Name: Vanilla Living Quarters
Address: Bolshoy Kozikhinskiy Lane 4, Moscow, Moscow, Moscow, 123104, Russia
Rating: 8

Free parking

Parking

Location

At the living quarters

Pushkinskaya

Tverskaya

Chekhovskaya

Presnensky District

Patriarshiye Prudy

Pushkinskaya Square

Triumfalnaya Square

Moscow Planetarium

Magic Museum

Moscow Museum of Modern Art

Hermitage Garden

Moscow Zoo

Bolshoi Theatre

Manege

Arbat

Red Square

Moscow Kremlin

Pushkin Museum

Saint Basil's Cathedral

Belorussky Railway Station

Aeroexpress Sheremetyevo

State Tretyakov Gallery

Gorky Park

Moscow City

ZIL Culture Center

MSU Main Building

VDNKh

Sheremetyevo International Airport

Vnukovo Airport

Zhukovsky International Airport

Moscow Domodedovo Airport

Vanilla Living Quarters

Moscow

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

Although Moscow is very big, businesslike city, it has places like Vanilla with home atmosphere and friendly staff. As a designer I liked combination of old antique furniture with simple IKEA items. In this place it's easy to relax after long day in town. I recommend this place to young tourists and backpackers.

Small budget bnb

First off, the good:
Excellent location, not just for walking to sights, but also for metro, post office, supermarket etc.
Excellent email responses.
Sent superb instructions for finding it.
Very fast, free wifi
Free laundry
Staff guy speaks great English

Not so great:
Room was hot and stuffy with no fan or AC
Although room was large enough, kitchen common are is very small and just one bathroom to share
Fold out couch in our room as bed for daughter was broken

Other:
Visa registration for 700 rumbles PP

Summary: fine, but stuffy, but I expected more for the price, but maybe that's just moscow

Adequate - a mix of positives and negatives

Don't over expected, this is a budget friendly place with decent amenities nothing exceptional.

Good points about the hotel:
1) Close to Tverskaya Street.
2) Place was clean and basic toiletries were provided.
3) Rooms were properly heated.
4) Convenience store and decent restaurants closeby. 

Things we didn't like:
1) It is a bit of walk from the metro station and if you are coming with heavy luggage from the airport be ready to lug it around a bit.
2) It is very difficult to locate the place since there is no signboard and locals also were not aware.
3) Breakfast was Ok prepare your own breakfast with whatever is available.
4) We were overcharged for getting ourselves registered at a local police station.. while it costs nothing to register and we were expecting some nominal amount to be charged but 700 rubles was a bit overboard.

Overall it would say it's a decent friendly hotel to stay if you are on a limited budget.

Decent Budget Stay

We did not notify the owner about our time of arrival, and were left wondering on the streets for half an hour where the B&B was until we asked someone from a cafe where it was and they told us it was next to the art gallery. There is no sign on the door, no way of telling it was the entrance of the B&B. No way of buzzing either so after a while we were lucky the owner sponteneaously showed up and we could follow him inside. 

Room was spacious enough, bed a bit hard en the couch (another possible bed) was not at all comfortable. Nice chandelier on the ceiling. 
Bathroom was worn down, the shower head could not be fixed on the wall so you had to hold it in our hands while showering. 

Breakfast was nutritious, muesli, option for brown bread, nice yoghurt, coffee, tea. We got a map of Moscow as well. 

We told the owner we would check out at 10.30, but he did not show up for the transfer of the key on the day of our departure. While waiting for him, 2 other travellers knocked on the window (same problem we had 2 days before) and we let them in the guesthouse and told them to wait in the kitchen area...
Eventually we left, leaving the key in the door of our room because we had to catch a train!

Impossible to find, must make appointment for arrival!

I booked this place for an overnight as I had a 22 hr layover in Moscow. I wanted a place that was clean and comfortable and would not give me any fear of bedbugs or robbery. I intentionally stopped staying at hostels years ago (I.e. When I turned 30) due to these developing fears in my old age. I figured for $70 a night this would be like a budget hotel. Mind you, in my hometown of NYC I've stayed at nice (better than decent) hotels in manhattan for $100 a night. 

The first hint that something was amiss was my difficulty in finding the place. The directions I was given by the manager only took me as far as the subway station. From there I had to DIY map it with google. However, I couldn't figure out where I was on the map and NO ONE would help me until a friendly Subway (as in the sandwich company) employee understood my gesticulations and let me know that I had been in the right location for 30 minutes. 

I unwittingly passed the "b&b" a few times but could not identify it because there was no signage, except for something engraved into the stone in cryllic, which looked like it had been there for centuries. As the place is called Vanilla b&b, I thought perhaps there would be a sign that said that. But no.

Finally, I walked into a cafe and asked for help. At first they did not recognize the name, but then they said "hostel?" Hmmmm.... I didn't think I was looking for a hostel. But then they led me outside and R. was standing right there (where was he minutes before?). At this point I'm exhausted, drenched in sweat, been wandering, lost for almost an hour. However, there was no "glad you made it;" "sorry you got so lost;" "maybe I should have given you real directions." No. We walk inside the building which is next door to the cafe that had never heard the name Vanilla b&b, R. shows me my room and we sit down in the kitchen (actually he sat and I stood there incredulous that in my effort to not stay in a hostel I had actually ended up in a hostel) since there was nothing simar to a front desk or lobby and he tells me how much I owe. Now I wasn't expecting a welcoming parade, but sheesh! 

As for the room, it was clean except for crayoned drawings on the walls that no one seemed to care enough to clean or cover, but a bit scary. Very very small and not a place I felt comfortable leaving anything of value in, so I left the room immediately and walked around for the rest of the evening with my most valuable possesions in my bag.

The area is ok. It's a short walk from the metro and they say it's 20 min. walking to red square but it's actually 30 (google maps will confirm this).

There are four total rooms that share 1 sinkless toilet room and one room with a sink and a shower with (at the time of my stay) a broken shower head.

They say that breakfast is included, but breakfast is really just what you can find in the fridge. 

If you're a hostel-friendly (seems like a paradox, right?) person, then this place is mostly clean and you have private rooms so I think you'll really like it. (Personally, I've stayed in nicer hostels in the south of France for less than half the price but that's neither here nor there.) If you're looking for a b&b, this is not the place. 

Good luck and enjoy!

Vanilla Living Quarters

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