If your trip is located on the M-10 Federal highway between Moscow and St. Petersburg, or you are intentionally planning a trip to the city of Tver, which is a fairly large cultural centre (the city was founded in the 12th century and in different years was the capital of Russian lands and the key centre of the state) and the industrial centre (a large number of enterprises of mechanical engineering, printing and other industries are located in the city), the 4-star Hotel Osnabruck can be one of your variants of a hotel.

• Where: Tver, Russia
• What: hotel inspection
• Hotel character: city & business
• When: winter 2014

Location

The hotel is located in a quiet zone of the Tsentralny district of Tver at 20 Saltykova-Shchedrina Str. Within 5 minutes’ walk you will find Tverskoy Prospect, the main street of the city, as well as the largest river in Europe, the Volga, flowing through the territory of Tver.

Reception

Since I was making this trip by car, it is worth mentioning that the hotel provides free parking – your car will be located under the supervision of cameras, as well as behind a special metal chain, that protects all the guests’ cars. The hotel has two residential buildings (the third is under construction), each one having its own check-in desk. As the employees of the hotel told us, after commissioning of the third building, there will be one common reception zone for all three buildings.

The check-in took no more than 5 minutes. During check-in, I was informed about the services included in the room cost (2 hours at the spa area, breakfast). The receptionist showed me the direction to the room, before giving me the keys, and also answered my questions. In general, I had a pleasant first impression of the hotel.

General view of the hotel

The hotel resembles a cottage, and its bright brick walls stand out among neighbouring buildings. The hotel looked modern and neat. In front of the hotel, there are flagpoles, adding a note of solemnity. Parking is organised directly at the main entrances to the buildings, which is also very convenient. Since the building is not high, the hotel does not have elevators.

Rooms and services

At the time of booking, the option for ordering a standard room with king size bed was not available. For this reason, I chose a room with a single bed (bed width was guaranteed within 90–130 cm). As a result, the bed was large enough, quite suitable for two people.

The room was not big, but all the basic equipment and furniture were present: a safe, a wardrobe, a working area with a desk, an additional armchair.

Free Wi-Fi internet access is available on site and no password is required to connect to it.

It was unaccustomed that there were no peepholes in the door. In general, this is not a significant element, but there was a slight discomfort.

The bathroom was full of cosmetics, and all jars were signed in Russian and English. The dental kit, slippers and other means are ordered to the room separately, which is quite common for hotels of the middle category. There was no bathtub, only a standard shower unit. The only drawback was that the room was missing a bathrobe, which is something you might expect to find in a 4-star hotel.

Being concerned about the environment is certainly a trend today. The hotel also cares about it.

I did not find a complimentary bottle of drinking water in the room, but the hotel provided an alternative – on the floor there is a cooler with water.

The window of my room did not look to the side of the hotel main entrance, but to something like a backyard. The neighbourhood with a dilapidated house did not bother me at all, but, on the contrary, allowed me to feel the spirit of the city closer, in which, along with the usual block high-rise buildings, there are private houses.

The morning wake-up call service was provided according to my order with a greeting by name.

Food & Beverage

It is worth noting that the rooms are provided with the included buffet breakfast. Breakfast is served on the ground floor in the restaurant.

The rooms have minibars, which by default are always open, even if you do not leave guarantees of additional costs during the check-in. On the one hand, this shows a certain confidence in the guests, and on the other, we all understand that the hotel simply has a good control process, which is convenient for everyone, both the guests and the hotel owners. Unfortunately, there are still hotels of a fairly high level (including chain ones), in which the minibars are closed.

I could not try the cuisine of the restaurant (on the menu), because I decided to dine in one of the city restaurants.

Addition

A pleasant bonus is that after walking along the corridor from my room, I found a small recreation area for guests: sofas, a table, and a cooler with water. In this area, you can easily hold a small meeting with your visitors, or simply change your environment. Concerning the guests who visit you: on the ground floor they will be offered to undress and leave their outer clothes in a small reception wardrobe. It’s a pleasant trifle, that someone might use.

In conclusion, a few words about the name of the hotel. Osnabrück is a small town in Germany. Osnabrück together with the other German city of Münster are known as the place of signing the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Now you can feel a part of Germany in Tver.

Hotel Contact Information: Hotel Osnabruck, Tver website.