Godzillas hostel?

[sense1 0]

Hello Everyone,

I am trying to find an inexpensive place for my fiancee and her son to stay in Moscow. Her interview is scheduled for Monday June 2nd. So, she will need to arrive on the previous thursday to make sure that she will have enough time for her medical exam before the weekend. It is just my luck to have her stay there on Saturday and Sunday doing nothing but waiting for her interview. I found this hostel named Godzillas and I'm wondering if anyone has any opinions about it? I found it online for $60 a night for a private double room. I think it is close to the Embassy and medical centers. I had not planned on having her be in Moscow for 5 days but that is how this is turning out...

[eekee 182]

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g2...ral_Russia.html

[sense1 0]

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g2...ral_Russia.html

Thanks eekee! that site is exactly what I was looking for. Now I know that I need to find a better place for her to stay in Moscow.

[slim 1,525]

I don't think it would be good for a woman and her son to stay in a hostel. You should probably set them up with a small apartment somewhere. Everything in Moscow can be reached fairly quickly by the Metro, so staying outside the ring could save you some money but still keep them close enough to do their business.

By the way, did you ever send her all that money for travel and translations?

I'm kind of surprised she's letting you handle lodging for her in Moscow. I would've thought the "agency" would have a very expensive suggestion on where she was "required" to stay.

Hope all is going well and she's either started trusting you or you've layed the smack down (verbally, of course, I would never condone physically smacking someone over the phone or e-mail) and told her what's going to happen or not. It's crunch time....... Good luck in the rest of your VJ!

[sense1 0]

I don't think it would be good for a woman and her son to stay in a hostel. You should probably set them up with a small apartment somewhere. Everything in Moscow can be reached fairly quickly by the Metro, so staying outside the ring could save you some money but still keep them close enough to do their business.

By the way, did you ever send her all that money for travel and translations?

I'm kind of surprised she's letting you handle lodging for her in Moscow. I would've thought the "agency" would have a very expensive suggestion on where she was "required" to stay.

Hope all is going well and she's either started trusting you or you've layed the smack down (verbally, of course, I would never condone physically smacking someone over the phone or e-mail) and told her what's going to happen or not. It's crunch time....... Good luck in the rest of your VJ!

Yeah Slim, I gave her a verbal lashing. She is not using an Agency but she thinks that she has to pay(rather I have to pay) for everything with "Western" prices. I told her that she is Russian and she should not have to pay more for things just because she has an American fiance. I sent her less than one quarter of the money that she was requesting for translations. If she can get every document that she owns translated for that amount more power to her:) I can not afford to put her up in a $150 a night hotel for 5 nights in Moscow (I need to have some money in my account to fly her to the USA). So, I will continue searching for a place for her and her son to stay. So far the only good news is that I found a roundtrip flight from Ufa to Moscow for $150 per person. I am trying to take care of as much of this as possible for her...

[eekee 182]

have you tried this site? http://waytorussia.net/Services/Accommodation.html

[slim 1,525]

Glad to hear that you found more reasonable airfare for her and her son. We all knew it was out there, I guess just convincing her was the hard part. Hell, my wife is already here and it's still hard to convince her of things sometime.

You should be able to find some pretty decent accomodations for them in Moscow. Just search the sites like eekee posted and google some others. They are out there. There are pretty nice 1BRs for under $100/night that are close to the Metro stops.

Sounds like you're making it possible!

[CARY 0]

http://www.russiangirlfriday.com/

She helped us with finding an apartment and arranging transportation.

[sense1 0]

Thank you all for your suggestions! Using this information I hope to find a place soon for her to stay. I don't know the Moscow area at all so I'm using a map to try and find a place somewhat close to the embassy. I think finding a place just outside the city would be fine too(because it should be less expensive) but due to my lack of knowledge of the surrounding area, I'm afraid that I would find a good deal and then realize that it's 2 hours from the embassy ...

[Kotenochek 0]

Its located at metro cvetnoi boulvard.My british friends stayed there..its not posh but not scary either.

Its a bit of walk from metro,so i would catch a cab,since its hard to find first time,especislly if she is with bags...

Its located behind circus so if they have time,probably she could also take her soon to the circus:)

[Satellite 1]

I'm afraid that I would find a good deal and then realize that it's 2 hours from the embassy ...

Don't be fooled into thinking you need to get a place right next to the embassy. Moscow metro and public transit is amazing. You can reach almost any spot in the city using the metro in under 30 minutes. We came from Korolev a suburb 40 minutes away by commuter train and then used the metro to get to the embassy and still did it way under 2 hours.

[slim 1,525]

If you look at Moscow as a big circle, there's what they call the Garden Ring as kind of a smaller circle within the larger circle. Inside there is the "downtown" of Moscow with Red Square and the Kremlin, etc. The U.S. embassy is in the upper-left portion of the circle, very close to the Garden Ring. There is a Metro stop only a few blocks from the embassy so really anywhere you stay in the city, it's within walking distance of the embassy.

Inside the Ring is more expensive, so situate her inside the larger circle but outside of the Garden Ring. Make sure the apartment is within walking distance of a metro stop and she'll be able to get around the city just fine in about 30 minutes. Most of the websites that list apartments all have the nearest Metro station listed. Use that to figure out where it is in the city.

Also, if any of you are ever going to Moscow, don't worry about addresses so much as Metro stops. Sure, you need to know the building number and which street you're staying on, but the Metro station nearest your place is going to be what you'll use for directions.

[eekee 182]

nevermind

Edited April 23, 2008 by eekee

[slim 1,525]

The Golden Ring is the cities around Moscow that make up good vacation places and countryside dachas, etc. The Garden Ring is a specific road inside the Moscow metropolis that encompasses "downtown" and rent is significantly higher "inside the ring" than outside. It's also higher close to the river downtown and along Tverskaya and other "uppity" or "touristy" areas. Google a map of Moscow and it'll show you the ring. Most also have the location of the embassy as well.

Does St. P have similar areas?

Most urban areas around the world have the "expensive neighborhoods." Moscow is no different. When looking for a place to rent, outside the ring is going to be cheaper. (Not always, but as a rule, it should offer some savings.)

[eekee 182]

yeah, wikipedia answered this for me and that's why i deleted my response. i think i was confused because we stayed across from a hotel called the golden ring which had a light show going across the front.

hmm... in spb the center is more expensive, around nevsky, but since there's a lot of kommunalkas there too. but generally it's just not as delineated as moscow is. because it's all islands, it's a bit different. if you stay far from the center, it'll be cheaper, usually--but there are also luxury estates in the areas which are really far from the center, so it's more varied.

The Golden Ring is the cities around Moscow that make up good vacation places and countryside dachas, etc. The Garden Ring is a specific road inside the Moscow metropolis that encompasses "downtown" and rent is significantly higher "inside the ring" than outside. It's also higher close to the river downtown and along Tverskaya and other "uppity" or "touristy" areas. Google a map of Moscow and it'll show you the ring. Most also have the location of the embassy as well.

Does St. P have similar areas?

Most urban areas around the world have the "expensive neighborhoods." Moscow is no different. When looking for a place to rent, outside the ring is going to be cheaper. (Not always, but as a rule, it should offer some savings.)

Edited April 23, 2008 by eekee