petersburg.  The rooms are clean, modern, and fresh.  Bathrooms are nice, but i hate the showers. I understand that these are common for Europe, but it’s tough for me to get used to them.

In short, if you find yourself in Saint Petersburg, you should pay a visit to the Park Inn by Radisson on Nevsky.