Pronya Hotel

The cafe was basic, but everyone ate and nobody had stomach trouble. The staff tried, though the service wasn't perfect. Tatyana, also called Tatyana SS, stands out for shouting loudly at the children and forbidding them from doing anything. Maybe she was just overwhelmed or doesn't like children, I can't say. At least we could breathe. Friends had warned us that this was the best hotel in Gorki, so we tolerated the old rooms, springy mattresses that massage your back, and sofas like my grandmother had in the 90s. We even caught and killed a cockroach, but that didn't put us off. The place looks great from outside, and the town itself was very clean and cozy. It felt like a time machine taking me 30 years back to the Soviet era. We were there for a game at the Ice Arena, and the whole hockey team stayed at the hotel.

We booked seven single rooms, and everyone liked theirs. They each had a large TV with plenty of channels, private Wi-Fi, working plumbing, bottled water, and toiletries. The staff were friendly, and there was private parking with video surveillance. The beds and soundproofing felt a little dated, but we slept well without being disturbed. For a small town, it's a good hotel, practically in the center.

The room was freezing at night, even though I was there in May, and with no proper blanket it wasn't pleasant. There were only feather pillows, which surprised me because people can have allergies. The hard mattress had springs digging into my back, and the bed creaked loudly with every breath. I couldn't sleep the first night until I moved to the armchair. The linen was mediocre and stained. Water pressure was practically nonexistent, so washing was difficult. Whenever I left, I was asked to hand over the key so the room could be cleaned. I don't know why the cleaner didn't have a key of her own, as I'd never come across that before. There were plenty of things wobbling: the sink was almost coming away, and the cabinet doors hung crooked. The TV crackled so badly that watching a movie was impossible, and a stripe of dead pixels crossed its screen. Chairs had been put in places where they got in the way; the room would have been nicer and more comfortable without them. The design felt very strange. The renovation looked to be from around 2010 and was pleasing to the eye, but the carpets seemed pointless on decent laminate flooring and just collected dust. The room looked clean at a glance, yet dust and spiders turned up in corners, under the bed, in closets and on shelves. There were even dirty dishes in the mini kitchen. I was dissatisfied and would have been better off renting an apartment for less money and more comfort.

I stayed here in 2020 and again in 2021. The friendly staff deserve a mention, and when technical problems came up, they fixed them quickly. There's plenty of parking, too. I'd suggest direct access to the parking lot from the hotel and more breakfast choices. The cafe service changed quite a bit between the two years. For the price, it's excellent value. I'd recommend booking a two-room suite.