Astoria-SPb: 100 Years of Exquisite Luxury
A photo review of a wonderful St. Petersburg hotel, prepared and published by me back in 2013.
An insert from 2025. In the early 2000s, I, a poor student, took a trip to St. Petersburg with a friend. Neither of us had ever been there before. We hitchhiked there and back , with unforgettable adventures. I remember strolling through this beautiful city and, standing at the door of the Astoria Hotel near St. Isaac’s Cathedral, promising myself that someday I would spend at least one night there. My dream unexpectedly came true eight years later. I was invited on a press tour and put up at that very same Astoria Hotel. With a view of St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Can you imagine my delight at that moment?!
One hundred and one years ago, on December 23, 1912, the fashionable Astoria Hotel opened in St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire, a crown jewel in the collection of hotels owned by the English joint-stock company Palace Hotel. The building was designed by the renowned St. Petersburg architect Fyodor Lidval and named after the luxurious New York hotels of the Astor brothers. Many of the first distinguished guests to stay here came to St. Petersburg for the celebration of the tercentenary of the Romanov dynasty.
The Astoria captivated even aristocrats, sophisticated in luxury and travel. However, the building amazed its contemporaries not only with its exquisite beauty but also with its technological innovations — the automatic dust removal system alone was a real eye-catcher! Today, the hotel is part of the international Rocco Forte Hotels chain and a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. Furthermore, the hotel ranks 9th in Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s most romantic hotels.
It was here that the dictator-artist Hitler planned to celebrate the capture of Leningrad. Invitations had already been printed, and the building was prohibited from being fired upon with long-range artillery or bombed from the air. During Madonna’s world tour, one of the mandatory conditions of her rider was to stay at the Astoria. H.G. Wells, Alain Delon, George H.W. Bush, Margaret Thatcher, the Rolling Stones, Linkin Park, Depeche Mode, and many other celebrities also stayed here. Incidentally, I was lucky enough to see Maya Plisetskaya at the hotel that evening.
Enough words, I suppose — let’s take a tour of the hotel! I’ll show you my room and the luxurious presidential suite — one in a classic style, the other in a more contemporary one. Welcome to the Astoria!
Should I really go here? The entrance looks more like an embassy of some state
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A surprise awaited me upon checking into the hotel. The receptionist informed me that TKS had booked me a Standard room, but the hotel management was offering me a complimentary Deluxe room with a view of St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Naturally, I wasn’t going to be shy and refuse…
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The interiors here are magnificent, but I put off exploring them for the time being — I couldn’t wait to see my room and the view from its window.
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So, fourth floor, room 405, window and… SO BEAUTY! Incidentally, it’s amazing — on my second night, in a different hotel, I had a view of Kazan Cathedral. Life is getting better, I must say
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And this is my number! It’s clearly been designed — it’s noticeable everywhere
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For some reason I expected it to be luxurious, but here it’s more stylish and conveniently functional.
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It’s great that every detail has been thought through, because it’s in the little things that one’s attitude towards guests is evident
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After the presentation, we took a stroll to the Spit of Vasilievsky Island and admired the views. I returned to my room and realized something had changed. The curtains were drawn, towels were laid out by the bed, shower stall, and bathtub, and the mineral water and TV remote had been moved to the nightstand
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…and a video of a burning fireplace with cozy crackling logs appeared on the TV screen.
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I take a volume of Russian classic poetry from the shelf and slowly fall asleep…
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On the one hand, there is a cozy, large room with a mind-boggling number of different light sources…
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…and on the other, a view from the window of St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Looking at it, I fell asleep. Incidentally, the view was almost unchanged in the morning — it’s dark in St. Petersburg until 10 a.m. now
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Time for breakfast. Remember how Andrei Mironov in “The Adventures of Italians in Russia” slides out of the window on the carpet? The floor administrator, whom he “took for a ride,” once sat in that spot.
I settled down on this sofa at Astoria Cafe
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I look around.
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Wow! So much stuff! It’s a shame I don’t drink.
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I’m studying the menu. The selection is quite extensive, even though breakfast is included in my room rate
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The service during breakfast is something special. You feel like a VIP, especially when they serve business newspapers, tied with a ribbon. I get into character and read the stock market reports. I was delighted by the informational collection brought from Kommersant — surprisingly, it included a familiar name from Tatarstan. True, it was connected to financial fraud. )
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There is also a buffet here, but the main course and coffee are brought by waiters.
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I didn’t bring my DSLR here — I’m clicking away with my pocket photo-howitzer.
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People are like people. The only difference is that they’re willing to shell out a pretty penny for a room. )
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After breakfast and a short stroll around the hotel, impressed by the beauty of the interiors, I asked reception for a short tour of the Astoria. That evening, I was shown two available presidential suites (the other three were apparently occupied) and taken to the cozy cafes and restaurants located in the building. Since the hotel is historic, many of the interiors have been preserved in their original state. And you can sense this quality immediately.
This is a Standard room. It’s no worse than mine — it just has a simpler interior and no view of St. Isaac ‘s Cathedral — the windows overlook the courtyard.
I’ll be honest — this is my first time in the presidential suite. Which is understandable — I’m not the president, after all.
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And all of these are originals.
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The rooms are very large, you feel like you’re in a small, rich museum.
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And in some places it’s almost like home — it’s so cozy here.
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Bedroom
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Every little detail in the Astoria was made specifically for the hotel, as evidenced by a special hallmark — a curly letter “A.”
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Living room. Or dining room — I can’t remember. And what difference does it make? )
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Another bedroom.
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It seems like the living room again — everything is in a circle here.
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Let’s get out. My photos, alas, don’t show even a tenth of what I saw.
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This room is already new. It seems to be one of the most expensive (250,000 rubles per night) and luxurious in the hotel.
There’s no abundance of gold or stucco here. And the design is more modern. But antiques are still everywhere.
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For some reason I liked the bedroom better.
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Living room. When they told me the geography of the countries that supplied the materials for the room’s finishing and decoration, my brain overheated — the list was huge. )
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When I fell a little behind my guide, I immediately got lost — this is not a one-room apartment in Kazan)
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Study room.
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Everything is ready for business. By the way, the fruit and flowers on the tables are fresh. Even if the room is empty, they are changed every day.
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The office looks modern, but even here there’s history all around. This, for example, is a chair from the Louis XV collection.
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Look at these carved decorations! It’s even sinful and scary to sit on a museum exhibit. )
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This is a closet. It’s bigger and more comfortable than my kitchen. You could live in it. )
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A shower for two. And the bathroom will fit another dozen bodyguards with towels. )
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Exercise bike and massage area.
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Venus de Milo? I don’t recognize you in makeup
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The elevator has plaques with the names of famous guests.
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The interiors have been preserved in their original form.
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The hotel administration has no right to change them — they are protected by the state.
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I didn’t use this staircase — I took the elevator.
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It’s crazy — all this splendor is more than 100 years old!
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Living Room Rotunda.
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An interesting shot of passersby from the street peering into the hotel lobby
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I felt like I was in an old teahouse. Incidentally, we’ve somehow completely forgotten the glorious tradition of drinking tea from samovars.
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Lichfield Bar
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The interior design features unique photographs by renowned British photographer Patrick Lichfield
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A place of surprising combinations. The spirit of a bygone era is clearly felt here. In a good way.
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It’s nice at Astoria, but it’s time for us to say goodbye…
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In short, it’s not a hotel, but a work of art.
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I once dreamed of staying here. And the Astoria did not disappoint. 60
I will definitely stay here again) 61
P.S. I’ve already shared my impressions of the hotel. If that’s not enough for you, there’s a really good video about the hotel. Granted, a lot has changed at the Astoria since that video, but it still gets the point across.
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