•  Open -

1875 1st of January - it replaced a smaller hotel that was on the site called the Kuolon

· 1st Owners -

The Evropeyskaya Hotel joint stock company

· AKA -

Hotel de L'Europe / Evropeyskaya

· Stars - *****

· Guests -

Tsar Nicolas II and the King of Siam / Tchaikovsky and his wife Antonina honeymooned here (It didn't end well) / Johann Strauss / Anna Pavlova / George Bernard Shaw / Maxim Gorky / Dostoyevsky / Rasputin / Queen Beatrix / Boris Becker / Neil Armstrong / Cindy Crawford / Quincy Jones / Al Gore / Barbara Bush / Bill Clinton / Helmut Kohl / Prince Charles / Jacque Chirac / Jimmy Carter / Juan Antonio Samaranch / Madeline Albright / Mikhail Gorbachev / Charles Aznavour / Gary Busey / Montserrat Caballe / Jose Carreras / Jim Carrey / Joe Cocker / David Copperfield / Catherine Deneuve / Gerard Depardieu / Placido Domingo / Michael Flatley / Pink Floyd / Jane Fonda / Richard Gere / Whitney Houston / Elizabeth Hurley / Julio Iglesias / Elton John / Mark Knopfler / Steve Martin / Paul McCartney / Helen Mirren / Depeche Mode Luciano Pavarotti / Demis Russos / Claudia Schiffer / The Scorpions / Sting / Sharon Stone / Ted Turner / Peter Ustinov / Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf / Mika Hakkinen / Putin / Queen Elizabeth II / HG Wells

· History -

In 1914 St Petersburg was renamed Petrograd and in 1918 it was no longer the capital of Russia. In 1924 it was renamed Leningrad.

After the 1917 revolution the hotel was used as an orphanage. It reopened in 1930 with a new upper class in power.

1934 saw the beginning of a series of purges and in 1935 40,000 locals were arrested.

In WWII Hitler held Leningrad siege for 900 days from 1941 until 1944. 800,000 people had died from cold, illness and starvation. During the siege the hotel had operated as a hospital with 1,300 beds.

After the war the hotel became run down and dilapidated and by 1989 it was closed for a complete restoration.

In 1991 the citizens of Leningrad voted by a narrow margin to rename the city St Petersburg.

· Signature -

Caviar Master class

The only Beef Stroganoff in Russia cooked to the original recipe - The Stroganov family passed the recipe to the hotel's kitchen

Egg in Egg - truffled scrambled eggs topped with 3 types of caviar served in an egg shell

· Rooms -

266 rooms and suites @ $345 - $5,970

· Tales -

Tchaikovsky liked the hotel so much he brought his fiancée here to marry her. It only lasted a few months and soon after the wedding he said "She is loathsome to me in every sense of the word"

Rasputin was regular visitor to the hotel and stories about his bad behaviour abound. It is said he would often invite the city's noblewomen to lunch and get them to eat out of his hands. He also used to like to rise up from the table and dance ecstatically by himself after a few drinks.

Elton John gave an impromptu performance in the L'Europe Restaurant while he was staying here and Whitney Houston sang in the Lobby Bar

· Claim to Fame -

The first 5***** hotel in the country

Russia's oldest continually serving restaurant

St Petersburg's Premier Party Address

It was in the James Bond movie "GoldenEye" even though it wasn't actually filmed

· Innovations -

First restaurant in Russia to have electric lights

· Feature -

Mikhailovsky Theatre private box for the ballet or opera - the best seats in the house

Prime location

Glamorous shopping arcade

· View -

St Petersburg's monuments / Church of the saviour on Spilt Blood

· High Tea -

Authentic Russian Afternoon Tea in the Mezzanine Cafe - glass roof, homemade cakes, caviar, miniature pirozhki and treats from their very own in house artisanal chocolate factory

· Facilities -

Fitness centre 24/7 / sauna and plunge pool / Yoga classes / Beauty salon with hairdressing, massage, nail care and tanning / St Petersburg Tour / Business events / Travel agency / ATM / Free Parking / Pets Allowed / Special treats for kids / Ballroom with stained glass ceiling for 250 guests

· Unique -

An education in Russian Avante - Garde Art

The city's only Vodka Sommelier will take you through 35 varieties and how to drink them without getting a hangover

· Restaurants - 6 including Cafes

L'Europe - Est 1905 - Russian favourites like caviar, sturgeon and borsch, a degustation menu and some of the finest ballet in St Petersburg - extensive Breakfast Buffet in the mornings

- "Imperial" Sunday Brunch with free flowing bar, supervised playroom and live Jazz

- Tchaikovsky Night on Fridays from 7 pm. performed by acclaimed opera and ballet artists and a chamber orchestra.

Caviar Bar and Restaurant - St Petersburg's only caviar restaurant - 15 types of caviar - 35 types of vodka, 12 Dom Perignon vintages and 15 whiskey varieties

AZIA Restaurant - Asian, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese - tasting menu and cooking classes

Pastry Shop

Handmade chocolate onsite with very extremely cocoa beans

Lots of Restaurants and Cafes nearby

· Bars -

Test drink rare vodkas and liqueurs

Lobby Bar - 24 hours - smoked cocktails, live music every night, meals and breakfast

· Sights -

Catherine Palace / The Arts Square / Hermitage (Winter Palace)

Church of the Saviour on Spilt Blood

Faberge Museum / Russian Museum

Boat trip through the canals

The Alexander Nevsky Bridge - at midnight to see 9 of the 342 bridges opened up to let boats through

· Extra -

See St Petersburg in "Cities" and Trans Siberian in "Train Trips"