Friends by Gostiny Dvor

Really nice stay and great customer service. Hotel is in a great location

Прекрасное расположение около Гостиного двора, основные достопримечательности в шаговой доступности. Отель находится на 3 этаже без лифта, это надо учитывать, если тяжёлый багаж. Комната, коридор очень чистые. Персонал дружелюбный. Есть общая кухня.
Единственное , что вызывало дискомфорт - шум с улицы, какой-то монотонный гул от кондиционера или генератора.
С учётом места, цены и удобства подходит для робкого отдыха.

The first thing I should say is that - credit where it’s due - the location of Friends is excellent. It’s right in the centre, with most of the main attractions being eminently walkable and with Nevsky Prospekt just a few minutes’ walk away. For us, however, that was really where the positives ended. In fairness, I didn’t actually know this was a two star hotel (not that this is a problem) - we just picked it because it looked quite nice. However, upon arriving the receptionist gave us a talk about what they didn’t offer, “because this is a two star hotel”, which was an interesting approach that I suppose could be generously classed as expectation management. I didn’t really have an issue with the things that weren’t on offer (things like shower gel, which I had, or like slippers, which I don’t use) but I suppose it meant we entered with a more negative mindset and it felt like the hostel’s emphasis was on getting excuses in early rather than providing an experience proportionate to what we were spending. Critically, however, the rooms just weren’t that nice. We’d picked Friends because the pictures online looked really nice, however we had a standard room and it looked nothing like the pictures we had seen. I assume the pictures were of the Deluxe Rooms, which is entirely fair as a marketing ploy, but it did mean that we’d seen no pictures of what we were actually getting and we were disappointed because it looked nothing like we’d seen online. Some of the nice pictures online were of the Cafe, which is genuinely lovely and which I understand is affiliated to the hostel, but we found this a bit cheeky given that they’re separate institutions and you can quite easily go to the Cafe without staying in the hostel (which we wish we’d done). The room was very small (ironically, the cells in Trubetskoy Bastion prison were much bigger) and the pressure in the shower was abysmal to the extent that it was barely usable (compounded by the fact that the hot water often didn’t work). Besides the shower situation, none of these things were the end of the world - but, in combination, they made for a poor experience and if we’d had anything less than what we did have it would have been a thoroughly unpleasant experience. I appreciate that this is supposed to be a hostel on a budget but we didn’t think it was especially cheap, and I’ve stayed in much better places for much less. If I had my time again I’d find somewhere else, or just rent an apartment, because the excellent location really didn’t make up for the drawbacks.

Comfortable and convenient budget hotel. Good value. Great service.

There were 8 of us travelling as a family. We booked 3 rooms, which provided enough space for everyone. The properties location is perfect - very central and convenient to all sights. Comfortable and clean rooms. Lovely warm showers. Only downside was thin walls which meant the noise travelled. The kitchen was a great area to hangout as a family, but there was little space at reception. Staff were all very helpful and friendly. All in all excellent value for money.

Приятный отель в центре города, в номере все чисто, новая мебель, белье, регулярная уборка. Понравилось, что в этом же здании на 1 этаже есть столовая (там вкуснее) и кафе- удобно ходить на завтрак. Не хватает кондиционера, если жарко. Не понравился вид из окна на ужасный рынок и громкая реклама рынка Апракин двор с 7 утра, но к отелю это не имеет отношения

I stayed at Friends Hostel for 5 nights in a standard double room in April. It's important to note that there are two Friends venues in the same building - Friends Hostel and Friends Loft and that the Tripadvisor page and photographs cover both.

The hostel I stayed in is in an excellent city centre location: walkable to all the main city centre attractions and very close to a wide range of excellent bars and restaurants including the Friends Place bar which is downstairs!

Our room was small for two people but was nicely decorated and very clean. The room itself had a large bed; table; tv and a good sized bathroom and was regularly cleaned. The hostel also had a kitchen/common area further down the hall which you could use. During our stay our room was unfortunately far too warm - even without the heater on in April. Our room overlooked a very noisy market and therefore was too loud to keep the windows open - I therefore fully recommend you try to book a room with AC especially in the warmer months!

The staff in the hostel were generally very friendly and extremely helpful and happy to assist us with some additional requests like luggage storage (for a fee) and printing of boarding passes. They also all had excellent English which was a real bonus!

Unfortunately we did encounter a rather difficult experience upon check-in. We had e-mailed the hostel in advance to inform them that we would be arriving at about 9am and were advised they would try their best to accommodate this however upon arrival this did not appear to have been taken into consideration and were simply advised to return at 2pm. We understand that the room may not have been available however became additionally disappointed that we weren't told there was a common area and Friends Cafe downstairs which we could have waited in. 5 hours in the snow is quite a long time!

L'hôtel est très bien, propre, calme, bien situé. La salle commune est sympa et très pratique. Mais nous n'avons pas réussi à joindre par mail avant notre arrivée l'hôtel ce qui était embêtant pour l'organisation.

This hotel is no thrills, but comfy compact and idle location, staff very helpful and very good in English, never had a problem here, in fact it is very well run, clean, tidy rooms and as i was there in the winter, very warm. I would use this hotel again, with out doubt

Small rooms but clean and comfortable. Communal kitchen is useful. It was quiet when I was there, but could be noisy if the hotel is full (doors not soundproof). For me it was an excellent value!

Emplacement stratégique déplacement pour tous les monuments historiques a pied proche du metro a propos de la chambre nickel personnel accueillent cuisine bien équipé rien a dire.
Un hôtel à recommander 👍👍👍

Останавливались в отеле с 02 по 05 августа 2018 г. Очень понравилось расположение отеля, до Невского проспекта 5 минут спокойным шагом, небольшой минус, если окна выходят на Апраксин двор, то при открытом окне доноситься шум, но нам это не мешало. Персонал отеля вежлив и откликается на ваши просьбы. Очень уютный номер комфорт свободно можно расположиться втроем. На общей кухне можно разогреть купленные продукты и выпить чай. Атмосфера на духне душевная.
Один вечер на кухне накопилось очень много мусора, который не помешался в корзину и его долго не убирали, но это было один раз и не импортило общего хорошего впечатления.
В целом мы поездкой довольны и порекомендовали бы этот отель своим друзьям.

Nice and clean place, that didn't stick in the 90ies like the rest of this street. New, pretty stylish, with hospitable service, fantastic location.
Keep in mind that the rooms are on the forth floor (stairs only) if this matters for you.

Stayed here 5 nights during recent World Cup. We were looking for somewhere central - and the location of the hotel was perfect. Close to local restaurants and bars and to tourist sites. The rooms are clean and comfortable, the staff always friendly and the hotel is terrific value.

We booked this place during a 3-days stay for the football World Cup. Really nice and friendly staff which is there 24/7. Easy, fast check in, clean rooms, with enough space and cozy under the roof. Hearing and ventilation for cooling as available. We had a great stay especially because most of the sights are in walking distance which was really practical. I can only recommend the place.

Really impressed with the quality of the rooms. IKEA-style furnishings give them a Scandinavian feel, and the shower was great. Very clean and bright with pretty comfortable beds. There is also a well-kept communal kitchen area with tea/coffee. Hotel is about a 10-15 minute walk away from the main attractions. Excellent value for money - I would not hesitate to stay here again.

Unfortunately our room was next to the kitchen, so we did suffer from the noise of people making breakfast or late-night snacks. I'd recommend requesting a room further down the corridor (or bringing earbuds). Our friends mentioned their room was very stuffy, but they were provided with a large fan. Hotel is on an odd road full of shady looking bars, although we never felt unsafe. It should also be mentioned the hotel is on the 4th floor with no elevator, so if you have a lot of luggage you may struggle.

accueil sympa; serviable je recommande bien situé

Good location, few minutes from metro station. Next to hotel is also big department store. Also staff is friendly at check in. Room is clean and facilities are new and modern. Highly recommended for St petersburg sighseeing

My partner and I booked this hotel due to the location and the cleanliness ratings / photographs on Booking.com. I had never stayed in a hostel before so was a little apprehensive . What a surprise to arrive and find that it wasn’t hostel like at all . The rooms were lovely and very clean. They were also kept at a very nice temperature which was handy as it was -17 in the wind whilst we were there .
The staff at the hotel couldn’t have been more helpful and pleasant and were more than happy to provide directions . It is located near the metro and within 15 mins walk of all the major attractions in the city . If you use the map in the room you can plan your day quite well as there is free wi fi at the hotel which is handy as our network charges £7.25 per mb of data and £2.00 a minute to make and receive calls so check yours first . I’d definitely recommend staying here to anyone .

The hotel is on the 3rd floor. So if you have luggage weight more than 15kg it will be quite a hard time for you. Check-in went well friendly staff, nice room and we like the share common space very much.