Miscellaneous Tips, Belarus

Located just at the edge of the city centre, the hotel looms on top of a hill with gardens and is very close to the lake. Your first thought is SOVIET TOWER. The dark and cavernous lobby reaffirms this feeling. Although there are some nice souvenir kiosks and a small grocery in the lobby, you struggle to see in the dark gloom and amber coloured decorations. The loud clanging elevators take you to your floor where a stern looking woman at a desk greets you. She controls your destiny and your room key for the rest of your stay. She will give you that disapproving look every time you see her so that there is no question who is in charge here.

Once you get past the threadbare brown carpets you find your way to your room filled with brown threadbare furniture and a lumpy brown bed. Your Spartan bathroom is decorated with brown tiles. The colour is Soviet brown. Don't worry - the whole country matches.

In order to lighten your mood you can discover the 3 excellent qualities that Hotel Belarus does have. 1) The view out your window of the lake and several cathedrals. 2) The well-equipped gym – fee payable thank you, and 3) The Panorama Restaurant with the complimentry breakfast hot breakfast buffet and stupendous views of the city of Minsk.

The hotel sits among nice gardens where there seems to be a least 3 weddings taking place at a time. There are also some bizarre gardening “art” as well as a small stream full of inquisitive ducks.

The staff do not speak any language except Russian and are mostly rude. If you persevere, they will go in the back and find someone remotely friendly.

Even hotel booking websites have a problem telling you about the attractive qualities of this Soviet Monolithic Tower Block. One booking site for this throw back describes it as “A reasonable if unimaginative centrally located hotel” and “A high-rise tower, Soviet era modern grey building”.

The hotel does have some good features:

In lobby grocery/general store: cheap cold beers, snacks, even fruit
In lobby souvenir kiosk: good Soviet oddities at an average price – when open
6 lifts: 3 work and scare the hell out of you
Car parking: expensive
Business facilities (fax/internet) VERY expensive
Gym: expensive
Pool: VERY VERY expensive ($10 an hour!)
Couple of bars: locals only, dirty looks and do not want to serve you
Fantastic hot breakfast with best views in Minsk: FREE – they don’t ask for your room!

Nearby:
Park
ATM with either local currency or US Dollars
Lake
Cathedral

Healthy Walk:
Restaurant (bad)
Grocery store (very good)

Long walk:
Centre
Metro
Afghanistan Memorial
Shops
Internet cafes
Restaurants (good, western, expensive)
CASH DESK IN LOBBY: where you pay all the fees so you can use the facilities
NO TICKET = NO USE*

Overall: An OK place for business people and a clean and safe hotel. Definitely not for backpackers or Romantic breaks – but neither is Belarus.

Belarus Hotels