"Loved it"
Unfortunatly the hotels are very expensive in Russia. Golden Apple is one of those high price properties but at least its a new place with very young but helpfull staff. They can speak good english and help you to find your way around the city, recommending nice bars/restaurants.
I liked the hotel with its simple design and good staff. The business center is very small and the breakfast is very expensive, but still i consider as a good place to stay because of the friendly young staff. Especially after seeing St. Petersburg hotel room and staff.
Rating:
"fantastic location and restaurant, very helpful staff"
This hotel has a location that can't be beat--convenient to metro, shopping, and red square. It also has a wonderful (if by no means cheap) restaurant, and the menu at the bar is a more casual version that does not suffer in quality.
The standard room I had was not large, but certainly adequate with a desk and so forth, and the bed was very comfortable. The wireless internet was an extra cost (as it is throughout Moscow) and was fast and reliable. Minimalist but classy decor. The heated floor in the bathroom was a bit of a giggle. My only quibble was that there was only a shower, no tub, and it felt a bit cramped because I wasn't used to it. I don't know if all the rooms are set up like that--it might be worth asking.
On the prices, and the complaints of other travelers, the fact is that all hotels in Moscow use the "currency unit" system. The Golden Apple is unusually honest in that staff explain the system clearly when you check in and the hotel lists its prices in rubles at the restaurant and bar. Moreover, they quote the room rates in rubles; whereas most Moscow hotels do so in "currency units," claiming they are dollars. These guys really get points for not doing that. I would stay there again
Rating:
"fantastic location and restaurant, very helpful staff"
This hotel has a location that can't be beat--convenient to metro, shopping, and red square. It also has a wonderful (if by no means cheap) restaurant, and the menu at the bar is a more casual version that does not suffer in quality.
The standard room I had was not large, but certainly adequate with a desk and so forth, and the bed was very comfortable. The wireless internet was an extra cost (as it is throughout Moscow) and was fast and reliable. Minimalist but classy decor. The heated floor in the bathroom was a bit of a giggle. My only quibble was that there was only a shower, no tub, and it felt a bit cramped because I wasn't used to it. I don't know if all the rooms are set up like that--it might be worth asking.
On the prices, and the complaints of other travelers, the fact is that all hotels in Moscow use the "currency unit" system. The Golden Apple is unusually honest in that staff explain the system clearly when you check in and the hotel lists its prices in rubles at the restaurant and bar. Moreover, they quote the room rates in rubles; whereas most Moscow hotels do so in "currency units," claiming they are dollars. These guys really get points for not doing that. I would stay there again
Rating:
"Loved it"
Unfortunatly the hotels are very expensive in Russia. Golden Apple is one of those high price properties but at least its a new place with very young but helpfull staff. They can speak good english and help you to find your way around the city, recommending nice bars/restaurants.
I liked the hotel with its simple design and good staff. The business center is very small and the breakfast is very expensive, but still i consider as a good place to stay because of the friendly young staff. Especially after seeing St. Petersburg hotel room and staff.
Rating:
"fantastic location and restaurant, very helpful staff"
This hotel has a location that can't be beat--convenient to metro, shopping, and red square. It also has a wonderful (if by no means cheap) restaurant, and the menu at the bar is a more casual version that does not suffer in quality.
The standard room I had was not large, but certainly adequate with a desk and so forth, and the bed was very comfortable. The wireless internet was an extra cost (as it is throughout Moscow) and was fast and reliable. Minimalist but classy decor. The heated floor in the bathroom was a bit of a giggle. My only quibble was that there was only a shower, no tub, and it felt a bit cramped because I wasn't used to it. I don't know if all the rooms are set up like that--it might be worth asking.
On the prices, and the complaints of other travelers, the fact is that all hotels in Moscow use the "currency unit" system. The Golden Apple is unusually honest in that staff explain the system clearly when you check in and the hotel lists its prices in rubles at the restaurant and bar. Moreover, they quote the room rates in rubles; whereas most Moscow hotels do so in "currency units," claiming they are dollars. These guys really get points for not doing that. I would stay there again
Rating:
"Loved it"
Unfortunatly the hotels are very expensive in Russia. Golden Apple is one of those high price properties but at least its a new place with very young but helpfull staff. They can speak good english and help you to find your way around the city, recommending nice bars/restaurants.
I liked the hotel with its simple design and good staff. The business center is very small and the breakfast is very expensive, but still i consider as a good place to stay because of the friendly young staff. Especially after seeing St. Petersburg hotel room and staff.
Rating:
"A sleek, modern oasis away in funky, clunky Moscow"
My boyfriend and I stayed at the Golden Apple for 3 nights over the New Year holiday and enjoyed every minute of it.
We were concerned that its location would be inconvenient to the big sights, but found that the Kremlin and Red Square were conveniently about a 15 minute walk away and several metro stations in the neighborhood put us within a half hour of everything else.
In fact, being night-owls ourselves (he, naturally - me, due to jet lag) we liked the numerous eating establishments that were open 24 hours or at least into the wee hours of the morning, providing us innumerable options to satisfy a late-night craving. (We liked Gallery restaurant for an over-the-top taste of ritzy, glitzy new-Russia and Starlight Diner - it's tucked away inside a little leafy, gated square - for a 24 hour all-American trailer-diner with a 50's theme. Funny, when you consider what Moscow was really doing at that time).
But back to the Apple- unfortunately, their restaurant and hot tub facilities were closed for renovation, but they provided our reservation's included breakfast via room service with no extra service charge. I read other reviews here about the hotel inflating extra charges when the bill came and I think I successfully avoided that by booking through a secondary, discount website (make sure you get a booking that includes a daily breakfast!) so that everything was paid up-front and in full before we even arrived.
We stayed in a 'superior' sized room which was spacious in comparison to other modern hotel rooms we've slept in. I think this was a good choice over the 'standard' since we ended up spending a lot of time in the room due to jet lag or cold weather.
The staff was friendly, once approached, but don't bother smiling at the security guard! Don't bother smiling at any law enforcement in Moscow, come to think of it!
Overall, the Golden Apple - despite being your typical hipster hotel - was a nice respite from the sometimes backwards, grimy Moscow (all of which made it the most interesting place we've visited). It's a long, grueling trip there - and a challenging city to navigate and difficult people with which to communicate - so give yourself a break and stay somewhere nice. If you find a good online deal, all of the Golden Apple's perks are well worth it and you shouldn't feel guilty indulging in something cushy and western during your stay in such a tough city.
Rating:
"Possibly the Best Hotel in Moscow"
First it should be noted that hotels in Moscow are ridiculously overpriced. Depending on the season, if you are fortunate enough to even find a room in a decent hotel, you may end up spending $500 or more per night for a decent hotel. What's more, as one reviewer previously noted, you are likely to be charged in the famous "currency units", which is likely to be pegged more closely to the euro than to the dollar (this is a shameful trick done by all Moscow hotels -- including the major Western chains such as the Marriott).
Taking this into account, I was very pleased with the Golden Apple. I travel to Moscow frequently, and have stayed in almost all of the city's major hotels (as well as a few that are less well known), and the Golden Apple may have been the most pleasant. It enjoys an excellent location, just minutes off of Pushkin Square and Tverskaya, yet is calmly tucked away from much of the noise and traffic of Moscow. The interior is decidedly modern, which may not suit all tastes, but is in my opinion much warmer and welcoming than the Park Hyatt, which is often considered the best hotel in town, but I find the Hyatt's rooms extremely cold and gloomy.
Best of all, since it is a rather small hotel, and the staff incredibly kind and helpful, I felt much more at home than in any of the major mega-hotels in the center. On top of that the food is excellent.
There are of course certain downsides to a small hotel, that a business traveler may find difficult. The hotel's business center, although functional, is very small, there are no conference facilities, there is only one restaurant, and there is no fitness area.
Despite this, if you are looking for a quite, comfortable and rather reasonably priced hotel (for Moscow that is!) in central Moscow, I highly recommend the Golden Apple.
Group Booking
40 km
1 km
