slothis · English

Radisson Royal Hotel: Stalin's Sisters in Moscow

2016-06-22 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

First, here's the feast we had last night.

A bottle of vodka, meat wrapped in foil, bread, caviar, and sauces are placed on a wooden table.
We bought everything at the supermarket in front of the hotel. It's the best to just buy food from the mart instead of going out to eat. The vodka was recommended to us on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Including the vodka, it cost about 20,000 KRW.
Grilled minced meat patties and thinly sliced onions are placed on foil.
Shashlik (meat skewers)
Golden brown grilled chicken pieces are served inside silver foil.
Perfectly roasted, grease-free chicken
Red and black roe are divided in half in a clear plastic container.
Ikra. In Russia, all fish roe, including caviar, is called ikra. These are the cheaper salmon and herring roes. The caviar we usually know is very expensive, costing over 300,000 KRW.

Below is our breakfast from today.

Exterior of a Kroshka Kartoshka (baked potato fast food) store with a yellow and green sign.
Kroshka Kartoshka. It's a baked potato specialty shop.
Order counter of a fast food restaurant with a menu board hanging over a yellow tiled wall.
Various types of salads and toppings are displayed in metal containers inside a glass showcase.
You eat it by putting these toppings on top of a baked potato. It's pretty good.
A baked potato with toppings, red soup, and a drink are placed on a green tray.
The cranberry juice is called "Mors," and it's cheap and tastes incredibly good.

We originally planned to take a Moscow River cruise this evening, but we decided to cancel because the weather was gloomy and rain was in the forecast. When we contacted them, they informed us of their absurd refund system: you can book online, but you have to come in person to get a refund. Plus, they still haven't given the money back even after a month. Thanks to that, our morning schedule unexpectedly turned into a visit to the Radisson Royal Hotel. Fortunately, it's not just a simple hotel; it's one of Stalin's Sisters (the Seven Sisters skyscrapers) and holds a lot of history, including a famous miniature of the Kremlin inside, so it was worth the trip. However, the way there is like a maze. It's quite complicated and difficult to get there by subway, almost as if they're telling you not to come without a car.

Bustling street in Moscow with people walking and large buildings.
The way there is surprisingly complicated. You have to walk about 10 minutes after getting off at the station, and it's not a straight path, so you have to navigate using a map.

The Radisson Royal Hotel, one of Stalin's Sisters, is slightly smaller than the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building and feels less intimidating. It's so cozy compared to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that it feels like it could be the youngest or sixth daughter among Stalin's Sisters. However, true to its reputation as one of Moscow's top luxury hotels, the interior design seems to say, "This is a luxury hotel. Be careful." It's a building with a completely different inside and outside, something I've seen so much of since coming to Moscow.

As we were entering the hotel, someone who looked like a Chinese military official with four stars on his shoulder walked in with people who seemed to be his secretaries. I don't know who he was, but seeing the secretaries and the hotel staff lining up to greet him enthusiastically, he must be a big deal. I was a bit flustered because they even greeted me enthusiastically for no reason. Since it's a hotel where famous, powerful, or at least very wealthy people stay, the prices are naturally high. Because of the high prices, this is just a tourist attraction to me. Still, I really like that they have the generosity to let casual visitors like us use the Wi-Fi for free. It's even faster than the room at the Izmailovo Hotel that we paid for.

Front view of the grand Stalinist-style Radisson Royal Hotel with its pointed spire.
Grand exterior of the Radisson Royal Hotel stretching behind green street trees.
Huge hotel building seen beyond a promenade with benches and trees.
Entrance with the Radisson Royal Hotel sign and the central spire soaring high into the sky.
Radisson Royal Hotel building towering behind a statue of a man in a coat.
Statue of a man in a coat and the pointed spire of the hotel visible behind it.
I don't know who he is, but his name is "Taras Shevchenko." We assumed he was the one who built Hotel Ukraina, but it just reminded us of the Ukrainian soccer player Shevchenko.
Entrance with flags of various countries and a Russian sign for Hotel Ukraina.
It is better known as Hotel Ukraina.
Exterior of a Gothic-style building with a pointed spire topped with a star ornament.
Spacious hotel lobby with marble pillars, ornate chandeliers, and ceiling paintings.
As soon as I entered, the word "Expensive!" flashed through my mind.
Circular ceiling painting depicting people marching with flags and harvesting crops.
The painting on the ceiling. It's the first time I've seen such a Soviet-style painting embedded in a hotel.

We searched every corner of the Radisson Royal Hotel, but we couldn't find anywhere that looked related to the cruise. I asked a staff member who looked like they would speak the best English, and they told us that we had to go to a separate cruise company building for the Radisson Royal cruise refund. I was worried we'd have to go far, but my anger subsided a bit when I found out it was nearby.

If you tell them you're there for a refund and show your passport and booking details, they take care of it. However, they don't give you the money right away; it has to be processed through the credit card company and the bank. The estimated time is 15 to 30 days. Of course, that's because we're foreigners; for Russians, it takes 3 to 15 days. But even now, a month later, the money still hasn't come in. It's so hard to get a refund that it almost makes you want to just take the cruise anyway. I can see why all companies make refunds and cancellations so difficult. When using a card abroad, you must be absolutely sure you want to commit to a hotel or tour before paying. In Russia especially, refunds are incredibly annoying, complicated, and slow.

Night view of a miniature diorama recreating downtown Moscow with the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral.
Miniature diorama showing the illuminated Kremlin and downtown Moscow buildings.
Daytime view of the Moscow miniature diorama featuring Red Square, St. Basil's Cathedral, and the Kremlin walls.
The famous Kremlin miniature inside the hotel.
English information board explaining the history and production background of the Moscow miniature diorama.
This is the explanation of the miniature. It's a very meaningful miniature for Russia, so after moving around a lot, it ended up at the Radisson Royal.

Expenses

Total Expenses 548 RUB

Total Trip Expenses 525,936 KRW + 21,560 RUB + $53.16