I was originally going to go for something a bit cheaper but decided to treat myself so rather than end up taking a tram from the other side of town to see the sights, went for this relatively new hotel in the Art Deco district of Riga not far from the Old Town.
By British standards it's more of a business hotel, but it's very well priced, making it attractive if you want a few days of comfort as a tourist.
The hotel stands as one of Riga's tallest at about 11 floors and the Sky Lounge bar at the top will give you excellent views of the city, with Old Town to the south west in the distance. I'd read staff could be a bit frosty, but I found them perfectly nice and very helpful. If you arrive early or are leaving late then there is no problem with leaving your baggage in their storage area at no extra cost.
Rooms are standard, tv, very comfy double bed with good pillows (I have a thing about poor hotel pillows..). Both the bathroom and bedroom are on the smaller side, but I was out seeing the sights and so should you, so much so that it barely bothered me. One downside was no kettle, not because I'm from the UK and must drink tea the whole time, but it really helps when you've a cold/flu for those Lemon drinks...
Unique Qualities: The whole building has an Einstein theme, hence the name. Atoms grace the window to the shower, the carpets, even the room numbers plus his quotes grace the lifts.
The Sky Lounge can get very busy towards weekends, but even for a hotel bar in its class, cocktails at about 3.50 lats seem very reasonable - for a Londoner at least. Air con could get a bit cold though.
Breakfast was adequate, something for everyone and included in the price, though the bacon and sausage was more on the Germanic than British side for my tastes. I stuck mainly to the cold breakfast buffet which is more Baltic.
Some very good deals are about with this place so I'd recommend it as somewhere I would stay again. It's a good 15 to 20 minutes from the old town by foot, depending on your pace but the whole of my time here I didn't catch a bus or taxi to get around. I now have legs muscles of steel.
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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$120-180
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Phone: 371-733-1717
Address: 33 Dzirnavu Street, Riga, Latvia, LV-1010, LV
Directions: In the Art Deco district to the north east of Old Town. Number 22a bus from the airport leaves you at the Orthodox Cathedral about 10 minutes away.
Website: http://www.alberthotel.lv/
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on Dec 9, 2007
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