Friends by Gostiny Dvor♡

Really nice stay

10.0

Really nice stay and great customer service. Hotel is in a great location

Хорошее место

10.0

Прекрасное расположение около Гостиного двора, основные достопримечательности в шаговой доступности. Отель находится на 3 этаже без лифта, это надо учитывать, если тяжёлый багаж. Комната, коридор очень чистые. Персонал дружелюбный. Есть общая кухня. Единственное , что вызывало дискомфорт - шум с улицы, какой-то монотонный гул от кондиционера или генератора. С учётом места, цены и удобства подходит для робкого отдыха.

Not great at all

4.0

The first thing I should say is that - credit where it’s due - the location of Friends is excellent. It’s right in the centre, with most of the main attractions being eminently walkable and with Nevsky Prospekt just a few minutes’ walk away. For us, however, that was really where the positives ended. In fairness, I didn’t actually know this was a two star hotel (not that this is a problem) - we just picked it because it looked quite nice. However, upon arriving the receptionist gave us a talk about what they didn’t offer, “because this is a two star hotel”, which was an interesting approach that I suppose could be generously classed as expectation management. I didn’t really have an issue with the things that weren’t on offer (things like shower gel, which I had, or like slippers, which I don’t use) but I suppose it meant we entered with a more negative mindset and it felt like the hostel’s emphasis was on getting excuses in early rather than providing an experience proportionate to what we were spending. Critically, however, the rooms just weren’t that nice. We’d picked Friends because the pictures online looked really nice, however we had a standard room and it looked nothing like the pictures we had seen. I assume the pictures were of the Deluxe Rooms, which is entirely fair as a marketing ploy, but it did mean that we’d seen no pictures of what we were actually getting and we were disappointed because it looked nothing like we’d seen online. Some of the nice pictures online were of the Cafe, which is genuinely lovely and which I understand is affiliated to the hostel, but we found this a bit cheeky given that they’re separate institutions and you can quite easily go to the Cafe without staying in the hostel (which we wish we’d done). The room was very small (ironically, the cells in Trubetskoy Bastion prison were much bigger) and the pressure in the shower was abysmal to the extent that it was barely usable (compounded by the fact that the hot water often didn’t work). Besides the shower situation, none of these things were the end of the world - but, in combination, they made for a poor experience and if we’d had anything less than what we did have it would have been a thoroughly unpleasant experience. I appreciate that this is supposed to be a hostel on a budget but we didn’t think it was especially cheap, and I’ve stayed in much better places for much less. If I had my time again I’d find somewhere else, or just rent an apartment, because the excellent location really didn’t make up for the drawbacks.

Guest review

10.0

Comfortable and convenient budget hotel. Good value. Great service.

Guest review

8.0

There were 8 of us travelling as a family. We booked 3 rooms, which provided enough space for everyone. The properties location is perfect - very central and convenient to all sights. Comfortable and clean rooms. Lovely warm showers. Only downside was thin walls which meant the noise travelled. The kitchen was a great area to hangout as a family, but there was little space at reception. Staff were all very helpful and friendly. All in all excellent value for money.

отличный отель в центре города

8.0

Приятный отель в центре города, в номере все чисто, новая мебель, белье, регулярная уборка. Понравилось, что в этом же здании на 1 этаже есть столовая (там вкуснее) и кафе- удобно ходить на завтрак. Не хватает кондиционера, если жарко. Не понравился вид из окна на ужасный рынок и громкая реклама рынка Апракин двор с 7 утра, но к отелю это не имеет отношения