Review of Hotel Astoria, by Matt Morley

St.Petersburg's luxury hotels have so far shied away from truly progressive interior design, most of them opting instead for attractive, but rather conservative décor choices. Some might say the weight of history on the city's shoulders is just too great for a modernist temple to feel at home here anyway. Yet, as The Hotel Astoria has shown, an alternative does exist.

Hotel Astoria offers huge levels of luxury in The Spa by Clarins on the 7th floor. This sophisticated and relaxing retreat has a Finnish sauna, Turkish steam room and four treatment rooms offering Clarins treatments as well as Swedish, sports, back, neck and shoulder massages.

Clarins beauty treatments will make your skin radiant and healthy and tone up the whole body. Stylish design and soft music create an ideal atmosphere for complete unwinding. There is also the option to start or complete your spa journey in the luxury hotel's adjacent gym which, while compact in size, has everything needed for a cardiovascular workout or weights session and is open 24 hours a day.

We loved the look of the Clarins spa's "Blue Lagoon Treatment" program too. It begins with a rejuvenating facial using, wait for it, caviar extracts that combine with powerful anti-oxidants to help facial contours look and feel smoother by reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. As if all that pampering wasn't enough, there is also the option of indulging in some of Hotel Astoria's homemade pastries and chocolates on the ground floor.

Rotonda Lounge is the hotel's ideal venue for afternoon tea and cakes, as well as for a continental breakfast option in the morning and live jazz in the evenings that emanates up the central stairwell to greet guests as they leave the comfort of their rooms. For a full meal however, the best option is Hotel Astoria's Davidov restaurant that offers contemporary cuisine combined with Russian classics.

Every weekend, the restaurant's 'Russian Table' offers plates of salads, pickles, meat and fish hors d'oeuvres from a buffet, followed by pelmeni with mushrooms, a selection of main dishes such as beef stroganoff, Chicken Kiev or escalope of salmon, followed by dessert and coffee. Incidentally, the meal also includes unlimited beer, vodka and Russian sparkling wine, which sounds like rather a dangerous combination for those who are not used to consuming litre after litre of potent alcoholic substances with their meal (i.e. most non-Russians)!

Finally, the hotel's Kandinsky bar caters to those looking for an informal cocktail space or venue for a business meeting. Again, rather worryingly for a foreign observer, this bar is open around the clock, so make sure you have checked-in to your room before that first drink to avoid complications later on…

Combining traditional character with the sophistication of a 5-star luxury hotel, the 221 rooms including 42 suites are designed in a graceful blend of Russian antiques and contemporary pieces, complemented by the essential in-room technology that one expects of a Leading Hotel of the World.

Five Presidential suites are available at Hotel Astoria, each named after a major Russian cultural figure. These decadent rooms have each been individually decorated and feature paintings, sculptures, ceramics, furniture, chandeliers and lighting from the Astoria's original collection (the luxury hotel was first built in 1911-12 by the famous local architect Fyodor Lidval).

These magnificent two-bedroom suites are located on the main corner the building, and therefore look out to the statue of Nicholas I and the Mariinsky Palace, St.Isaac's Square and the Cathedral.