Along Nevsky Prospekt and Mikhailovskaya Street stretches one of the finest hotels of the continent. The building itself is an architectural monument – the ground and first floors are protected by St. Petersburg’s historical and cultural policy – so the recent reconstruction work has meticulously preserved the hotel’s art nouveau interiors and neo-classical façade.
Tchaikovsky spent his honeymoon there. Johann Strauss occupied “comfort room No 26” for 14 days. Dimitri Shostakovitch played a sonata for Sergey Prokofiev in his suite, Elton John performed at the restaurant, and George Bernard Shaw met there with Maxim Gorky. Rasputin dined there, Queen Elizabeth II praised the hotel’s kitchen and the Romanov royal family continue to gather at the hotel for reunions.
The hotel’s first floor is its most opulent, reached by a magnificent marble staircase that echoes with the footfalls of its eminent guests. Following extensive refurbishment work from renowned French designer Michel Jouannet, it is now home to 10 historic suites, each with vestibule, living room, bedroom and large bathroom, offering 4.3m high ceilings and areas between 55 and 97sq m. Named in honour of some of the hotel’s famous patrons, each suite has been painstakingly and individually renovated to reflect the style of its namesake as well as the rich history of the hotel.
Name dropping
The Pavarotti Suite, for example, is styled in the fashion of Paris’s Opera Garnier and Milan’s La Scala: the living space is dominated by hues of gold and red, while the bathroom is finished in contrasting black and pink marble. The suite has always been popular with musicians – the living room features an antique grand piano – and the celebrated Italian tenor used it during his final tours in 2004.
The Stravinsky Suite is coloured in joyful hues of green, reflecting the great composer’s exploration of springtime and awakening; the Dostoevsky Suite, meanwhile, is decorated in deep and serious tones, with 19th century style wallpaper and an imposingly large desk for literary work.
The Mariinsky Suite is decorated in light blue tones to match the interior of the celebrated Mariinsky Theatre. Home of the world famous Kirov Opera and Ballet, the theatre hosted the premieres of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty. The Grand Hotel Europe has a private box reserved with the theatre, and guests are welcome to take a seat there to enjoy a performance of opera or ballet.
Other suites are similarly themed for famed artists and architectural styles, while all other first floor rooms have been renovated with a careful historical aesthetic, featuring antique paintings, chandeliers, vases and other artefacts. However, modern technology is still available in all first floor rooms (as well as throughout the hotel), while the services of a personal butler ensure guests experience sublime, classical comfort at the same time as contemporary facilities and service.
Mikhailovskaya Ulitsa 1/7, 191186 St Petersburg, Russia; tel: +7 812 329 6000; fax: +7 812 329 6001; hotel@grandhoteleurope.com; www.grandhoteleurope.com
