Review: Hotel National Moscow

The Hotel National Moscow is a five star hotel which opened its doors in 1903 in central Moscow near Red Square. With real history, classic interior and rooms with views over the Kremlin, it was a great option for my first visit to Moscow.

Location wise it is hard to beat with the Bolshoi Theatre, Red Square, Gum and the Kremlin Museums all within easy walking distance. 

I had read good things about this hotel on fellow FlyerTalker SFO777’s blog and was SPG Gold at the time, so booking a stay here was a no brainer. 

Hotel National Moscow Review

The Hotel National is a Luxury Collection hotel within the Marriott Hotels group, with my SPG Gold status at the time resulting in an upgrade to a Kremlin view studio.

Check in was smooth and after a short wait for my room to be prepared, I was handed the key to Room 376 and advised it was located on the 5th floor. 

The walk to the room gave a sense of the history of the hotel, with gracious staircases and frosted double doors to the rooms.

Hotel National Moscow Kremlin View Studio Review

The Kremlin View Studios at the Hotel National have wonderful double doors with frosted glass panels.

The room itself consisted of a comfortable king sized bed and a writing desk next to the window.

The bathroom is also well appointed, complete with a bidet, but with a shower over bath.

But of course the best thing about Room 376 is the view over the Kremlin and Red Square. The State Historical Museum is in the foreground and St Basil’s Cathedral in the background.

There is also a view of the Kremlin to the right, with plenty of people passing through the square below,

Hotel National Moscow Room Service Breakfast

With such a special view from one’s room, it was worth ordering a continental breakfast via room service. It became a daily ritual and made for a most civilised start to the day.

Both the juice and pastries were of a good hotel standard, though no Blé Sucré. 

Things To Do Around Hotel National Moscow

I had selected the Hotel National Moscow based on history and location. Moscow was a bucket list destination for me, and while hotels like Reid’s Palace are destinations in and of themselves, you don’t go to Moscow to stay in.

Being located opposite Red Square and a short walk from the Bolshoi Theatre, the National is the perfect base for visitors to Moscow.

Red Square

Iconic Red Square is bordered by Gum (pronounced ‘goom’ as Google Translate will tell you) Department Store, St Basil’s Cathedral, the National History Museum and the Kremlin.

My first few days in Moscow were beautifully sunny and there was a book fair in Red Square. 

The interior of Gum is stunning also, reminding me of the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney. 

I’d always wanted to visit after reading a line in Mark H McCormack’s book Hit the Ground Running: Executive Guide to Insider’s Travel about how one of his well dressed business partners had a shockingly ugly check in suitcase ‘that looked like it had escaped from a basement sale at Gum’.

St Basil’s Cathedral is another iconic site and one that didn’t disappoint up close. The detail and domes looked magical in the sunshine.

Bolshoi Theatre

The Bolshoi Ballet and Opera are world famous and amongst the best in their respective fields. While the theatre itself is elegant and modest from the outside, the interior is something quite special.

While the ballet is the most famous, I found the production of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Tsar’s Bride remarkably good and fitting for my first visit to Moscow.

Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics

The Museum of Cosmonautics was undoubtedly my favourite attraction in Moscow, located a 30 minute metro ride from the National. 

Situated under the Monument to the Conquerors of Space, a soaring rocket, the entrance is modest but the collection of artefacts from the Space Race comprehensive. 

Amongst the many exhibits are a replica Sputnik to a scale model of the Buran, the Soviet Space Shuttle.

There were also a great collection of Soviet spacesuits.

And somewhat unexpectedly, the original spacesuit of the third Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins. 

Summary

Moscow is a fascinating city to visit and the Hotel National is perfectly located for visitors. With a great history since 1903 and rooms overlooking the Kremlin, it was the perfect hotel for my visit. 

Hotels like the Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons have the same location but with far higher prices and far less history for your money.