I stayed here for a Winter break, the hotel was fabulous, the breakfast had the biggest variety I've ever come across, I had my own hallway, bathroom and very large bedroom, the doormen opened the door of the car for me and escorted me into the lovely foyer where there was always a man playing the grand piano. The cocktail bar was even reasonable considering the grandeur of the hotel. An amazing place!

Have stayed here often on business and have never been disappointed. The rooms are well-appointed although some can be small but asking for an upgrade as a frequent visitor is almost always fulfilled. If you fortunate enough to get bumped up to a presidential suite you really won't be disapppointed.

The Davidov restaurant is pricey and not always worth it especially when there are restaurants in town which offer more for less of your hard-earned roubles. The Kandinsky bar is relaxing and makes the best dirty martini I've ever had!

The staff are efficient and you should definitely take advantage of the concierge service for tickets to the opera and ballet as they can obtain better seats than igoing direct to the box office.

The Astoria is ideally located in front of the Isaak Cathedral and just round the corner from The Hermitage. You are also within walking distance of the Nevsky Prospekt and the city centre.

We have stayed at Rocco Forte in Berlin (same time of year) which was stunning and a true 5 star hotel, this one comes no where near.

We were very disappointed that this was no more than a three star hotel with 5 star pricing. We know Russia is expensive but this was well over the odds.

Rooms are average/small in size in this category, sound proofing is poor, decor bland and lacking in atmosphere especailly true given that this was Christmas. Lacks atmosphere and the personal touch.

Food in the restaurant was OK, well presented but massively over priced. Staff were friendly but not overly attentive (chatting in the corner while we waited for service).

Location is great and you can walk everywhere - which we did.

Spa and sauna were more of an after thought than an offering - we had to ask for them to turn on the steam room and when we did it took ages for them to do it.

We would not recommend this hotel to anyone but would recommend the HOtel De Berlin

Stayed here for 3 nights in July, 2008. Overall, I think this is a very nice hotel. It is well located and close to all the major sights. The public spaces are not that impressive, though I did like the bar. The rooms were quite nice with an eclectic decor combining a few old touches within a more modern look. Service was competent, though the concierge sometimes went AWOL for periods of time. The restaurant was fine for breakfast and lunch (did not eat dinner there). All in all, a perfectly good choice for St. Petersburg.