Getting to Minsk from Tel Aviv last year was an all-day travel sort of affair. So it wasn’t all fun and games, it involved a few hours in Istanbul’s new, but crowded and over heated airport, and it started in the wee hours of the morning too as the journey to Ben Gurion Airport from Jerusalem where I was staying was over and hour itself.

I got into Minsk and it was still daylight, but by the time the long bus ride dropped me off at the central station in the city, it was dark. It was November and the light went down early, so it was to be expected, then I had to find the right subway line to get me to a station near my hotel.

It was around zero degrees when I came out of the subway and somehow navigated my way to the Victoria na Zamnkovov Hotel, across from a great shopping mall and not more than a few hundred metres from the station itself. I entered from a large carpark, and the hotel did not appear to have an entry point from the main road. But still, I was very glad to have found the hotel at around 6pm and was ready for a relaxing night.

Good English spoken at reception. I don’t believe it should be a requirement, there are thousands of languages and it’s luck that my native tongue is widely spoken. It was a strangely shaped building, I think there was some sort of a courtyard, but it seemed to be a couple of long thin buildings connected to each other I guess.

The room was a welcome surprise, as I really had no idea what I was to expect. It looked really nice on the internet, but then so many hotels do. It was around $85AUD for a night for a single room. This was 25% less than my much more basic room in Jerusalem so I really wasn’t sure what I should expect. The decor was warm, browns and creams, and there was a decent desk for my blogging and writing which is always important for me.

As with many hotels in Eastern Europe the heating is excellent. To be exact, it’s really warm in there. Which when you come in from the cold, it’s a real godsend. However, it actually for me is too hot through the night and I would often open a window slightly so I can sleep.

The bed was big and comfortable, and the wifi was good. There was, as most places have, a TV and I could watch videos on my usb sticks on it. There were a couple of wardrobes too, a couple of tables, lamps, the colours were warm, it was well appointed. There was a little entrance area too when you enter from the corridor and you could hang things up, and there was a laundry service however I didn’t use it as they wanted a couple of nights I think – they needed to send it away.

The bathroom was the feature with a wonderful deep, warm bath which I utilised more than once. It was spacious enough too, I was really happy. There was breakfast included in the price, and I was pretty happy with it – a buffet style. It was a bit of a task to get there, from one building to another, down some stairs, then across through a door, up some, around a corner or two. It was a standard eastern European affair, but it more than sufficed.

All in all, this was a well-priced, warm and comfortable hotel. The plug hole actually broke on me and they sent someone up almost straight away and fixed it. So I really didn’t have anything to complain about. I think the location was pretty decent too being close to shopping and the metro. Not far from the river and to the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet a short walk.

Andy’s Ratings:

Value for Money: 4/5

Cleanliness: 4/5

Noise: 2.5/5

Service: 4/5

Location: 4/5

Total: 18.5/25 (74/100)

Thanks for stopping by – May the Journey Never End!