Solikamsk Hotel 

After having exchanged several polite yet friendly emails with the hotel manager Elena, I was looking forward to my stay at the Hotel Solikamsk, the middle point of my driving tour through the Permsky Krai. However, after two months preparation, when I finally arrived at the property... ...I drove up to what is seemingly a hotel on top of a strip mall however is located directly across from Cathedral Square. The facade, covered from top to bottom with advertising, made for a somewhat daunting introduction. With some trepidation I parked in the large lot in front of the building and attemtped to enter. Where is the front door? After having made several passes along the front of the building, I finally found it. The entry to the hotel is shared with the restaurant which makes finding it a bit confusing. I was greeted rather cooly by non-English speaking the lady at reception who, in a very businesslike fashion, presented me with a picture book of rooms and asked me to choose. Would I prefer a renovated or unrenovated room? I have been presented with this question many times in Russia, the unrenovated being decidedly the wrong choice in most hotels, however according to the pictures the unrenovated looked to be perfectly fine. Staying merely one night I decided to throw caution to the wind. I was given a room on the third floor and directed to the dark and somewhat grim staircase as there is no lift. I hauled my bags up to the third floor - a beauty salon and a doctor's office? Surely I'm on the wrong floor. No - as it turns out the hotel rooms are shared with professional offices, so don't think you're in the wrong place as I did! The unrenovated room equalled what was presented in the pictures and was perfectly acceptable. Being decorated in a faded 1980s style, the room was in good condtion featuring a decent entry hall leading to a basic Soviet-era bathroom that, although old, was completely functional with hot water and shower. The sleeping area is also large offering a large closet, desk, bedside table, a comfortable single bed, side chair and practically black-out curtains. When I opened the curtains I was greeted with the most AMAZING view of Cathedral Square at dusk - it was unlike anything I had ever seen. Breakfast is included in the rate, which equalled about $68USD, and is served in the very popular restaurant on the ground floor (the one shared with the hotel entry.) Decorated in an ersatz-Imperial-Russian style, it is over the top with doric columns, swags of deep red velvet and crystal chandeliers. Surprisingly the quality of the food did not equal the grandeur of the decor, and was a basic meal of bland sausage, macaroni, a yoghurt cup and coffee. Acceptable and edible, however next time I'll probably order off the menu and pay. As for location, it simply cannot be beat. Situated directly across from Cathedral Square, you can walk simply everywhere that needs to be seen in Solikamsk. Shopping is also convenient as the main shopping mall is a three minute walk to the west of the hotel, and food shops, the main being Nadezhda, are plentiful and also on 20 Let Pobedy, directly to the east. The train station will require a taxi as it's about 3KM away, but taxis are plentiful and from what I understand quite cheap at about $3USD. All in all I would say I had an extremely pleasant stay at the Hotel Solikamsk, notwithstanding my initial surprise at the appearance of the property, and decidedly would stay there again when visiting this truly lovely gem of a city.