California Boutique Hotel

The meals were a highlight for me. Breakfast and dinner were tasty, with something different each time, and the restaurant menu is good with fairly reasonable prices for food and drinks. You can even have vodka or cognac at breakfast. The rooms are clean, you get complimentary bottled water each day, and the staff are really friendly. There's also a sauna, a small pool, and massage service.

Odessa won me over, and Hotel California made a lovely place to stay while we were there. Mrs. Right and I spent two nights in a quiet room, and appreciated the professional staff, the broad breakfast selection, and all the decorative touches. We didn't get around to trying the sauna, but we'll do that on our next visit. We'll definitely be back!

I've been here a week and have another week to go, and I already feel at home. Everyone's friendly, it's all very clean, and when I needed a small bathroom repair, the handyman arrived within minutes. I've got the flu, and the restaurant bartender makes me a special tea each morning for free, with lots of different fruit and spices cut up for it. I tipped because I really appreciate how kind they all are. The inside is beautiful, the area feels safe and quiet at night, and breakfast and lunch are great. The cappuccino comes nice and hot 😊. I really recommend this place. Nataly

The gym alone put me off checking out the sauna, pool, or anything else. It's a dusty attic room, maybe 15 m², with the air conditioner switched off, a pull-up bar with torn grips, two crunch benches, a treadmill, and barbells that top out at 5 kg. Yes, really. I had a balcony, which was nice, and ordered a “Deluxe bed.” That turned out to be two mattresses pushed together on a battered, scratched plywood frame. The bedside lights had cheap rainbow rings that stayed on unless the lamps were switched off. Several outlets didn't work, and the TV picture was so poor that local channels were unwatchable. The breakfast room is small, about 35 m², and has unlimited cognac, vodka, and other spirits. The food included runny scrambled eggs, mushy blinis, steamed vegetables, one kind of Russian black sausage with bits of fat, and cheese. Fresh fruit and berries were consistently good, so I'd stick with those. It reminded me of an East German era bar, though it was kept very clean. 80s and 90s hits played on a TV that sounded like it belonged to that period. The coffee machine looked promising, but the first two cappuccinos were a mistake. The operator seemed not to know what “too hot” means: the coffee was burnt and sour, then topped with literally boiling milk. The coffee place next door, “Make My Cake,” was a revelation after that, like heaven following battery acid. The decor is a sort of 18th century French palace made in China. That look is matched by a staff member in a purple/pink Baroque dress and a guy dressed as an English redcoat with a tricorn, handing out fruit and hard liquor at 8 in the morning. The elevators are covered in what I hope is fake crocodile skin. There was also a vomit-like smell when I entered, possibly flowers mixed with disinfectant. Each floor had electronic lounge music playing a little too loudly, though I like that kind of music. To be fair, the hotel is very clean, and some staff members are genuinely nice. The staff do their best within the limits of management, resources, and the building itself. But by no measure is this a five-star hotel, unless perhaps you're counting a few staff members. I've traveled in North America, Europe, Russia, and the Middle East, so I don't think this is just a cultural misunderstanding. I usually pay attention to reviews and avoid places with repeated objective complaints, and this place feels phoney. It has no clear concept, costs too much, and there are much better options in Odessa for the same price. I wouldn't come here. Two stars only because I liked the people.