I recently stayed at the Petro Palace (4 nights) and had a very positive experience. My room was on the 7th floor with an awesome view and great, huge windows with room-darkening shades (a must during summer!). The room was spacious and the furnishings quite nice, bed/bedding - both perfect, clean and comfy. The room was spotlessly clean and the bathroom was well-equipped with complimentary toiletries. I'm not sure how you could be critical about the breakfast buffet... it was awesome with a variety of cold and hot vittles, not to mention the fresh fruit in abundance.

The only minor negative points I can think of would be: (1) ridiculous 'administrative' fee at checkout - oh please!, (2) erroneous mini-bar charges on my bill (easily settled, but they asked several times if I was absolutely sure i didn't eat those things - a bit annoying), and (3) would have liked a safety latch on the inside of my room door - but admittedly, my friends staying at other hotels didn't have them either, so perhaps they aren't common. Also, if I could gripe about one very minor point at breakfast, a bit of variety in beverages (juice) would be nice!

The staff spoke English and were generally very helpful. Free wireless in the lobby was nice as well. The bus stop is about a 5 minute walk, and the metro is an easy 15 minutes, 10 minute walk to the Hermitage - great location!

This hotel is located just a few blocks from the Hermitage museum, in the heart of historic St Petersburgh. The rooms were spacious by Russian standards and the bathrooms are clean and functional. The staff speaks English and is generally helpful.

The bathroom floor is heated 24/7, which is probably a treat in the winter. In the summer, it made the room a little unbearable at times.

Free wifi in the lobby was a nice treat, especially in Russia where they charge for everything from using the bathroom in a museum to taking a photo in a historic church.

I recently stayed there with my girlfriend for 2 nights. We chose it based on some rather positive Tripadvisor comments but were sorely disappointed. We were put up in the smallest room I have ever seen (not even enough space to open 2 suitcases at once !) The bathroom was old and smelled terrible, and the furniture was a notch down from IKEA.

We had paid USD 500 for a night and I obviously went to protest. They then gave us another room on the 7th floor which was larger and didn't smell. The bathroom was much better now, but the airconditioning did not work (apparently in the entire hotel...). Furnishing still was very basic.

The breakfast buffet also was a joke, very few items to chose from and with a distinct cafeteria flair.

I know St.Petersburg is expensive, but we stayed the previous 3 nights at the Renaissance and that was WAY better than the Petro Palace and at a comparable price.

We stayed at the Petro Place for 4 nights May 22 - May 25 2008. The room was very large and comfortable with alpine style bedding. The bathroom was also large with plenty of room for toiletries and getting ready in the morning. We enjoyed the walk- in shower and heated floors. The room was bright (too bright during the evening due to the long summer days) and we wished there were black out curtains installed. The decor was very plain and average. We had breakfast included with our room rate and we enjoyed the variety of items to choose from. We were pleased there was no smoking in the room we were dining in. The staff was very helpful and contacted the company which did not deliver my train tickets and was able to get them delivered the next day. The location was really great as we were able to walk to all the places we wanted to visit and felt completely safe walking around the city.