Beware the Russian visa is now much more difficult, with a very detailed form to fill in online and stamps on the invitation from the hotel must be crisp and clear (ours weren't and they had to resend them!) The Russian Embassy now outsources the visa application to an agency who charges £27 to process it on top of the £50 for the visa. If anything is incorrect the application will be turned down and you need to apply and pay the £77 again!
At LHR Terminal 1 we arrived at an empty check in desk and were asked what seats we would like - to which Mr. D replied “Emergency exits please.” “No problem” came the reply and we were given 17A & B free of charge.
We made our way to the BMI lounge which was quite quiet. The food offering consisted of a very nice carrot and coriander soup with bread rolls, a salad bar, hot steak and onion pie or cheese and onion pasty, fresh fruit and snacks of crisps, nuts and biscuits. There was a self service open bar. If travelling business class on the overnight Moscow flight you could order a three course meal so you could go straight to sleep on the flight.
Boarding was on time. It was an A321 aircraft, spotlessly clean, comfortable leather seats and the cabin felt light and airy. Our economy emergency exit seats were very similar to Virgin’s premium economy with a much more comfortable winged headrest. There was no seat in front of me so I must have had approximately 80inch pitch. There were just a handful of passengers in business and economy was about a third full. The in flight entertainment was a drop down screen with only one film - Midnight in Paris which was quite good. The food was a little disappointing a bland rice starter, chicken curry or veggie pasta followed by a nice cheesecake and cheese and biscuits. The cabin crew were great very friendly and helpful. The cabin supervisor was a fellow Welsh lady and I asked if they had been given any information on what was happening to BMI? She said they hadn’t been told anything yet but all staff would be told of their fate by the end of the month.
It was a very quick 3 hour 20 minute flight and we landed on time – 05:45. Immigration was quiet and we were through quickly. Our luggage was on the belt as we got there. Mr. D had done his homework and didn’t want to take the easy option of having the hotel car pick us up at the airport but to travel on the public transport to make the trip more interesting! We bought tickets for the aeroexpress train at a cost of £6.50 each and a 45 minute journey to the centre of Moscow. We then needed to get the Metro to the hotel. We knew which of the 3 lines we needed but it was not obvious how to get to this line, all signs are in the Russian Cyrillic alphabet. A very nice Russian lady spotted we were a little lost and asked in perfect English if she could help. She then pointed us in the direction of a stairs to a lower level 50 yards down the platform. Three stops later we immerged from the metro just 100 yards away from our hotel The Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya (One of Stalin’s Seven Sisters high rise buildings).
We arrived at the Hilton at just after 08:00am and as an HHonors Diamond member on a reward stay check-in offered us a room immediately on the 2nd floor or one in an hour on the executive (6th) floor. We opted for the executive floor and took the excellent free breakfast in the executive lounge while we waited. I went back to reception after breakfast to collect my room key which was 618 – a corner room with 3 windows. It was nicer with a much warmer feel than the photos suggested and had a lovely bathroom with bath, shower, washbasin and wc. The room cleanliness was immaculate for the 2 night stay from the morning and turn-down service.
We decided to walk to Red Square to get a feel for the district which took an hour at a very slow amble. It was not a very pretty walk via Chistye Prude and Kitay gorod but interesting all the same. We then walked through Red Square and around the outside of the Kremlin walking back via Revolution Square past the Bolshoi and Lubyanka back to Chistye Prude and the Hilton. Afternoon Tea was now being served in the executive lounge so we took that before freshening up for the evening. On returning to the executive lounge the free alcohol was flowing and soup, hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, cakes and cheeses etc. were excellent.
Unfortunately the executive lounge was closed for the rest of our stay due to the Russian National Unity Holiday. However the hotel made up for this by giving free breakfast in the main restaurant which was even better than the lounge, free coffee and cake all day in the impressive lobby bar and free hors d’oeurvres and drinks etc in the lobby bar between 6pm and 8:30pm
The service from the staff in all departments was excellent with a balance of friendliness and efficiency and excellent English spoken by all. The exchange rate at the hotel’s exchange bureau (48.9 Roubles to the Pound) was the best we had seen both at home prior to travelling (42:1) and at Moscow Banks (47:1).
On our second day we booked the Moscow Free Walking Tour at 11am which is rated in Tripadvisor as number 2 of 13 tours of Moscow. The tour is free but tips are welcomed and our guide Airat was very knowledgeable about the city and amusing with his anecdotes about historic events. The tour started near to Kitay Gorod Metro which was only 2 stops, 28 Roubles (57p) each and a few minutes on the metro getting on at Krasnye Vorota and changing lines at Chistye Prudy. With only six people on the tour it took just over 2 hours and we highly recommend it - http://moscowfreetour.com . Our plans went astray at this point as we had not realized that the Kremlin closes on Thursdays so we went back to the hotel for Tea and a swim etc.
The next morning, our last, we again had the excellent breakfast and on request had our check-out extended until 3pm. We then caught the Metro from Krasnye Vorota to Biblioteka (4 stops) and toured the Armoury at the Kremlin which cost 750 Roubles (£15.00) including cloakroom and audio guide.
After returning to the hotel for coffee and to pack we checked out. We had to query the bill as some charges were made that should not have been but this was quickly resolved and we we were on our way back to the Airport via Metro and Aeroexpress.
In summary I travelled with some trepidation to an unknown destination like Moscow which I had thought might be intimidating but was pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of the Russian people that we met and the excellent service and facilities at the Hilton. We thoroughly enjoyed our short trip to Moscow and could happily have stayed a few more days.
