Our Moscow office booked me into the Sheraton Palace in Moscow, saying it was the best located for the office and any sightseeing that I might want to do while I was there. Work paid for my stays during the week (easily upwards of $500/night) and I covered the weekend with points.

On check-in, I did not have to request an upgrade and was automatically given access to the Executive Club. They told me I was put in a suite, but it was essentially a large room (or at least I assume it was a large room -- I didn't see any others!) with 1.5 baths. The hotel is not a luxury hotel by any stretch, but it meets all my standards for cleanliness and service. During my stay I found the staff to be accomodating, although I'll admit I wasn't very demanding. The doormen/bellmen would acknowledge me when coming in and the receptionist was straightforward in a very Russian way but also smiling. I did ask the concierge for some information about sightseeing and he willingly provided all of it, peppered with some history and personal experience.

The Sheraton Moscow Palace is centrally located right on Tverskaya, about two blocks from a metro station (Belorusskaya). Tverskaya is one of Moscow's high streets so always some good activity going on and restaurants nearby. Over the weekend, I found the metro to be one of the best, although a basic ability to read some of the Russian alphabet could be helpful. It certainly beats being ripped off by a cabbie. You can walk from the hotel to some of the main sights in Moscow, although I wouldn't say they were close by.

In the morning, I stumbled into the club lounge to find an absolutely incredible spread of food for breakfast. Being used to the typical cereals and stale breads one finds in the U.S., this level of high quality food was impressive. I did peek my head into the gym briefly: it is fairly standard but there are limited choices for exercise machines/stations.

On a final note, and as a word of caution, you will want to keep in mind that like most hotels in Moscow, they convert the room currency at a rate which can inflate the price of the room from what you may expect by 10-20%. In the end, the Sheraton is a passable hotel with a good breakfast spread but certainly nothing special that would make me all that eager to return.

Review submitted by jdobs.

Posted at January 20, 2008 7:42 AM