Hotel Moskva by Christopher Deliso

Located right above Belgrade’s main pedestrian street, Knez Mihailova, the Hotel Moskva has crowned the downtown skyline of Serbia’s capital for the past 100 years. A stay at the hotel, with its mixed retro features combining royal and Yugoslav communist decor, is an essential part of the Belgrade experience for many visitors to the city.

Built in 1906, the Moskva was endowed with ornate furnishings from Serbia’s last royal family, the Karadjordjevic dynasty, while the sedate wood paneling, worn red carpets and stucco mosaics attest to later years of state-owned Yugoslav influence. Intricate stained glass paintings, fountains and elevators named after the days of the week add to the Moskva’s eclectic sensibilities.

The century-old Moskva was renovated in 1973- making it a living testament to the old Yugoslavia’s most prosperous period. Despite occasional creaking floorboards and some faded furnishings, the hotel isn’t shabby and indeed has a charm which visitors seeking to experience the Balkan capital in all its splendid smoky intrigue and regality should appreciate. The singular combination of Oriental rugs, stained glass paneling, potted plants and long mirrors suit the sometimes frenetic, sometimes reserved nature of Belgrade itself.

The hotel’s few amenities include simply-furnished restaurants, an upstairs bar and lobbyside café. There is a small conference room (30-person capacity) and hairdressing salon too. Internet is available on the first two floors. One thing the Moskva lacks is, however, parking- something usually hard to find in Belgrade’s busy downtown.

Service is generally friendly and prompt, though occasionally a gruff sense of formality remaining from years of Communism can be felt. Like wine, Serbian hospitality tends to get better with age and longtime staffers fondly recall guests who have become friends over the years.

The rooms Rooms at the Moskva range from standard singles and doubles to half-apartments and suites, all pervaded by a mixed Balkan/Central European style. High ceilings, striped couches and chairs made of polished wood prevail. While some rugs seem too new for the general décor, and the wood paneling too old, glossy triptych mirrors and Chinese vases add a touch of elegance.

Potentially confusing is the term ‘duplex’ used by the hotel to describe some of the rooms in the ‘half-apartment’ category, some of which feature a loft-level bed. There are 37 rooms in this category (170 euros, double occupancy), as well as 36 standard doubles (136 euros) and 37 standard singles (57 euros). The hotel’s 6 suites are slightly exorbitant at 350 euros each, but all have ample space, good views and little peculiarities of their own; one is the landscape painting said to have been donated by the son of German composer Richard Wagner when he couldn’t pay the bill.