Hotel Rus, Kiev

I stayed at the Hotel Rus in Kiev for four days, and found it to be a decent, well-located place for the price of around $75 a night. The room was quiet and adequate, the breakfast buffet was enormous, and it is within walking distance of the main square in Kiev, though it is a fairly long walk. Front desk personnel speak English. As a former Soviet hotel, it is an enormous tower block on top of a hill and lacks that gemutlich quality. But for a first time visitor like me, it was a fine choice at a reasonable price.

Getting to the hotel was less difficult than my guidebook said it would be. The cab drivers at the airport did not demand enormous sums of money, just more or less what it would cost in Montreal, and the distance is considerably greater. Locals probably pay less than I did, about $40, but that is the penalty for being a non-Russian speaking first timer.