Review of Suzdal and hotel Sloboda

This weekend, we were finally successful in our efforts to drive to Suzdal, (see other post). The road trip from Moscow took 4 hours, covering just over 220 kilometers. The road was covered in smoke from the forest fires that still burn outside Moscow. We stayed in a hotel called Sloboda, I know it sounds like a hotel for slobs but its not bad by Russian standards but has some faults that I will mention below. If you have moved to Moscow or are staying in Moscow for a week or so, I can recommend visiting Suzdal. The hotel Sloboda is a 10 minute walk from Suzdal.

I know I must be the worst guest any hotel could have, since I love to complain if things are not right. I strongly believe, that if you travel a long way and pay good money,  if something is not right then you should and must complain and I did when we left the hotel, the girl on reception looked annoyed and said nothing by way of an apology.

The hotel is off the main road on the left before you reach Suzdal. Its a group of buildings and log cabins that are situated in the gardens of the hotel. We paid 3,400 rubles for one night. The room was, as they call it "standard" and parking was extra. The standard room had no air-con and was situated in the roof of the hotel, so you can imagine the heat. Non "standard" rooms have air con and a mini bar. Parking in the hotel is 500 rubles if you want to park inside or 100 rubles if you want to park in the road, along side the hotel.

Parking should be free in my opinion, since you are staying in the hotel and all rooms should have air-con as standard. If you have small children, if you are disabled or if you have lots of luggage, you will not be happy since the hotel has no lift. There is also no ramp for pushchairs (strollers) to go into the hotel. The pool is more of a kids paddling pool than an actual pool, The staff are rude but the rooms are big and the beds are comfortable. The hotels caters for weddings and we were woken up two times, once at midnight then again at one in the morning by fireworks, probably to celebrate the weddings. These fireworks sounded as if they had be launched from inside the hotel and our room shook each time. Astonishing as it sounds, after my critical opinion, I would recommend this hotel if you go in winter and stay in one of their charming log cabins, despite the bad attention to detail, the hotel is nice and worth a visit if only for a night to allow you to look around Suzdal.

However, the saving grace of our weekend, was the visit to the Kremlin. This is a short walk from the hotel and is a white walled building with a large museum packed with old stuff and there is a restaurant situated in the grounds of the Kremlin. The restaurant is called Puchkarskaya Sloboda. Its very nice inside with high wooden chairs and tables and an old polished original wood floor. The restaurant has a vaulted ceiling like a wine cellar and the restaurant has many fine samovars on display. The meal for two, without any alcohol, cost us 1,600 rubles and included a starter each and a simple main course. The waiters were quick and helpful and the service was fast. The food was good, rather than "excellent" but worth having, although in my opinion rather expensive for what it was.

Suzdal, is worth a visit, if only for the restaurant and the Kremlin. The town has a tourist market where every stall sells the same old tourist stuff. The town has a river running through it and the town is not bad as Russian towns go, although the pavements have many large holes in them, which will test the wheels on your pushchair, if you have a young child or children. Only spend a day there, as a day will be enough! You can also see visit a wooden village and other churches in and around Suzdal.  

Note: Be warned that the women that sell tickets and that check tickets at the museums and tourist places, are generally rather miserable, they check your ticket as if you were entering a foreign country with a suspect passport and a bag of cocaine up your bottom.

All said and done, It was very good to get out of Moscow and if you live in Moscow you will need to get out as often as you can, even if it means spending hours in the traffic to reach your Moscow escape. As I said before, Moscow is not Russia.

Photos:

An Interesting house in Suzdal
A small church near Suzdal that requires a long walk to get to 
Wooden house for rent at the hotel Sloboda 

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