Hotel Golden Apple

The hotel is located at 11 Malaya Dmitrovka in the north-west of Moscow, not far from the Moscow ring-road and close to Chekhovskaya metro station and Pushkin Square. It is also ideally located for enjoying a hot chocolate at the nearby Pushkin cafe or trying the caviar at the palatial Eliseevsky delicatessen, complete with huge mirrors, chandeliers and gilded decor, on the famous Tverskaya street. Sheremetyevo 2 international airport is around 22 mi away (a journey of approximately 45 minutes), whilst Domodedovo international airport is 20 mi to the south-west, around an hour's drive away.

You can check your e-mails free of charge for 10 minutes on one of the two computers provided in the lobby, after which Internet access incurs an additional charge, though the rooms on the 6th floor do have free Internet access. The gym, sauna and jacuzzi are all open 24 hours a day free of charge, and the hotel also has a bureau de change, an ATM machine, and two meeting rooms, each of which can accommodate 10 people. Small pets are accepted at the hotel and room service is available 24 hours a day.

A member of the Epoque Hotels, Avantgarde Hotels and Small Elegant Hotels networks, the Golden Apple houses 92 guest rooms, including two apartments, in a 7-storey 19th Century building. The hotel is part of the Utell Hotels & Resorts group and when it opened, in 2004, was Moscow's first boutique hotel, designed by Canadian architect Raphael Shafir, who saw fit to combine the hotel's traditional exterior with a modern interior. In the lobby there is a large golden apple (from which the hotel gets its name) big enough to sit inside! From here, a staircase leads down to the lower ground floor, which houses a gym, sauna and jacuzzi, all of which are open 24 hours a day and can be used free of charge.

The guest rooms at the Golden Apple are divided into three categories, namely standard (215 sq ft), superior (248 sq ft) and deluxe (269 sq ft), none of which are suitable for disabled guests. Carpeted corridors lead to the stylish, modern rooms, which are also carpeted. The decor consists of a painting adorning the papered walls and the complimentary apples (of the green, rather than gold variety!) are another nice touch. The rooms have a king-size bed, a desk, satellite television (broadcasting 34 channels), individual air conditioning, a minibar-refrigerator, an electronic safe (free of charge), a telephone and WiFi Internet access (at additional cost). Room service is also available 24 hours a day at no additional cost, and whilstsome of the rooms overlook the road below, others look onto a quieter courtyard. The bathrooms consist of a shower, a bathrobe, slippers, a magnifying mirror, hospitality products, a hair dryer and a toilet, and the superior rooms have both a bathtub and a separate fixed-head shower. Deluxe rooms have the luxury of two different views and even a Nespresso coffee machine!

The 'à la carte' restaurant at the Golden Apple can accommodate up to 58 diners and is open from 7:00am right through to midnight, serving excellent Russian and international cuisine in stylish surroundings. There is also a separate room where guests can enjoy a cigar or a brandy...or both. The Apple Bar in the lobby is open 24 hours a day and can accommodate 48 people. Sports fan will be pleased to hear that it also boasts two large television screens where various sporting events are shown. The bar serves cocktails, as well as tapas and sushi, and a live DJ provides the music every Tuesday and Saturday.