Oktiabrskaya hotel ***, St. Petersburg

• General information about Oktiabrskaya hotel , St. Petersburg
• How to get to the Oktiabrskaya hotel , St. Petersburg
• Rooms of the Oktiabrskaya hotel , St. Petersburg
• Booking of Oktiabrskaya hotel , St. Petersburg rooms (room reservation) and services
• The Oktiabrskaya hotel , St. Petersburg complex
• The "Business centers" of the Oktiabrskaya hotel , St. Petersburg
• Restaurants of the Oktiabrskaya hotel , St. Petersburg
• Visa to Russia for guests of the Oktiabrskaya hotel
• Group tours with accommodation at the Oktiabrskaya hotel

General information:

The Oktiabrskaya Hotel is one of the oldest St. Petersburg Hotel located at the central part of the city where two main avenues Nevsky & Ligovsky meet just in front of Moskovsky Railway station. At December of 2001 there was a celebration of 150 years anniversary of Oktiabrskaya Hotel foundation.

A site of the land which the Oktiabrskaya Hotel currently occupies went down into St. Petersburg history as early as the middle of the 18th century. The tsar's menagerie Elephant's Yard was located at that place that time. Constriction works of the railway between Moscow and St. Petersburg started development of a big square in front of the future building of the Nikolaevsky Railway Station. The design of the complex with good looking facilities was approved in February 1845, by the Emperor Nicholas I himself.

A building and interior decorations of the future Oktiabrskaya Hotel were designed by architects Guemilian and Ivanov.

Newspapers of that time described the construction works in details telling that the future building of the Oktiabrskaya Hotel was large enough and consisted of 100-150 premises fit for accommodation and leisure. The hotel was excessively equipped by technical innovations of that time: the rooms were heated by "pneumonic stoves", fans were installed there to purify the air, passages were equipped with "talking tubes". The hotel was called Znamenskaya and officially opened in December, 1851. It happened a year and half later after the regular communication by the first Russian railway was established.

In the second half of the 19th century the hotel was reconstructed and renovated several times, it used to change its owners and names as well. After Znamenskaya it became Severnaya, then it was renamed into Big Severnaya and finally in 1918 it got its current name - the Oktiabrskaya Hotel.

At the beginning of the 20th century it acquired particular respectability. The building was decorated with a dome inside and there was a restaurant there. The facade of the building was decorated with the elevator (lift) working on the electricity. The hotel offered for it guests the omnibus charter carried by horses. There were about 200 rooms at the hotel but only 23 of them were equipped with bathrooms. Many rooms were equipped with the city telephones. The restaurant of the Oktiabrskaya Hotel, one of the largest in the city used to serve up to 500 people. The hotel rooms were furnished with elegant modern furniture and carpets.

After the revolution of 1917 the hotel premises were given for the needs of the October Railway Administration. The railway workers and the Red army soldiers used to stay at Oktiabrskaya hotel that time. After it was used as the hostel for hundreds of homeless children. From 1939 to 1940 during a war against Finland there was a head quarters of Karelo-Finn Republic, from 1942 to 1944 there was a hospital where suffered from the starvation Leningrad citizens were treated, from February of 1944 till the end of the Great Patriotic War in May of 1945 there was a head quarters of the

Estonian Government.

From July to November of 2001 a new parade entrance made from granite, marble and polycarbonated glass decorated the facade of Oktiabrskaya Hotel. The total renovation of the water and sanitary pipe systems, installation of the new heating equipment, etc. and renovation of rooms and business-centre were done as well. The Oktiabrskaya Hotel became the certified the 3 star hotel. There are future plans to make Oktiabrskaya Hotel the multifunction hotel complex located at the heart of St. Petersburg which will offer to its visitors not only comfortable, reasonably priced accommodation with excellent on-site facilities but other services including shops, office and health areas and a night club.

The Oktiabrskaya Hotel is well situated for the business traveller with nearby Metro access, a fast link to the city's Moskovsky railway station and Pulkovo International Airport and just a few minutes walk away from the Nevsky prospect. Within walking distance are:

• less then 1 km from Alexander Nevsky Lavra, one of the four lavras in Russia; it contains cemetery monuments to famous persons from the 18th and 19th centuries
• 2 km from Russian Museum, the collection of Russian art from medieval icons to realistic paintings
• 2 km from Kazan Cathedral, an outstanding example of the early 19th century Russian architecture, erected on the site of a small stone church to hold the ancient icon of Our Lady of Kazan
• 2 km from Church of the Resurrection (The Saviour on Blood), an important landmark that was created on the exact site where the Russian Emperor Alexander II was assassinated in 1881; here you will see the fantastic art of Russian mosaics, which covers an enormous area
• 3 km from St. Isaac's Cathedral, the 4th greatest cupola cathedral in the world, richly decorated with monolithic columns, paintings, mosaics, sculptures, marble and semi-precious stones
• 3 km from the Hermitage (Winter Palace), the largest museum in the world; former winter residence of Russian tsars
• 3 km from Mariinsky Theatre, where act one of the best troupes in the world, classical ballets and international operas
• 3,5 km from Yusupov Palace, a beautiful example of St. Petersburg's early 18th century architecture; there you will have a chance to see the room where Rasputin was killed.
• 4 km from Peter & Paul Fortress, former political prison; it is the burial place of Romanov dynasty and presently an exhibition of the city's history
• 25 km from the Suburbs (Petergof, Pushkin, Pavlosk), former summer residences of Russian tsars with beautiful parks

Over five hundred comfortable rooms and suites of the Oktiabrskaya Hotel are delightfully designed and truly accommodating. Great facilities for businessmen are offered by the hotel's business centre. For a special occasion the visitors of the Oktiabrskaya Hotel may order conference halls for holding negotiations, conferences, seminars and presentation ceremonies.

The Oktiabrskaya Hotel offers its guests the best in security, convenience and a full range of services to make a stay in St. Petersburg pleasant.

The Oktiabrskaya Hotel is able to accommodate up to 1,000 guests in the rooms of its 2 blocks: "Oktiabrsky" and "Nevsky" and over 200 guests at the affiliated branch "Ligovsky". There are 551 rooms and suites in the hotel excluding affiliated branch (14 triple rooms, 200 twin/double rooms, 240 single rooms, 87 junior suites, 6 suites and 4 apartments). All the rooms have a bathroom, long-distance telephones, satellite TV, refrigerators. Some of the hotel rooms give a view of the city prospect. Peaceful and quiet, the comfortable furniture, the cosy halls are conducive to good rest.

The affiliated branch of the Oktiabrskaya Hotel is located just across its main building. All rooms of the affiliated branch were completely refurbished at 2001 to meet the international standards of quality. The only difference between rooms of the main and the affiliated branch is the room space. The rooms at the branch are smaller. Breakfasts take place at the restaurant located on the ground floor, from 7.30 am to 11.30 am.