Accommodations in St. Petersburg range from grim and expensive to opulent and very expensive. Some prominent hotels are unsafe—plagued by robberies and prostitution rings, among them the Hotel Oktyabryskaya. The safest and most comfortable (and most expensive) hotels are the Grand Hotel Europe, the Astoria, the Angleterre, Corinthia Nevskij Palace, the Grand Hotel Emerald, the Renaissance and the Radisson. Less expensive options—but still comfortable and safe—are the Deson-Ladoga, the Pribalstiyskaya, Neptun Hotel, Arbat-Nord Hotel and the Pulkovskaya.
Other options include bed-and-breakfasts, apartment hotels, private apartments and homestays, which can be arranged prior to arrival. (We strongly recommend a homestay experience if you want to get to know Russians.)
Reservations are highly recommended in the summer, especially in June during the White Nights. Also note that foreigners pay several times the rate paid by Russians.
There are several classes of hotels (two-, three-, four- and five-star), which must be specified when booking. Three-star properties, in most cases, are sufficiently comfortable. New to the country are deluxe hotels that truly meet international standards. They are generally run in conjunction with foreign management.
